For brands weighing outside help

Retail Media Agency: Managed Retail Media for Lean Brand Teams

RMIQ runs retail media campaigns end to end for lean brand teams, product by product, on Walmart, Instacart, Whole Foods and the other networks it supports.

A retail media agency plans, runs and reports on the ads a brand buys from retailers' own ad networks, such as Walmart Connect, Instacart Ads or Roundel. It sets keywords, bids and budgets, works in the brand's own account where a network allows it, and reports each network's sales back to the brand.

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Signs it is time

When a brand needs a retail media agency

Self-serve buying exists on the big networks: Walmart Marketplace sellers sign in with their Seller Center login, and Roundel sells Target Product Ads self-service only. An agency makes more sense as you add networks and formats, and as your team runs short of hours.

  1. You buy on several networks

    In a 2026 survey of 166 advertisers, run by Skai with Stratably, brands worked with an average of 6 retail media networks, and only 15% reported strong confidence in their measurement. Skai, a software vendor, adds that expertise built on one network does not automatically transfer to another.

  2. You want formats sold as managed service

    At Roundel, connected TV, display, Google search and social are sold only as managed service. Whole Foods Market's share-of-voice placements on Amazon run only through managed service too.

  3. You need partner access or hands-on management

    Walmart's Sponsored Search APIs are open only to Walmart Connect Partner Network members. Chewy's offsite program asks for a minimum monthly budget of $5,000 and a person or agency to actively manage and optimize the campaigns.

  4. Your team has no one to run it

    Walmart pitches its partners as "a flexible, cost-effective alternative to in-house marketing", especially when time, resources or expertise run short. RMIQ client I Eat My Greens had no dedicated digital marketing expert on its team.

The job, in the networks' words

What a retail media agency does

Skai notes that every retail media network has its own data, metrics, reporting and ways of working. The networks describe retail media management in their own words. Walmart Connect says its campaign management partners give "end-to-end support", Instacart groups some of its preferred partners under "Managed Agency Services", and Roundel's directory has a category for "Media management services". How the networks themselves work is covered in RMIQ's retail media guide.

  1. Planning

    Decide which networks, which products and which goal each budget serves. Walmart puts "strategic planning" first in its partners' work.

  2. Setup

    Get access to the brand's ad accounts. On Instacart an agency joins the brand's account as an "Agency user", and on Chewy the access form asks for the brand's Supplier ID and whether an agency is involved.

  3. Optimization

    Adjust keywords, bids and budgets as results come in. At Roundel, that is the work of media management partners, which run Target Product Ads campaigns with "a team of expert media practitioners".

  4. Reporting

    Turn each network's numbers into one read on sales and return on ad spend. Walmart lists "performance analysis and reporting" as part of campaign management.

Handed over, then measured

What RMIQ's clients report

Three brands that handed RMIQ the execution, in the figures RMIQ published; each links to the full story.

  • Darey Brands

    Dairy, one network
    • ROAS increase, first 2 months: 75%
    • Instacart attributed sales: 2.5x
    • Instacart new-to-brand revenue: 2.7x

    Darey's senior brand manager says RMIQ more than doubled revenue on existing ad spend in 2 months, "without adding execution work on our side".

    Read the Darey Brands story

  • Zack's Mighty

    Tortilla chips, results on three networks
    • Cross-network ROAS growth, under 2 months: 2x
    • Walmart ROAS increase: 85%
    • Instacart ROAS increase: 163%
    • ROAS on Whole Foods: 1x to 5x

    The lean brand team found running several networks by hand too resource-intensive and handed RMIQ end-to-end execution. The Whole Foods figures come from RMIQ's networks page; neither page gives a period for the network results.

    Read the Zack's Mighty story

  • Smash Kitchen

    Pantry staples, two networks
    • Instacart sales, quarter over quarter: 6.7x
    • New-to-brand share of revenue: 84%+

    The brand had to scale on Instacart without adding operational complexity for a lean team, so RMIQ launched its Instacart and Sprouts campaigns and ran them end to end.

    Read the Smash Kitchen story

RMIQ

What RMIQ's retail media agency service covers

RMIQ describes its service as AI-driven and expert-run: purpose-built agents do the optimizing, and RMIQ's team executes end to end, without adding operational load to the brand team.

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  • Granular campaigns

    Campaigns go down to single products, keywords and bids, so RMIQ can cut spend on what is not working and improve what already sells.

  • Agents for each task

    Separate agents handle network optimization, budget allocation, campaign strategy and A/B testing. RMIQ calls them copilots that help its experts and the brand's marketers make the strategic decisions.

  • Learning across networks

    What RMIQ learns on one network informs campaigns on the next, so a new network starts from data.

  • Keyword audit

    RMIQ's keyword audit gives every keyword a verdict: continue, adjust spend or stop. In RMIQ's analysis of more than 40 retail media accounts, 30% of keywords produced no sales.

