Retail Media Networks in India – How Blinkit, Zepto, and Myntra Ads are Replacing Display Buys

For decades, digital advertising in India meant Google display banners or Meta feed ads, reaching broad audiences projected to be interested. It is losing ground faster. According to imarkinfotech.com, Retail Media Networks are growing at 2x the rate of search advertising spend, and commerce media has surpassed $63.4 billion globally. 

Brands that once split their budget between search and social advertising are now redirecting their money into platforms where people are already shopping. Platforms such as Blinkit, Myntra, and Zepto Online Shopping are reshaping buying and selling behavior. 

According to GrandViewResearch, the Retail Media Network market in India is projected to reach U.S. dollars 3,484.8 million by 2033. A CAGR of 14.4% is expected for the India Retail Media Network from 2026 to 2033. 

In this blog, we will explain what Retail Advertising is and why Ads from retail networks are outperforming digital buys. Keep reading!

Key Insights 

• According to ibef.org, Retail Advertising now accounts for 28% of Amazon India’s platform revenue per month, 31% of Flipkart’s, and 15% of Myntra’s high-margin income, which subsidizes thin retail margins. 
• Retail advertising in India actually works across the three biggest battlegrounds: Quick commerce, fashion, and grocery.
• Myntra Ads and Zepto Online Shopping placements are increasingly out-competing traditional display for brand budgets. 
• As per inc42.com, Quick Commerce Platform delivers 1.5-2x higher ROAS as compared to Meta and Google. With sales conversion rates of 3-8% vs. 1.5-3% typically seen in traditional digital ads. 
• Myntra adds now blends search, display, and time-based bidding into one unified system for fashion brands. As per imarkinfotech, most of the D2C brands are shifting 15-20% of their digital budget into retail media networks. 

What is a Retail Media Network? 

A Retail Media Network is an advertising platform run by retailers themselves, such as Blinkit, Zepto, Myntra, Amazon, and others. It lets brands place ads directly within the shopping journey. 

These platforms let brands place ads directly in their apps and on their websites, often at the point of purchase. It helps to target users already in the purchasing mindset. 

Why Retail Media Network Matters? 

• According to brandquity.economicstimes.com, Retail media expanded nearly tenfold, from $300 million in 2020 to $3.1 billion in 2025. By 2031, the retail segment is projected to grow by $8.1 billion. 
• As per bestmediainfo.com, ad spend in the retail market is expected to reach INR 30,000 crore in 2026, up from approximately INR 24,280 crore in 2025, representing nearly 25% year-on-year growth. 
• Hence, retail media is no longer a side channel. It is completely rewriting India’s ad market structure. For some, the growing share of ad spend is flowing into retail media rather than open web display.
  

How Retail Media is Different from Display Ads?

Traditional display advertising sells attention on someone else’s platform, with a data gap between impressions and purchase. Retail media networks close the gap almost entirely for the following reasons:

1] First-Party Purchase Data

Retail platforms highlight buying history, browsing history, and what has been added to the cart. It is not dependent on cookies or lookalike modeling. Recent transactions make the targeting more precise.

2] Point-of-Purchase Placement

A retail media ad never interrupts a browsing session or any unrelated site. It shows an ad at the moment the customer is purchasing the product. It is like a digital version of premium in-store shelf placement.

3] Closed-Loop Attribution

When advertising and checkout are in one place, then brands can track sales directly and mandate the specific placement. However, traditional display relies on third-party tracking and is constrained by privacy regulations.

With India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act tightening consent requirements around third-party data, first-party retail media has become a valuable comparison point.

How Blinkit and Zepto Online Shopping Ads Are Beating Traditional Display Ads?

• Quick commerce apps have quietly become India’s most intent-rich advertising surface. Urban consumers are no longer opening Blinkit or Zepto only during emergencies. 
• These apps are now embedded in everyday routines such as late-night cravings, forgotten essentials, impulse indulgences, and increasingly planned grocery behavior.
• According to a Datum Intelligence report, Blinkit has increased its lead over Instamart, taking its market share to 70% in the quick-commerce market.
• However, brands typically see a higher return on ad spend with quick-commerce than with traditional platforms, thanks to higher conversion rates. 

