Omni Talk Retail Costco’s Mark Williamson on Building Retail Media the Costco Way | NRF 2026
In this Omni Talk Retail episode, recorded live from NRF 2026 at the Vusion booth, Mark Williamson, AVP of Retail Media at Costco, joins Anne Mezzenga and Chris Walton to discuss how Costco is building its retail media business in a way that stays true to its culture, values, and member-first philosophy.
Mark shares how Costco’s retail media organization has evolved over the past year, including major investments in people, data infrastructure, and foundational capabilities designed to support personalization at scale. Rather than prioritizing short-term monetization, Costco is intentionally building a retail media platform that serves its broader member communication and personalization strategy.
Looking ahead to 2026, Mark outlines upcoming product launches including a new clean room, expanded offsite media measurement, search and shopping integrations, and a rebuilt onsite ad server designed to connect identity, data, and in-warehouse sales outcomes. The discussion closes with a look at how Costco views scan-and-go style experiences, warehouse mode, and the role of the app as a one-to-one personalization channel.
Key Topics covered:
- How Costco’s retail media business has evolved since NRF 2025
- What it means to build retail media “the Costco way”
- Hiring from within and preserving Costco culture at scale
- Why retail media is subordinated to member communication strategy
- The role of AI in delivering personalization across 135 million members
- Why data readiness is the foundation for scalable retail media
- Balancing national brands and Kirkland Signature within retail media
- Clean rooms, offsite measurement, and growing advertiser expectations
- New search, shopping, and onsite ad server capabilities for 2026
- How Costco thinks about scan-and-go, warehouse mode, and the member app
Stay tuned to Omni Talk Retail for continued coverage from NRF 2026, and stop by the Vusion booth #4921 to say hello.
#NRF2026 #Costco #RetailMedia #RetailTechnology #Personalization #RetailAI #OmnichannelRetail #RetailLeadership #OmniTalk
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