Retail Media Breakfast Club

Retail media has a fragmentation problem. We have better dashboards, better reporting, and better measurement than we did a few years ago. But media buyers are still being asked to navigate an ever-growing number of retail media networks and walled gardens.

In this episode, I look at what’s happening in the UK, where two major retail media aggregation plays launched over the summer: RMX by Plan-Apps from SMG and the dunnhumby network alliance, involving Tesco, B&Q, John Lewis and Waitrose. I also share snippets of a conversation from the Retail Media Therapy podcast with Co-op Me...

After living outside Australia for around 15 years, I’m experiencing retail and shopping here with fresh eyes. And one thing that has really caught my attention is just how much retail media is showing up in the physical world.

In this first Trip Report, I’m taking you on a quick tour of six retail and commerce media activations I spotted around Perth. From Commonwealth Bank and Coles, to JB Hi-Fi, David Jones, Australia Post and digital out-of-home media in shopping centres. This isn’t about declaring one market “better” than another. Instead, I’m looking at what’s happe...

Last Thursday, Ace Hardware took over Wrigley Field in Chicago for the first upfront from Redvest Media, its roughly year-old retail media network. I wasn’t there myself, so I called my friend Tom Limongello, host of The Middlemen Podcast, who was on the ground. I wanted to know what was happening beyond the press releases: who Ace put on stage, what the retailer was really trying to communicate, and what advertisers were saying afterwards.

We dig into what Ace’s executive lineup reveals about the growing integration of retail media with the broader business, why audience inno...

Are retail media networks trying too hard to become media companies? In this episode, I’m sharing a thought-provoking piece from Mike Shields of Next in Media that asks whether the industry’s push toward off-site, full-funnel media is actually the right strategy for most retailers. Plus the tension between putting the “retail” back into retail media and chasing bigger brand budgets through CTV, DSPs and the open web.

I also share some of my own thoughts on where retail media is heading, including the very different economics of on-site versus off-site advertising, why brands are demanding more mea...

Amazon already captures roughly 40% of every dollar spent online in the US, yet it continues to grow at an impressive pace. So I wanted to look at a question we don't hear nearly enough: where does Amazon spend its own advertising money? Because while Amazon gives brands advertising recommendations every day, I think its own media plan may be the more interesting lesson.

In this recap of my recent article for The Drum, I dug into three years of Sensor Tower data to see where Amazon is putting its advertising dollars, which channels are getting the biggest...

Advertising has always been the glamorous side of ecommerce, while product catalog maintenance, reviews, inventory, and other operational work have often been underfunded. But with Amazon’s Sponsored Prompts, that relationship is changing dramatically. This is Part 2 of my Sponsored Prompts series (check out Park 1 here), I’m digging into why your advertising account is now downstream of everything happening in your operations, and why content is no longer just an input to your ads; it is the ad. 

I’m also taking a closer look at product reviews, reporting limitations, bidding, and what Sponsored Prompts could ultimat...

There’s a particular kind of vertigo that comes from watching a podcast you started get better without you. I launched the Ecommerce Braintrust podcast back in 2017, and while I’m no longer running it, I still listen because the team at Acadia is in the trenches every day doing the work.

A recent conversation between my old Acadia colleagues on measurement really got me thinking about a question I hear from brands all the time: if every advertising platform says it’s winning, why don’t the business results reflect that? When Meta, Google, Amazon and retail m...

When Amazon unveiled Sponsored Prompts at Unboxed, I initially dismissed them as a clever but relatively minor addition to Alexa Shopping. But after digging into Andrew Bell's deep analysis of the underlying patent, I realized this format represents something much bigger and potentially far more disruptive.

In this episode, I unpack why Amazon's new AI-powered ad format flips decades of digital advertising on its head by charging advertisers before the persuasive content is even generated! I explore what that means for brands, legal teams, product claims, customer reviews, and the future of retail media. This is Part 1...

