Analyst says retail media is key to Albertsons/Kroger merger

The combination of Albertsons and Kroger’s retail media networks is at the heart of the merger deal between the two supermarket giants, according to Dean Rosenblum, senior research analyst for AllianceBernstein. “Long term, the biggest accelerator for profit growth for Kroger is not grocery. It’s actually retail media and advertising,” said Mr. Rosenblum. “And this deal takes Kroger from 40 percent reach of population in the U.S. to 70 percent. It solidifies them as the heir apparent to this pretty huge revenue stream that will accrue to the grocers, once somebody figures out how to execute it.”