Format Options on Quick Commerce

Retail Advertising on Zepto, Blinkit, Myntra, and others follows:

• Sponsored Search Placements: Products bid on keywords inside the app search bar. 
• Category Page Banners: Visibility on high-traffic browsing pages. 
• Premium Homepage Takeovers: It is primarily used during the festive seasons and sales.
  

Myntra Ads – The Fashion Retail Media Playbook

Fashion runs on a different intent cycle than grocery, but Myntra Ads has become just as dominant a retail media network in its category. 

Why Myntra Ads Matter Now More Than Ever?

• Organic visibility on Myntra has been declining as the catalog grows. Brands that refuse to invest in advertising are increasingly pushed to the bottom of search results, regardless of product quality. 
• Myntra search ads and Myntra display ads function as part of a single, unified performance placement. Buyer intent signals and CPC bidding logic work together rather than in separate silos. 

Myntra’s Ad Formats Break Down As:

• Sponsored Products: Individual listings highlights in relevant search results. 
• Sponsored Brands: Brand logo plus a curated product set. 
• Display Ads: Banner placements across high-traffic pages. 
• Homepage and Editorial Placements: Premium visibility during sale events like the End of Reason Sale.
  
  

How Retail Media is Replacing Traditional Display Advertising?

Open web programmatic display is not competing with the Retail Media Network, but it is structurally losing ground to it. 

Retail Media Network is one of the fastest-growing segments in digital advertising. Businesses are shifting budget to this channel due to its closed-loop attribution that directly ties spend to sales. 

Why Businesses are Shifting to Retail Media Network? 

• Proof Over Promise: The advertisement is directly attached to a real, verified purchase, and closed-loop attribution is something nothing else can match. 
• Cookieless By Design: Retail advertising runs on retailers’ own first-party data, so cookie-less advertising never breaks it. 
• Intent Proximity: Retail media reaches shoppers at the moment they are actually shopping, which is closer to purchase than any other marketing channel.

Building 2026 Retail Media Strategy

Businesses don’t need to abandon display entirely, but they need to change the allocation logic.

Step-by-Step Allocation Framework

1. Audit Current Channel Mix: Identify what percentage of budget is still in undifferentiated display.
2. Match Platform to Category: Use Blinkit and Zepto for grocery, FMCG, and impulse categories. Use Myntra and Nykka for fashion and beauty products. 
3. Start with a Test Budget: Brands should start testing quick commerce ads with a budget of around 50,000 to 1 lakh per month per platform. 
4. Fix the Catalog First: Incomplete availability and inconsistent images directly affect visibility and conversion rates. However, underperforming products often struggle because the foundational catalog and visuals were never fixed before ad spend increased. 
5. Scale Based on ROAS, not Impressions: Track sales-linked attribution, not vanity metrics.
   
   

Why Choose UNV Digital – Retail Media Strategy That Ties Spend to Sales 

UNV Digital helps brands navigate the shift from traditional display to closed-room retail media.

With a decade of experience, our team has built performance marketing strategies for premium clients. We understand how to translate that same data-driven rigor into ad campaigns for Blinkit, Zepto, and Myntra.

Whether a business needs a full performance marketing strategy or wants an AI services team model, we bring the same measurement discipline we apply across every channel. 

Are you ready to build Retail Media Strategy across Blinkit, Zepto, Myntra, and beyond? Contact us today or book a 30-minute Retail Media Consultation with us! We will help you build a strategy that actually shows up on the revenue line.

FAQs

• Are Myntra ads only useful for large fashion brands? 

No, Myntra’s sponsored products formats let smaller brands compete for search visibility without a massive budget, though a clean and complete product catalog is essential before scaling the spend.

• How long does it take to see results from a Retail Media Campaign?

Most brands see directional performance data within the first 4 to 6 weeks, though a sale event window like Myntra’s end-of-season sale often produces faster and more visible spikes.

• Does Retail Media replace the need for Meta or Google Ads?

Not entirely. Retail media excels at bottom-of-funnel, high-intent conversions, while Meta and Google Ads still play a role in awareness and consideration. It is better to blend both rather than picking one.