Can Amazon Be Luxurious?; The Declaration Of Dependence
Recorded: Jan. 21, 2026, 9:03 a.m.
| Original | Summarized |
Can Amazon Be Luxurious?; The Declaration Of Dependence | AdExchanger
image/svg+xml:
Topics Opinion About Us Events Podcasts NEW! Programmatic AI 2026 Become an AdHero Subscribe Sign In
Sign In Topics
Home Daily News Roundup Can Amazon Be Luxurious?; The Declaration Of Dependence
Daily News Roundup Wednesday, January 21st, 2026 – 12:03 am
Walmart, for example, finally secured the right to sell Nespresso’s nearly $1,700 espresso machine, The Wall Street Journal reports. And AdExchanger also recently wrote about Walmart’s expansion up-market into more humble categories, toothbrushes.
Next In Daily News Roundup OpenAI Opens The Box; And BBC Opens Up To YouTube Ads
Related Stories Daily News Roundup retail media Daily News Roundup Daily News Roundup Must Read Publishers Gamera, a media quality measurement startup for publishers, announced on Tuesday it raised $1.6 million to promote its service that combines data about a site’s ad experience with data about how its ads perform. AI Ad industry experts call out trends to watch in 2026 and separate the real AI use cases having an impact today from the AI hype they heard at CES. Commerce Fraud is eating into retail profits. A new startup called Pinch AI just launched with $5 million in funding to fight back. Commerce On Wednesday, retail and CPG data company SPINS added a new piece with its acquisition of MikMak, a click-to-buy ad tech and analytics startup that helps optimize their commerce media. Marketers Believe it or not, car oil change service company Valvoline is in the midst of a fascinating retail marketing transformation. PODCAST: The Big Story Agents, streamers and robots, oh my! Live from the C-Space campus at the Aria Casino in Las Vegas, our team breaks down the most interesting ad tech trends we saw at CES this year.
Popular AI Ad industry experts call out trends to watch in 2026 and separate the real AI use cases having an impact today from the AI hype they heard at CES. CTV Roundup Returning to the news desk after a year away from CTV beat reporting is like discovering a time capsule with the industry’s core dilemmas. One thing that has changed, however, is the CTV industry’s infatuation with agentic AI. Commerce Retail’s Big Show, the annual NRF event in New York City, was big on agentic commerce, unsurprisingly, as well as influencer and creator marketing, which was an eye-opener. Marketers Linkby, which connects brands with publisher content that advertisers pay for based on reader engagement, announced its $15 million Series B on Tuesday. Publishers Gamera, a media quality measurement startup for publishers, announced on Tuesday it raised $1.6 million to promote its service that combines data about a site’s ad experience with data about how its ads perform.
Join the AdExchanger Community Your trusted source for in-depth programmatic news, views, education and events. NEXT EVENT
ABOUT ADEXCHANGER CONNECT
© 2026 Access Intelligence, LLC - All Rights Reserved |
The Declaration of Dependence: A Luxury Paradox The digital landscape presents a peculiar contradiction when it comes to luxury. While the internet’s power as a commercial engine is undeniable, the realm of luxury itself remains stubbornly resistant to that dynamism. Over the past several years, the relentless pressure exerted by fast-fashion and discount marketplaces like Temu, Shein, and Amazon has dramatically reduced the cost of goods, creating a significant tension within the luxury sector. This has prompted major retailers to actively seek ways to imbue products with a sense of premium quality, aiming to appeal to higher-earning segments of the population and compete more effectively with Amazon. Walmart’s recent securing of the right to sell Nespresso’s $1,700 espresso machine exemplifies this strategy. Similarly, AdExchanger has reported on Walmart’s broader expansion into more upscale categories, including toothbrushes. Amazon, meanwhile, strategically entered luxury through a $475 million investment in Saks in 2024, following a decade-long partnership. However, this venture quickly soured when Saks filed for bankruptcy, leading Amazon to allege a breach of contract. Saks, in turn, claims luxury brands refused to list their products on the “Saks on Amazon” storefront. The core issue here is perception. The presence of Amazon or Walmart inevitably diminishes a brand’s exclusivity – a cornerstone of luxury – particularly when these platforms penalize sellers offering differing prices elsewhere. It seems as if Amazon is inherently a cheapening force when it comes to luxury brands. Beyond retail, the concept of “being indie” remains a key tenet for brands seeking to maintain their luxury relevance. Tombras' acquisition of Opinionated, a smaller boutique ad agency, highlights this trend. Tombras' ambition to become the world’s largest independent agency underlines this desire. This move positions Tombras closer to West Coast clients and creative talent, aiming to capture human actors – for now. Independent agencies historically championed their smaller size as an advantage over "holdco" agencies, hampered by siloed teams and slower reaction times. However, as they face increased competition – particularly from large organizations like OMG/IPG – indie agencies are increasingly resorting to consolidation. Tombras, with its $1 billion in annual media spend, plans further expansion, noting the necessity of a presence in Europe and Asia (already establishing a footprint in South America). The key question now is whether indie agencies can retain their edge as they scale. The ongoing conversation surrounding artificial intelligence at events like the World Economic Forum in Davos reflects a broader anxiety. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s assertion that AI must reach beyond wealthy nations to be truly transformative underscores this concern. However, as The New York Times pointed out last summer, many developing countries lack the resources required for AI computing power at scale, a factor compounded by the hotter climates that require more maintenance. These nations would likely rely on the US and Chinese tech companies dominating the AI landscape. The economics of current market access – subscription-based fees – makes this even more difficult. Furthermore, Nadella’s emphasis on continuous investment in AI innovation acknowledges a key challenge: current AI investments are growing faster than real-world adoption or evidence of a viable path forward for global AI startups. Several recent developments further illuminate this landscape. OpenAI is considering licensing deals as a revenue stream, aside from advertising, while Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff calls for AI regulation, citing concerns about “suicide coaches.” Agentic AI poses significant cybersecurity risks, according to Meredith Whittaker of Signal Foundation. Microsoft plans to show ads to Xbox Cloud Gaming users who have purchased Xbox games digitally but don’t subscribe to Game Pass. Sony is spinning off its TV hardware business into a joint venture with TCL, and Netflix is pivoting to an all-cash acquisition of Warner Bros. Additionally, Pinterest’s recent hires – Lee Brown and Claudine Cheever – reinforce the importance of attracting creative talent. Comcast’s David Shaw, Snap’s former head of revenue and product partnership for EMEA, is leading global expansion for Universal Ads, and Andréa Mallard, Pinterest’s former CMO, is now Microsoft AI’s chief marketer. |