Digital retail media —such as the banner ads that appear while browsing on websites like Amazon or Walmart-– may be heading towards major disruption as AI/agentic commerce positions itself to reshape how consumers shop. Retail media, which gained momentum with Amazon’s advertising platform launch in 2012, is a relatively new marketing channel that changed the advertising game when it emerged. However, with the rise of agentic commerce, brands are increasingly focused on how to show up when AI agents shop, rather than when people visit retailers’ websites. John Krepon, President of Global Digital at Steve Madden, believes only Amazon’s retail media business will survive as agentic AI pushes out other forms of digital advertising. One area agentic AI may leave untouched? In-store retail media. Ad spending in this space is expected to be more resilient and is projected to hit the billion-dollar mark by 2029. As retail media industry analyst Kiri Masters explains, “While digital retail media faces existential questions from AI agents, physical stores remain largely untouchable…People will still visit stores, still see shelf displays, still respond to the theatre of in-store retail.” Brands with a strong physical presence have a natural hedge—if they invest in making those in-person moments matter. Best Buy, for example, is gearing up to capitalize on the 2026 World Cup as a major advertising opportunity.