Retail Media Emerges as India’s Fastest-Growing Ad Format in 2025 — Amazon, Flipkart & Quick-Commerce Lead
What Happened?
Retail media advertising has officially become India’s fastest-growing digital ad format in 2025, expanding at a pace that surpasses social, search, and video. According to updated advertiser spend analysis, platforms such as Amazon Ads, Flipkart Ads, Myntra, Meesho, Blinkit, Zepto, and Swiggy Instamart recorded the strongest YoY growth, fuelled by measurable performance, commerce-linked attribution, and closed-loop customer data.
While global publishers highlight the boom in retail media networks (RMNs), most miss the India-specific drivers:
- Rapid e commerce adoption across Tier 2–Tier 3 cities
- Sellers increasing PPC and display budgets due to competitive visibility
- Quick-commerce becoming a high-frequency discovery channel
- Brands prioritizing purchase-proximity vs. awareness campaigns
This report covers those India-first insights and explains what marketers must do next.
Key Insights From the 2025 Retail Media Surge
1. Amazon & Flipkart Retain Dominance, but Quick-Commerce Is Expanding Faster
Amazon and Flipkart remain the largest revenue contributors, driven by product ads, display placements, and brand store sponsorships.
However, Blinkit, Zepto, and Instamart are now the fastest-growing RMNs, owing to impulse shopping, real-time delivery visibility, and hyperlocal demographics.
2. Retail Media Now Represents a Larger Share of Performance Budgets
India’s performance marketers are reallocating budgets from meta-social and even Google Search into retail media, due to stronger purchase intent and more transparent attribution.
Retail media now accounts for up to 25–30% of digital budgets for leading FMCG and beauty brands.
3. AI-Led Targeting & Commerce Attribution Drive Higher ROI
Platforms increasingly use AI-led predictive recommendations, real-time bidding, dynamic creative optimization, and SKU-level attribution—making RMNs the most measurable digital inventory.
4. Quick-Commerce Is Becoming a Discovery Engine, Not Just a Delivery App
Consumers are discovering new snacks, personal care, beverages, and household brands through quick-commerce home screens—turning these apps into micro-marketplaces with massive ad potential.
5. Regional and Tier-2 Sellers Are Driving Volume
Chennai, Coimbatore, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Jaipur, and Kochi report a sharp rise in seller-side ad spending, influenced by competition for Buy Box exposure and guaranteed visibility in category listings.
Why It Matters for Marketers & Indian Businesses
Retail media is no longer optional—it’s a high-precision acquisition channel.
Here’s how different sectors benefit:
- D2C & Ecommerce Brands: Greater control over SKU visibility, Buy Box competition, and price-led promotions.
- FMCG: Highest ROAS due to frequency, regional segmentation, and basket-level insights.
- Tech & SaaS: Opportunity to tap retail media data for audience modeling.
- Real Estate: Quick-commerce banners emerging as high-visibility hyperlocal ad placements.
- Agencies: Need new specializations—retail PPC optimization, ASIN/Listing SEO, and RMN analytics.
Conclusion — The Takeaway for 2025
Retail media advertising in India is evolving into the next major performance channel, driven by ecommerce scale, high-intent audiences, and AI-enhanced measurement. Businesses that adapt quickly—optimizing product pages, creative assets, and retail PPC—will capture more bottom-funnel conversions at lower acquisition costs.
As commerce-driven platforms reshape India’s digital advertising map, brands need structured execution and data-led optimization. DIGILOGY helps businesses activate performance-ready retail media campaigns with improved attribution, creative testing, and end-to-end measurement. Elevate your digital strategy with Digilogy—discover how performance-led retail media can transform your 2025 growth.
