For decades, television advertising was the territory of intuition: large budgets, massive audiences, and results that were difficult to attribute with surgical precision. Then came e-commerce, first-party data, and Retail Media as a response to an urgent need: to connect advertising investment with verifiable, traceable, and attributable outcomes. However, Retail Media—born on the physical shelf and later powered by e-commerce—understood something many overlooked: mass attention never disappeared; it simply changed format.
CTV (Connected TV)
CTV is not simply “watching” Netflix, Prime, HBO, Disney+ or others on a television. It is an ecosystem that merges the premium audiovisual experience with advanced layers of segmentation and measurement. The ability to buy audiences, not channels; concrete outcomes, not limited ratings from HR Media or Nielsen IBOPE meters. And this is where Retail Media is finding its next avenue of growth.
From Point of Sale to Point of Attention
If the consumer decides in-store, in CTV the consumer imagines, desires, and anticipates. Traditional Retail Media captures intent at the moment of purchase; CTV creates intent before it exists.
Major retailers—Walmart, Amazon, Mercado Libre, Carrefour—understand that competing for the transaction is no longer enough; they must compete for mindshare, that emotional share that predisposes a consumer to choose a brand long before reaching the physical or digital cart.
Amazon Ads has turned its streaming inventory (Freevee, Twitch, Thursday Night Football in the U.S.) into a natural extension of its attribution engine. It focuses on selling traceable purchase logic.
Walmart Connect has partnered with platforms like Roku to link connected TV ad exposure with in-store and e-commerce sales—something previously considered impossible.
Mercado Ads in Latin America is moving towards CTV + Retail Media models, expanding audiovisual inventory across platforms such as Roku, Samsung TV Plus, and OTT services, activating audiences based on real behavior inside the marketplace.
For the first time, audiovisual storytelling connects directly to provable sales impact.
First-Party Data as an Irreplicable Competitive Advantage
The key to Retail Media has always been first-party data: real behaviors, from search patterns to completed purchases. CTV alone does not have this power. Streaming platforms know what is being watched, but not necessarily what is being purchased. Retailers do.
When a retailer activates CTV campaigns, they can:
- Segment audiences based on real habits (who bought, who is considering, who abandons carts).
- Measure sales lift after audiovisual exposure.
- Build closed-loop attribution models without relying on cookies or third-party signals.
It is no coincidence that, while other industries struggle with cookie deprecation and fragmented audiences, Retail Media and CTV are growing in parallel. According to IAB and Statista estimates, investment in CTV has been increasing at double-digit annual rates globally, driven by the demand for premium inventory and more precise measurement. Brands want impact and accountability. For the first time, audiovisual media becomes measurable again—without sacrificing emotional power.
From Promotion to Positioning
For years, Retail Media was associated with transactional tactics:
- digital store banners,
- sponsored search,
- physical shelf displays,
- in-store activations.
But CTV is pushing the category toward something more ambitious: branding with attribution.
A cookie, personal care, or beverage brand no longer has to choose between “building awareness” or “driving sales.” Now it can accomplish both within a single strategic architecture:
- Inspire through CTV
- Reinforce through social and display
- Convert through retail media
- Measure in physical store or e-commerce
This is not replacement—it is continuous evolution.
Why Retail Media and CTV Represent Transformation Rather Than Just Another Tactic
Because they redefine three fundamental elements:
| Element | Before | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Audience | Massive, lightly segmented | Massive, but segmented by real intent |
| Measurement | Ratings and reach | Sales lift and direct attribution |
| Role of Retail | End point of purchase | Architect of intent and conversion |
Retail is no longer just the place where the transaction ends. It is becoming the place where desire is designed and predicted.
At its core, what is happening is a sophisticated return to what has always driven brands: narrative construction and the symbolic power of the small screen. Only now, that screen knows who buys, when they buy, and why they buy. The perfect synecdoche: one screen contains the entire market story.
Retail Media is not using CTV to expand. It is using CTV to complete itself. Because for the first time, advertising once again tells stories that move people —and at the same time, can prove those stories sell. What do you think?
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How Latin American Consumers Respond to Mercado Libre’s Retail Media Efforts
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