Retail media took a backseat at NRF 2026, with only three sessions related to the topic across the three-day conference. However, those giant digital screens with ads—often referred to as in-store retail media—kept coming up when retail executives talked shop.

In particular, consumer electronics retailer Best Buy said its in-store media offering, dubbed “takeover packages,” announced in 2025, are nearly booked for the entire year because of strong demand from advertisers including Ikea, Meta, and more.

To be sure, takeover packages let advertisers control multiple Best Buy touchpoints, from window displays and entrances to checkout counters, TV walls, PC monitors, and interactive screens throughout its stores. At NRF, Lisa Valentino, president of Best Buy Ads, said in-store takeover packages have been the “biggest driver of demand” from advertisers during a panel called “How retail media is navigating its first economic crisis.”

“Our goal was to sell them by month,” Valentino said. “We’re nearly sold out for the year. The creative work that goes into [takeover packages], that’s not a programmatic offering; that’s really about thinking about how we galvanize creative and creative storytelling in a different way.”

Keep reading here.—VC

If Saks Global’s bankruptcy has taught us anything, it’s this: Don’t bite off more than you can chew. In this context, we’re referring to its acquisition of Neiman Marcus and the enormous debt ($4.7 billion) the retailer took on, which ultimately backfired.

But is that the sole reason for the iconic retailer’s downfall? Not according to experts. In the past year, we’ve seen a wave of bankruptcies and store closures—most notably at Macy’s and Lord & Taylor—raising broader questions about whether the traditional department store model still works, even at the high end.

“Where Saks really had a struggle was having the demand driving the consumer in, but not having the inventory makes it meaningless, because the consumer then reorients and looks for other channels to find that demand in,” Nora Kleinewillinghoefer, partner in the consumer practice of Kearney, told Retail Brew.

While that certainly eroded the trust between the key vendors and Saks, another major factor, per Kleinwillinghoefer, was competition from brands that have invested in their own DTC channels.

Keep reading here.—JS

Consumers are on track to spend $29.1 billion on Valentine’s Day this year, according to survey data from the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics. That’s a record-breaking sum for the love-themed celebration—up from $27.5 billion in 2025—which despite falling in the middle of February pulls its weight in terms of spending. Halloween, for instance, raked in less than half that amount.

• On a per budget basis, consumers are planning to drop a record $199.78 on average for gifts, inching past the previous record of $196.31 in 2020 just before the Covid-19 pandemic.

In what is becoming a theme of holiday spending, however, certain demographics are pulling most of the weight.

Keep reading here.—AV

Tired of one-size-fits-all job boards? CollabWORK highlights roles that reflect your interests and goals—delivered through communities like Retail Brew. Click here to explore the full job board.

• Retail Technology Architect at Champion Home Builders Inc.
• Digital and eCommerce, Partner Sales Manager at HP Inc.
• Principal Product Management - Merchandising at Expedia Group
• Strategic Competitive Intelligence Manager at Swagelok
• National Account Manager, Sam's Club at BIC Corporation