The news: A leaked document reviewed by Adweek sheds light on how The Trade Desk partners with retailers to sell ad placements built on first-party shopper data.

The file, last updated in mid-June, details the cost structures and requirements for 49 retailers worldwide—24 in North America, 15 in EMEA, and 10 in Asia-Pacific.

What costs what: It’s very clear that shopper data pricing and rules are anything but consistent.

• Albertsons charges between 15% and 45% of media costs, capped at $5 CPMs (the cost to reach 1,000 users), depending on the type of audience.
• Best Buy offers lifestyle and purchase-based segments with up to 40% markups, but does not support custom audiences.
• Costco allows custom audiences only, at 40% of media cost capped at $4 CPMs, with a $100,000 minimum for endemic advertisers.
• Walmart, via its own DSP powered by The Trade Desk, charges 20%–30% of media costs capped at $3.50 CPMs, plus additional fees for sales measurement.
• Other players like Walgreens, Kroger, Target, Instacart, CVS, and Home Depot impose their own rules, ranging from creative approval requirements to prohibitions on alcohol or pharmaceutical ads.

Why it matters: The leak provides rare visibility into how much retailers charge for audience access and what limitations advertisers face, highlighting the complexity of buying across different retail partners. For brands, costs are layered—base media prices, retailer data fees, and additional charges for measurement and brand safety.

• The Trade Desk, as the largest independent DSP, sits at the center of retail media’s surge by brokering access to retail audiences across formats like display, mobile, connected TV, and digital out-of-home.