What makes one retail media network stand out when so many seem to promise the same thing? In this episode, I explore a fascinating psychology concept called the 'effort heuristic', and explain why it has huge implications for retail media. When buyers can't easily judge technical quality, they look for visible signs that a retailer is investing, innovating, and genuinely building something worthwhile.

I also share why transparency can become a competitive advantage, highlight Costco's retail media strategy as a standout example, and discuss where the line is between showcasing meaningful progress and creating announcement fatigue. If...

I finally did something I'd been meaning to do for a while: I requested the full Amazon Ads Consumer File to see exactly what Amazon knows about me. While I expected a few surprises, what I uncovered wasn't just a look into my own shopping habits. It opened my eyes to how brands that don't even sell on Amazon are increasingly using Amazon's audience data to reach consumers.

In this episode, a recap of my recent article for The Drum, I unpack what I found inside my data export, why companies like airlines, banks, insurers and fast-food...

I've been wrestling with a question that's becoming impossible to ignore: will agentic media buying fundamentally reshape retail media, or even eliminate parts of today's ecosystem? As AI-powered agents begin making more decisions across ad buying, optimization, and measurement, it's worth asking who wins, who loses, and whether the way advertising dollars flow today will look anything like it does a year or two from now.

In this episode, I share highlights from an insightful conversation on the Ad Tech Therapy podcast, where Scott Messer and Jana Meron responded to my question about the future of agentic...

What if ordering lunch sounded like the way many brands buy retail media? That was the inspiration behind my latest comedy skit... but beneath the joke is a serious question about how retail media is changing the way marketers think about growth.

In this episode, I unpack a thoughtful LinkedIn post from Juliana Nodwell, and connect it with several of my past articles about why precision isn't the same as purpose. I explore where retail media truly excels, why brand marketing and retail media serve different jobs, and how confusing the two can actually weaken long-term growth...

We've spent the last year watching retailers race to launch AI shopping assistants, but I think we're asking the wrong question. Instead of obsessing over who has the smartest chatbot, we should be asking: What job are shoppers actually hiring these AI assistants to do?

In this episode, I unpack insights from a fascinating recent conversation on Jason Del Rey's newsletter The Aisle with former Amazon and Walmart product leader Mukesh Jain, explore why "nobody wakes up wanting to chat with a retailer," and explain why the future of AI shopping may have far less...

AI agents are suddenly everywhere in retail media. Platforms, agencies, and retailers are all promising to automate media planning, buying, optimization, and reporting. But how ready are the people actually running these campaigns to hand over the keys?

In this episode, a recap of my recent article for The Drum, I dig into new Skai research on “agentic readiness” among paid media practitioners, including why leadership and practitioners appear to have very different views of how ready their organizations really are. I also look at why retail media should theoretically be a perfect environment for agentic buying, the...

When I launched my first podcast back in 2017, I worried I'd already missed the opportunity. Nine years later, I'm asking a different question altogether: does the format even matter anymore?

In this episode, I dig into what my latest LinkedIn audience poll revealed about how retail media professionals actually consume information. And why, despite the explosion of AI-generated content, newsletters and written analysis remain the preferred format. I also explore what "AI slop" means for creators, marketers, and corporate leaders, and why I believe the real competitive advantage isn't the medium you publish in — it's the quality of...

Today I'm sharing highlights from a lively panel discussion I joined at Cannes, hosted by The CPG Guys and sponsored by Sensor Tower. Alongside fellow retail media analysts Andrew Lipsman, Sarah Marzano and Debbie Aho Williamson, we unpacked some of the industry's biggest debates: from what's really holding retail media networks back to where the next wave of growth is likely to come from.

We didn't agree on everything — and that's exactly what made the conversation so valuable! We explored the future of marketplaces, the opportunities for retailers beyond Amazon and Walmart, and whether AI is already dr...

