MiniMart 1/22: Retail media fun facts, Shipt launches conquesting, and more

Last week was huge for Veriti.

We just wrapped our first company retreat, and the energy was unreal. There's something about being together in person that you just can't replicate on Zoom - the side conversations, the spontaneous moments. Groups were hanging out in the hotel lobby past midnight because they were so amped about the work we get to do. I’ll be sharing learnings from our retreat on LinkedIn - stay tuned. 🙂 

The same week, we got to see our hard work go live for a really exciting new client. We’ve been supporting ButcherBox's first-ever retail launch into over 1,400 Target stores nationwide - and it officially went live. Getting to experience the retreat energy while helping a client make such a major move? That felt really special. The launch is going so well, I already can't wait to unpack it as a case study at next year's retreat. :)

This is exactly what we're here for - helping better-for-you brands reach mainstream shoppers at mass retailers. Weeks like this remind me we're actually living into our mission.

Now, onto this week in retail media and shopper marketing →

The snacks + sips hitting our grocery carts this week

Featured retailer marketing updates, trends, tips, and more!

🎯 Shipt Launches Search Conquesting for Self-Service Partners

Starting January 26 (next week), Shipt Media is giving brands a new weapon in the retail media arsenal: search conquesting. This means brands can now bid on competitor keywords to appear alongside rival products in search results.

The details:

• Brands must create new, separate line items for conquesting keywords (no duplicating existing campaigns)

• Conquesting can run alongside branded and generic keywords within the same campaign

• Criteo will report keyword performance by type: generic, branded, or conquested

• Expect lower ROAS on conquested terms compared to your brand or generic keywords

Why this matters: Shipt joins the growing list of retail media networks rolling out competitive keyword targeting - Walmart introduced it in early 2024, and Amazon has offered it for years. For smaller, challenger brands competing against category leaders on Shipt, this levels the playing field. When a shopper searches for your larger competitor's brand name, you now have a shot at appearing in the results and converting that customer.

The strategy: Don't expect conquesting to deliver the same efficiency as the rest of your terms - the whole point is customer acquisition, not defensive protection of existing demand. Use it strategically when your product offers clear advantages (better price, cleaner ingredients, unique benefits) that might convince shoppers actively searching for a competitor to switch. And remember, once you start conquesting, expect competitors to target your brand terms in return. You may want to reconsider your branded term strategy and position yourself a bit more defensively.

✅ Your to-do: If you're managing Shipt Media campaigns in-house, mark January 26 on your calendar to test conquesting for your top competitors!

🤝 The More You Know: Shopper Marketing and Retail Media Edition

A roundup of things you should know as a shopper marketer in 2026…

1. Who’s actually on Instacart. Did you know Whole Foods Markets stores aren’t on Instacart, and only 200 Walmart stores are on Instacart? 

2. Did you know you could spend less on Target branded search? You can negatively target branded terms on Target—a great way to save spend when shoppers are already directly searching for your product.

3. Criteo’s built-in fees. If you’re advertising in the regular marketplace on Criteo, you’re getting charged 20% advertising fee built into ad spend.

   1. Absolutely no shade to Criteo! We know everyone else has a built-in advertising fee, but most aren’t as transparent.

   2. Exception: There’s no ad fee in private marketplace (ex. Albertson’s, BJ’s), but there is a higher yearly minimum ad spend expectation.

4. The difference between 1P and 3P! This comes up all the time: Brands think they’re 1P on Walmart, Target, Whole Foods, or Kroger, but they’re actually only 3P. Here’s the difference:

   1. 1P: When your brand is distributed in a grocery retailer. When you order online, it comes from the pickup + delivery section. 

   2. 3P: When your brand is only available on Walmart.com, Target.com, etc. It’s not distributed in stores, only on the stores’ online marketplace, and is available via shipping.

Thanks for reading!

— Eleanor