The article discusses the growing importance of advertising data in understanding consumer shopping trends and the rise of digital retail media. It highlights how companies like Walmart, Target, and Amazon are leveraging their first-party data to gain insights into consumer behavior and preferences. This data allows them to create targeted advertising campaigns and personalized shopping experiences. The article emphasizes the shift towards digital retail media, where retailers can monetize their data by selling advertising space on their websites and apps. It also explores the challenges of data privacy and the need for transparency in data collection and usage. The key takeaways are: 1) Advertising data is crucial for understanding consumer shopping trends and driving personalized experiences. 2) Digital retail media is a rapidly growing industry, with retailers leveraging their data to sell advertising space. 3) Data privacy and transparency are critical concerns that need to be addressed.