Ace Hardware’s Molly Hjelm on bringing the retail back into retail media

For years, retail media networks have raced to prove they could operate like media companies — scaling ad platforms, expanding measurement capabilities and building full-funnel offerings for brands. That’s all well and good, but Ace Hardware wants to make sure it doesn’t lose sight of its core and unique offering.

On this episode of The Big Impression, Molly Hjelm, corporate VP and head of retail media at Ace Hardware, explains why embracing the unique advantages retailers already have — merchant relationships, localized inventory, customer trust and real-world shopping behavior — helps propel the media side of the business.

“It’s really about embracing the retail in retail media,” Hjelm says.

The conversation explores how Ace is building a network across more than 5,200 independently owned stores using hyper-local signals like geography, weather and real-time demand to shape campaigns and drive conversion. Hjelm also discusses why retail media should be deeply integrated across merchandising, operations and e-commerce, and how that philosophy is reshaping everything from measurement to retailer-facing brand campaigns.