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Ace Hardware’s RedVest Media retail media network, launched a year ago, has influenced more than $100 million in Ace retail sales and signed more than 100 vendors. The vendor-funded program has added social and influencer marketing, weather-triggered advertising and DoorDash storefront ads, with closed-loop purchase measurement built on Ace Rewards data.
Ace Hardware’s RedVest Media retail media network has influenced more than $100 million in Ace retail sales in its first year, and the vendor-funded program is expanding with new advertising capabilities, according to Molly Hjelm, corporate vice president and head of RedVest Media. More than 100 vendors have joined the network since its launch in the fall of 2025, the company said in an interview with Hardware Retailing following the 2026 Ace Fall Convention in Orlando.
RedVest Media gives vendors a centralized way to advertise products across Ace’s digital ecosystem, including Acehardware.com, email and push messaging, and offsite channels such as display, video, connected TV and mobile advertising. The program is funded entirely by participating vendors, which use the network to promote products sold through Ace. Individual Ace retailers do not build campaigns or manage advertising buys; the store-level benefit comes when vendor-funded marketing raises awareness of products available through Ace and converts that interest into purchases at locally owned stores.
The network addresses a structural challenge created by Ace’s cooperative ownership model. A vendor seeking visibility across thousands of independently owned stores previously relied on buying shows, corporate promotional opportunities and individual retailer relationships. RedVest adds a centralized option for reaching identified Ace customers cooperative-wide, using Ace Rewards loyalty data to measure whether customers exposed to advertising went on to purchase the advertised products.
This summer, Ace expanded RedVest’s capabilities following vendor feedback. Additions announced at the network’s inaugural Upfront event in August included social and influencer marketing, weather-triggered programmatic advertising and advertising within Ace’s storefront on DoorDash. The weather capability allows advertising to respond to local conditions such as rainfall or snowfall, promoting products when weather creates a timely household or project need. The DoorDash placement targets customers who had not previously shopped inside an Ace store, including those with immediate needs such as propane or firewood.
What the Expansion Means for Local Stores
For Ace’s roughly 5,300 independently owned stores, the expansion matters because it channels vendor marketing dollars into traffic and awareness without requiring retailers to spend their own advertising budgets or manage campaigns. Hjelm said all retailers benefit from the influx of marketing driven by vendors promoting their products.
The program also gives vendors a way to reach retailers directly. The RetailerReach capability allows eligible vendors to communicate with Ace and Emery Jensen retailers through retailer-facing banners, emails and educational content, potentially increasing store-level distribution of manufacturers’ products. For vendors, the closed-loop measurement built on Ace Rewards data — including return on advertising spend, share of converted customers who are new to a brand, and newly added incrementality measurement for offsite advertising — provides evidence of whether campaigns produce sales that would not have occurred otherwise.
From Chicago Launch to Orlando Milestone
: “Ace introduced RedVest Media to its vendor community at the 2025 Ace Fall Convention in Chicago before formally launching the retail media network days later. The first-year growth to more than 100 participating vendors followed, and the recent milestone was reported after the 2026 Ace Fall Convention in Orlando.
Retail media networks of this kind have become common among large retailers, allowing suppliers to buy advertising that reaches shoppers close to the point of purchase. RedVest adapts the model to a cooperative structure in which stores are locally owned rather than corporate-operated, meaning the advertising must drive business to independent operators rather than a single corporate chain.
“With RedVest, all of our retailers benefit from an influx of marketing, driving awareness and foot traffic to their stores as a result of vendors investing to message their products.”
— Molly Hjelm, corporate vice president and head of RedVest Media
Questions Around the $100 Million Figure
The $100 million in influenced sales is a company-provided figure attributed to Ace, and the methodology behind the number — such as the attribution window or how “influenced” is defined — was not detailed in the report. The claim has not been independently verified.
Hjelm indicated a multi-year growth goal for the network, but the source material was cut off before the specifics of the three-year objective were stated. It is also unclear how many of the $100 million in influenced sales came from the newer capabilities, such as DoorDash and weather-triggered advertising, which were only added in summer 2026. Participation levels among Ace’s full vendor base, and which vendors are eligible for RetailerReach, were not specified.
RedVest’s Roadmap Under Vendor Feedback
Hjelm said RedVest’s expansion will continue to be guided by vendor feedback and by reaching Ace customers where they spend their time. She pointed to a goal spanning the next three years, though specific targets were not fully detailed in the published report.
For Ace retailers and vendors, the near-term developments to watch include adoption of the August-added capabilities — social and influencer marketing, weather-triggered advertising and DoorDash storefront placements — and whether incrementality measurement changes how vendors allocate advertising budgets across Ace’s digital properties. Retailers may also see whether RetailerReach translates into broader store-level product distribution.
Key Questions
What is RedVest Media?
RedVest Media is Ace Hardware’s retail media network, launched in fall 2025. It allows vendors to advertise products across Ace’s digital ecosystem — including Acehardware.com, email, push messaging, offsite display, video, connected TV, mobile, social and DoorDash — with funding provided by the participating vendors.
Do individual Ace store owners have to pay for or manage RedVest campaigns?
No. According to Ace, RedVest is vendor-funded, and there is no campaign to build or advertising buy for individual retailers to manage. Stores benefit when vendor-funded marketing increases awareness of products and drives purchases through local stores.
How does Ace measure whether the advertising works?
RedVest uses Ace Rewards loyalty data for what the industry calls closed-loop measurement, connecting ad exposure to subsequent purchases. Vendors can review return on advertising spend, total sales impact, the share of converted customers new to their brand, and — for offsite advertising — incrementality measurement designed to show sales that likely would not have occurred without the campaign.
What new capabilities were added to RedVest in 2026?
At the network’s inaugural Upfront event in August, Ace added social and influencer marketing, weather-triggered programmatic advertising that responds to local rainfall or snowfall, and advertising within Ace’s storefront on DoorDash.
How much sales has RedVest influenced so far?
Ace says the network has influenced more than $100 million in Ace retail sales in its first year, a company-provided figure with more than 100 vendors participating. The methodology behind the figure has not been independently verified.
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