Profiles by retailer

Network profiles, and where RMIQ has results

RMIQ's homepage lists the networks it supports, and its case studies cover Instacart, Walmart, Whole Foods and Sprouts. Each profile below covers one network.

More network profiles

Choosing an agency

How to choose a retail media agency

RMIQ's retail media agency directory sorts agencies by network. Ask every agency on your shortlist the same questions, and check any partner claim in the network's own directory.

Questions to ask

  • Which networks do you run today, and which published results name the client and the network?
  • Which partner directories list you, and in which tier? Walmart notes that a directory listing is no endorsement.
  • Who owns the ad accounts?
  • How do you charge? In Roundel's Ad Guide, partner fees range from a share of media spend to a flat platform fee, often plus Criteo's DSP fee.
  • How will you report across networks that measure sales differently?
  • Do you manage each product separately, or whole catalogs as one campaign?

Costs and checks to expect

  • Minimums: Roundel's Ad Guide shows partner minimums from none to $10,000 a month, and $60,000 a quarter for Criteo's managed service.
  • Fees on top of fees: an agency fee can sit beside a platform or DSP fee on the same spend.
  • Setup time: Chewy's offsite campaigns, for example, may need 2 to 3 weeks before launch.
  • Partner status per network: a listing with one network says nothing about the others, so check each directory.

Hiring, answered

Retail media agency FAQ

What does a retail media agency do?

It plans, runs and reports on a brand's ads on retailer networks such as Walmart Connect, Instacart and Roundel. Walmart describes the work as end-to-end support, from strategic planning and campaign setup to ongoing optimization, performance analysis and reporting. On Instacart, for example, an agency joins the brand's own account as an agency user.

When does a brand need a retail media agency?

Usually when it buys on several networks at once, wants formats a network sells only as managed service, or has no one in-house to run campaigns daily. Brands in a 2026 Skai and Stratably survey used 6 networks on average, and Roundel sells connected TV, display, Google search and social only as managed service.

How do retail media agencies charge?

Models vary. Partners in Roundel's Ad Guide charge a percentage of media spend, a flat platform fee or a managed-service fee, often plus Criteo's DSP fee. Minimums run from none to $10,000 a month, or $60,000 a quarter for Criteo's own managed service. RMIQ prices on a pay-for-performance basis and quotes on a call.

Is a retail media agency the same as a retail media platform?

They overlap. Roundel's partner directory separates technology services, which connect to its ad console to automate campaigns, from media management services, run by teams of media practitioners. RMIQ says it combines both: AI agents do the optimizing, and RMIQ's experts run the campaigns end to end.

Is RMIQ a Walmart Connect partner?

RMIQ is listed in the Walmart Connect Partner Network directory, in the Partner tier, for Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands, with managed service and self-service models. Walmart states that partners are independent third parties and that a listing is no endorsement. Walmart's Sponsored Search APIs are open only to network members.

Which networks does RMIQ manage?

RMIQ's homepage lists Walmart Connect, Instacart, Target, Sprouts, Home Depot, CVS, Amazon, Macy's, Kroger, Thrive Market and Chewy among the networks it supports. Its published case studies cover Instacart, Walmart, Whole Foods and Sprouts. Ask on a call about any network missing from that list.

What does RMIQ's keyword audit include?

RMIQ scores every keyword in your campaigns with its Keyword Impact AI Score and sorts it into one of three actions: continue, adjust spend or stop. The audit is delivered in 3 business days and is built for lean teams already investing in retail media and scaling across several US networks.

Sources14 sources

Each source is listed with the date it was published or last updated; pages that show no date are marked with the date they were read.

  1. Walmart Connect, Partner Network page, no date shown, read October 9, 2026
  2. Walmart Connect, Partner Directory and RMIQ's directory entry (entry dated November 6, 2025), read October 9, 2026
  3. Walmart Developer Portal, Introduction to Walmart Connect Sponsored Search APIs, updated April 12, 2026
  4. Instacart Ads, Preferred Partners, no date shown, read October 9, 2026
  5. Instacart Docs, Managing your account, updated August 12, 2026
  6. Roundel, Target Product Ads Partner Directory, no date shown, read October 9, 2026
  7. Roundel, Ad Guide, no date shown, read September 29, 2026
  8. Roundel, Ad Guide, Target Product Ads partner pricing, no date shown, read October 9, 2026
  9. Amazon Ads, Whole Foods Market on Amazon display ad specs, no date shown, read October 9, 2026
  10. Chewy Ads, sign-up form, no date shown, read October 9, 2026
  11. Skai, The 2026 State of Retail Media Fragmentation (survey with Stratably, 166 advertisers), February 12, 2026
  12. RMIQ case studies: Darey Brands, August 31, 2026; I Eat My Greens, August 28, 2026; Zack's Mighty, August 25, 2026; Smash Kitchen, February 3, 2026
  13. RMIQ homepage and AI technology page, no dates shown, read October 9, 2026
  14. RMIQ keyword audit page and networks page, no dates shown, read October 14, 2026

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