Kevel Integrates With Adobe to Enable Real-Time Retail Media Activation
Kevel has launched a native Adobe Experience Platform (AEP) Destination that enables retailers, marketplaces, and commerce media platforms to activate first-party audience data in real time for retail media campaigns.
The new integration creates a direct streaming connection between Adobe Experience Platform and Kevel’s ad server infrastructure, allowing customer segments to update instantly at the point of ad decisioning. The company says the move eliminates data lag between CDP insights and campaign execution, a longstanding challenge for retail media networks.
Eliminating Data Silos in Retail Media
Retail media networks often collect high-value customer intelligence within Customer Data Platforms, but those insights are not always reflected immediately in advertising systems. Segment updates frequently rely on batch processing or manual workflows, limiting their responsiveness.
Kevel’s AEP Destination is built natively within the Adobe Experience Platform interface and leverages Adobe’s streaming architecture to push real-time segment updates directly into Kevel’s ad server.
“Kevel has always provided the infrastructure to power sophisticated retail media networks,” said Dylan Hulser, VP of Retail Media at Kevel. “What we’re doing now is removing friction, making it easier for retailers to activate the data they already have in real time. The Adobe Experience Platform destination is another unlock that helps our customers launch faster, move quicker, and scale revenue with confidence.”
According to Kevel, the integration allows retailers to:
- Stream near real-time customer segment updates into ad campaigns
- Activate audiences without custom development work
- Maintain consistent targeting across web, app, and loyalty environments
- Protect advertiser delivery if audience configurations change
The company says these capabilities help retailers respond more quickly to advertiser demand and shifting market conditions.
Real-Time Activation and Time-to-Revenue
Retail media has been one of the fastest-growing segments of digital advertising, but networks face increasing pressure from brands and agencies to deliver measurable performance and operational efficiency.
Kevel’s CEO and Founder James Avery said real-time activation is becoming a competitive requirement.
“As retail media continues its explosive growth, the winners will be those who can act on customer signals in real-time,” Avery said. “This integration represents the future of first-party activation where data doesn’t just inform strategy, it drives immediate action and measurable outcomes at the point of ad decisioning.”
By connecting Adobe Experience Platform directly to Kevel’s ad serving infrastructure, the company says retailers can shorten the time between audience insight and monetization.
Expanding Kevel’s Retail Media Cloud
The Adobe Experience Platform destination expands Kevel’s Retail Media Cloud®, which the company positions as API-first infrastructure for retailers building their own media networks.
Over the past year, Kevel has expanded its retail media capabilities. In 2025, the company acquired Nexta to strengthen its global retail media infrastructure footprint. It later launched the AI-powered Kevel Console to streamline campaign management and optimization.
The new AEP integration adds real-time CDP activation to that stack, positioning Kevel as both an ad serving and data activation platform within the retail media ecosystem.
For retailers already using Adobe Experience Platform, the native destination reduces integration complexity while enabling faster campaign execution.
As retail media networks continue to scale, infrastructure providers are increasingly competing on speed, data integration, and advertiser performance. Kevel’s latest move reflects a broader industry shift toward real-time first-party activation as a core requirement for retail media monetization.
