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Ace Hardware’s RedVest Media network has influenced more than $100 million in Ace retail sales in its first year, according to the report. More than 100 vendors have joined, and recent additions include social and influencer marketing, weather-triggered ads and advertising on DoorDash.
Ace Hardware’s year-old RedVest Media network has influenced more than $100 million in Ace retail sales, according to the report, as the cooperative adds advertising channels and measurement tools for participating vendors. More than 100 vendors have joined the program, which uses Ace’s digital channels and Rewards data to connect advertising exposure with customer purchases.
Ace introduced RedVest to its vendor community at the 2025 Ace Fall Convention in Chicago and formally launched the network days later. The update follows the 2026 convention in Orlando and a recent expansion of the program. In an interview with Hardware Retailing, Molly Hjelm, Ace’s corporate vice president and head of RedVest Media, described its growth and the options now available to advertisers.
Participating vendors fund campaigns to promote products sold through Ace. Ads can appear on Acehardware.com, email and push messaging, as well as offsite display, video, connected TV and mobile advertising. Hjelm said the network gives brands a centralized way to communicate with Ace customers across a cooperative of thousands of independently owned stores. Individual retailers do not have to build RedVest campaigns or manage advertising buys.
New capabilities announced at RedVest’s inaugural Upfront event in August include social and influencer marketing, ads triggered by local weather, and advertising in Ace’s DoorDash storefront. Weather-based placements can respond to conditions such as rain or snow. DoorDash offers another route to shoppers ordering Ace products for immediate needs, including propane or firewood. RedVest also offers RetailerReach, through which eligible vendors can send banners, emails and educational content to Ace and Emery Jensen retailers.
How RedVest Reaches Ace Shoppers
RedVest offers vendors a centralized route into Ace’s digital ecosystem and, potentially, shoppers at its locally owned stores. Ace’s cooperative structure can make it challenging for a brand to reach retailers across the network through individual relationships and promotional opportunities. Hjelm described the network as a way to reach Ace customers at scale.
For retailers, the expected benefit comes when vendor-funded promotions raise awareness of products stocked by Ace and help convert interest into purchases. The reported $100 million in influenced sales signals the scale the network says it has reached, though the figure alone does not establish how much sales growth the ads caused. RedVest’s newer incrementality measurement is intended to help assess whether offsite advertising generated sales that might not otherwise have occurred.
The expanded formats also let vendors tailor campaigns to particular circumstances: weather-related needs, new product awareness, online shopping or retailer education. Whether each option produces measurable sales depends on campaign results, which can vary by product, audience and placement.
A Vendor Network in Its First Year
Ace presented RedVest to vendors at its fall convention in 2025, then launched the network shortly afterward. Its model combines vendor-funded advertising with information from Ace Rewards, Ace’s loyalty program. That data can link exposure to an ad with a later purchase by a customer.
Hjelm said RedVest provides vendors and Ace with real-time reporting on sales by customers exposed to media. The network has added measures including return on advertising spend, total sales impact, the share of converted customers new to a brand, and comparisons among products, placements and creative approaches. The report says incrementality measurement has also been added for offsite advertising.
The network serves two audiences within the cooperative. Consumer-facing ads promote products to shoppers, while RetailerReach gives eligible vendors a channel for product information aimed at Ace and Emery Jensen retailers. The report says RedVest’s capabilities were expanded this summer following feedback from participating vendors.
““Our Ace Rewards loyalty program is at the heart of our ability to connect the dots between advertising exposure and purchase.””
— Molly Hjelm, Ace corporate vice president and head of RedVest Media
What the Sales Figure Shows
The report says RedVest has influenced more than $100 million in Ace retail sales, but the material does not specify the measurement period, calculation method or share of those sales considered incremental. The distinction matters: a purchase made after an ad exposure does not, by itself, show that the advertising caused the purchase. Ace says its incrementality measurement is designed to assess that question for offsite campaigns.
The source material also does not give a breakdown of results by vendor, ad format, store or campaign, or say how much revenue individual retailers have gained. It describes the network’s capabilities and reported reach, but does not provide independent verification of the sales figure or a comparison with other advertising programs.
Hjelm said Ace plans to keep expanding RedVest based on vendor feedback and where customers spend time. The source’s account of her three-year goal ends mid-sentence, so the specific target is not available.
RedVest’s Next Growth Measures
Ace says vendor feedback and customer media habits will guide further expansion. The next useful indicators will be how many vendors continue to participate, how advertisers use the new placements, and what reporting shows about sales lift and incrementality. The source identifies a three-year goal for RedVest but does not provide its full wording or a numerical target.
Retailers and vendors may also look for results that separate overall sales associated with campaigns from additional sales attributed to advertising. Ace’s reporting tools are intended to support those evaluations, though the available report does not include campaign-level findings or a timeline for future announcements.
Key Questions
What is Ace Hardware’s RedVest Media?
RedVest Media is Ace’s vendor-funded retail media network. It lets participating brands advertise products through Ace channels and use Ace Rewards data to assess customer purchases after ad exposure.
How many sales has RedVest influenced?
The report says the network has influenced more than $100 million in Ace retail sales during its first year. It does not specify the exact measurement period or how much of that amount was incremental sales caused by ads.
Which advertising options were recently added?
Recent additions include social and influencer marketing, weather-triggered programmatic advertising, and placements in Ace’s DoorDash storefront. RedVest also offers retailer-facing messages through its RetailerReach capability.
Do Ace retailers have to manage RedVest campaigns?
No campaign management is required from individual stores under the model described in the report. Vendors fund the advertising, while stores may benefit if promotions increase awareness and purchases of products sold through Ace.
Can RedVest show whether an ad caused a purchase?
Ace Rewards data can connect ad exposure with a later purchase. RedVest has also added incrementality measurement for offsite ads, designed to estimate whether campaigns generated additional sales. The report does not provide independent campaign results validating those estimates.
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