TJX Wins Without An RMN; Unlearning To Crawl | AdExchanger

"For one, TJX has a few fortuitous tailwinds. Manufacturers over-acquired raw goods earlier this year to stock up for tariff-related price increases. That's ideal for TJX, which buys products cheaply when other companies overproduce. But, also, TJX is not a retail media player whatsoever and cares way more about in-store sales than it does about ecommerce. In-person is simply a more exciting shopping experience, CEO Ernie Herrman told investors during the company's quarterly earnings call last week."

"Other retailers have reshaped their store footprint around ecommerce warehousing and buy-online, pick-up-in-store fulfillment. Stores, in turn, become less appealing, sometimes as a direct result of retail media. Don't Crawl On Me ChatGPT has been providing more referral traffic for some retailers, like Walmart and Target, but Amazon prefers shoppers to purchase from it directly, rather than via ChatGPT. A primary incentive? Ads, of course."

"Amazon's advertising business generates roughly $56 billion a year, according to Modern Retail, and depends on shoppers browsing its site. (People can bypass ads when they're shopping via ChatGPT.) And so, for now, Amazon has been leaning into its own agentic shopping tools instead. Still, Amazon hasn't fully ruled out future partnerships with third-party agents. During the company's most recent earnings call in late October, CEO Andy Jassy said he expects to "find ways to partner" with these companies in the future."

Manufacturers over-acquired raw goods earlier this year to hedge against tariff-related price increases. TJX benefits by buying those excess products cheaply when competitors overproduce. TJX prioritizes in-store sales and treats in-person shopping as a more exciting experience, which draws curious consumers. Other retailers have reshaped stores for ecommerce warehousing and buy-online, pick-up-in-store fulfillment, which can make physical stores less appealing. Retail media and ecommerce-driven store designs can reduce store excitement and customer discovery. Amazon depends on shoppers browsing its site to support an estimated $56 billion advertising business and is emphasizing its own agentic shopping tools while remaining open to future third-party partnerships.

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