Retail Media in Russia: E-Retail Media Could Become the Largest Market Segment by the End of 2026

By the end of 2026, E-Retail Media could become the largest segment of Russia's advertising market — and this will happen in a market that still lacks a unified measurement standard. This forecast was voiced in an expert analysis by Rodnaya Rech Group.

The analysis was prepared by Irina Kozlova, Managing Director of Commerce, Performance and Programmatic Practices at Rodnaya Rech Group. In it, she examines four key questions currently facing advertisers and platforms:

• what is driving the growth of the E-Retail Media channel;
• how the number of brands in display advertising on marketplaces is changing;
• which categories lead in click-out — user transitions from ad formats to external websites;
• what the market should expect in 2027.

What Is the Research Based On?

The group's expert assessments are supplemented by data from Serpent, a product for analyzing brands' advertising activity. It is precisely the combination of expert insight and platform analytics that makes it possible to see the channel's dynamics: from changes in the number of advertisers to the redistribution of budgets between categories.

Why Is the Topic of Measurements Critical?

The potential leadership of E-Retail Media in the structure of the Russian advertising market coincides with a persistent gap in methodology. As long as the segment lacks a unified measurement standard, advertisers find it difficult to compare the effectiveness of their investments across platforms and against other channels.

What's Next?

The answer to the question of the segment's development in 2027 is part of the same analysis. The key benchmarks highlighted by Rodnaya Rech Group include: the channel's growth dynamics, brand behavior in display advertising on marketplaces, and the distribution of leading categories in click-out.