One of Chewy’s biggest growth engines is its burgeoning retail media network.Chewy Ads, launched in May 2023, has doubled the number of advertisers and campaigns on the platform from 2025 to 2026. So far, one in every three clicks on an ad results in a sale, the company says. About half of engaged shoppers are seeing new-to-them brands.
“Chewy wants to sell more pet food to our pet parents. Purina wants to sell more pet food to our pet parents. How can we truly work together and build a platform that serves both?” said Chewy’s head of ads, Frank Mulcahy. “To be able to have come from where we were starting off in 2022, to where we are now in mid-2026 … is the thing that I think we’re proudest of.”
Chewy doesn’t share how much its retail media business has generated in terms of dollars. But company executives said on its latest earnings call that sponsored ads growth was the main driver of gross margin improvement for fiscal year 2025, which was 29.8% over the prior year. Like other retail media networks, Chewy Ads runs sponsored products, brands and video sections, as well as co-branded marketing displays and content sponsorships. Offsite, Chewy Ads can be used across Meta, TikTok and Google, and it’s piloting connected TV options.
