Massmart expands retail media offering in South Africa through Criteo partnership

JOHANNESBURG, July 22, 2026 (XOL Africa) — Massmart and commerce intelligence company Criteo announced Wednesday a new retail media partnership aimed at helping brands and marketplace sellers reach consumers more effectively across Massmart’s digital platforms in South Africa.

The collaboration will introduce Sponsored Product Ads and Onsite Display Ads, expanding Massmart’s advertising services with data-driven formats designed to reach consumers at different stages of the purchasing journey.

Massmart, a subsidiary of Walmart, operates more than 280 stores across eight sub-Saharan African countries through brands including Builders, Game, Jumbo Cash & Carry, Makro, Walmart and Shield. The company holds leading market positions in general merchandise, liquor, home improvement and wholesale food.

The expansion into retail media comes as the advertising sector continues to develop new ways for brands to reach consumers directly through retail platforms and digital marketplaces.

“Retail media is an important part of our growth strategy, offering brand advertisers and marketplace sellers meaningful opportunities to engage directly with a broad customer base at our digital points of sale,” said Aidan Johnson, Massmart’s vice president of alternative revenue.

“Strategically collaborating with Criteo gives us access to proven technology and global expertise, enabling us to deliver high-quality onsite advertising experiences that are not only valuable for brands and marketplace sellers, but also highly relevant for shoppers,” Johnson said.

Criteo’s Commerce Yield retail media platform will provide advertisers with a unified system to manage campaigns across Massmart’s website and mobile application.

The Sponsored Product Ads are designed to help advertisers promote products and measure sales performance, while Onsite Display Ads are intended to increase brand visibility and product exposure at key points in the shopping journey.

“Retail media continues to grow globally, with particularly strong momentum in the Middle East and Africa,” said Alex Crowe, Criteo’s managing director of retail media for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

“We are delighted to collaborate with Massmart to build a powerful retail media offering for brands and agencies,” Crowe said.

“Our technology enables precise audience targeting throughout the purchase journey, along with accurate, transparent closed-loop measurement of campaign performance that brands and their agency partners are looking for.”

The advertising solutions are already available on Makro.co.za, Massmart’s flagship e-commerce and marketplace platform. The companies said they are exploring opportunities to expand retail media placements across Massmart’s broader digital ecosystem in the coming months.

Criteo, which trades on the Nasdaq under the symbol CRTO, provides commerce intelligence and advertising technology for brands, agencies, retailers and publishers. The company said its platform draws on commerce data covering more than $1 trillion in annual sales.

Massmart said the partnership is expected to strengthen its ability to provide digital advertising opportunities to brands and marketplace sellers while offering consumers more relevant shopping experiences.