Each time you swipe a loyalty card, you’re not just saving on groceries\u2014you’re feeding a powerful data machine known as retail media. What began as a scheme to offer loyalty discounts has morphed into a multibillion-dollar industry where retailers like Kroger, Walmart and Amazon turn consumer behavior into advertising gold, offering brands precision targeting based on detailed shopping habits. This model yields slim profits on groceries but massive margins\u2014up to 90%\u2014on data-driven ads.\u00a0 Amazon, the dominant player with $56 billion in ad revenue and 77% of U.S. retail ad spend, now sells ad tech to competitors, deepening its surveillance-based advantage. As this power grows, it disrupts journalism by diverting ad dollars away from news and raises alarm about privacy, competition, and fairness in the supply chain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Join us for a conversation with Karina Montoya Guevara of the Center for Journalism & Liberty at the Open Markets Institute in Washington, about the consequences of a model that treats consumers as both audience and product in an increasingly concentrated data economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hosted by:<\/strong> Alexa Raad and Leslie Daigle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Further reading:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The views and opinions expressed in this program are our own and may not reflect the views or positions of our employers.<\/p>\n\n