Commerce Media

What the Costco model teaches us about how to do commerce media properly

By The Drum, Editorial

The Drum

January 29, 2026 | 4 min read

This buyer’s guide unpacks what Costco’s approach to its retail media tech stack teaches brands about transparency, measurement and why commerce media works best when it serves sales, not dashboards.

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Most retailers treat their retail media tech stacks like state secrets. Costco did the opposite.

At an industry event in New York, Costco’s Mark Williamson laid out the company’s entire advertising infrastructure – from identity partners to clean room providers – in full view of competitors, agencies and brands. The moment made headlines, but the technology itself wasn’t the point.

As Kiri Masters reported for The Drum, the reveal was in service of a much bigger idea: retail media should exist to accelerate merchandise sales, not to operate as a standalone profit center.

So what does that mean for advertisers deciding where to place their commerce media budgets?

This Commerce Media for Drummies guide uses Costco as a practical case study to show what good looks like: clear objectives, transparent measurement and media that acts as fuel on the flame – not the flame itself.

Why Costco matters

When Costco revealed its entire retail media tech stack, it wasn’t showing off. It was making a point.

Every decision ladders back to one objective: selling more merchandise.

Not media profit. Not dashboards. Velocity.

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The hierarchy that changes everything

Costco’s approach flips the usual logic:

Member trust
Sales velocity
Merchant alignment
Media monetization

Media exists to fuel the machine – not distract from it.

What makes this model different

Membership data at the core
Clean rooms used to prove incrementality
Vendor partnerships instead of proprietary sprawl
In-store, onsite and offsite treated as one system

Transparency isn’t a weakness here – it’s a trust strategy.

Why this matters for brands

For advertisers, this approach answers the question that matters most: is my spend growing the category – or just shifting demand?

Costco is explicit about what success looks like. That clarity builds confidence – and unlocks investment.

The buyer’s bottom line

Costco’s advantage isn’t necessarily its tech stack but rather its clarity around it. When commerce media is built to serve sales velocity first, everything else gets simpler: measurement, trust and investment decisions. Buyers don’t need more dashboards; they need partners who know what success actually looks like.

The lesson isn’t to go and copy Costco’s tech stack. It’s this:

Be clear about the objective
Build media to support it
Measure what actually matters

Commerce media works best when it’s fuel on the flame, not the fire itself.