This week, I'm sharing snippets of a conversation from The Watson Weekly, one of my favorite podcasts, where host Rick Watson sat down with Holden Bale, Global Chief Strategy Officer at Merkle. One statistic mentioned completely stopped me in my tracks: 11% of consumers believe they've already purchased products directly through AI assistants like ChatGPT and Gemini. Even though, in most cases, that simply isn't possible.

What fascinated me wasn't that consumers are wrong: it's why they're wrong. We explore what this tells us about the future of AI-powered shopping, why perception may matter more than transaction data...

I recently joined Wendy Liebmann on the Future Shop podcast for a conversation about one of the biggest questions facing retail today: what happens to retail media as AI changes the way people shop?

In this episode, I share snippets from my chat with Wendy and explore why the current retail media model may be heading for a major shift, how AI-powered shopping assistants could dramatically reduce ad inventory, and why retailers shouldn't panic. We also dig into what will continue to differentiate successful retailers in an AI-first world i.e. why customer experience, convenience, and unique...

What if the biggest mistake a retail media network can make is trying to copy Amazon?

In today's episode, a recap of my recent article for The Drum, I unpack a fascinating conversation I had with Dave Young, GM of Retail Media at Dick's Sporting Goods. Dave has intentionally moved away from the term retail media network in favor of something much more reflective of what they're actually building: a commerce-enabled sports network. I explore why that distinction matters, why differentiation has become essential for specialty retailers, and what Dick's unique approach could signal for the future...

After taking a few weeks completely offline, I'm back! And surprisingly, being out of the loop has been one of the best things I could have done. In this episode, I share why disconnecting from retail media, AI headlines, LinkedIn, and industry news gave me a fresh perspective on both my work and the consumers we're all trying to serve.

I also give you a personal update on my family's move back to Australia, what's ahead for Retail Media Breakfast Club this season, the projects I'm most excited about, and why I'm doubling down on what's already...

Every year, Cannes Lions promises to bring the advertising world together. But if you work in retail media, you've probably noticed that our corner of the industry heads home long before the festival's biggest creative awards are handed out. After hosting an invite-only breakfast with Mirakl Ads on Thursday morning, I wanted to share the conversations that stuck with me before everyone scattered back home.

In this episode, I unpack why the gap between commerce and creativity still exists, where I saw genuine progress this year, and why in-store retail media, measurement, and creative storytelling dominated the...

Fresh from Cannes Lions, I'm unpacking one of the biggest themes that kept surfacing across analyst discussions: retail media's greatest obstacles aren't external — they're internal. While everyone is focused on AI, tariffs, and the next wave of disruption, the conversations I heard pointed somewhere much closer to home. Misaligned organizations, inconsistent measurement, and teams speaking the same language but meaning completely different things may be holding retail media back more than any emerging technology.

I also share highlights from an analyst panel featuring Sarah Marzano, Andrew Lipsman, Debbie Aho Williamson and myself. We debated "dark search," AI-assisted sh...

When I sat down with Harvey Ma at Cannes Lions this week, I wanted to understand what was really happening behind Walmart’s announcement that it was bringing Walmart Connect, Walmart Connect International, and Sam’s Club’s retail media business into closer alignment. On the surface, it looks like a straightforward consolidation storY. But as Harvey explained, the reality is much more nuanced.

In this episode, I unpack what the new Sam’s Club Connect brand means for advertisers, how Walmart and Sam’s Club plan to share technology and measurement capabilities, and why maintaining distinct shopper ex...

I’m coming to you once again from Cannes, this time from the PayPal Ads Café on the Croisette. It’s been a whirlwind few days here, not just in terms of meetings and panels, but also the unexpected number of conversations I’m having about my upcoming move from the U.S. back to Australia. Let’s just say the global retail media community has opinions.

In today’s dispatch, I’m sharing early signals from Cannes around agentic media buying, retail data infrastructure, and the evolving intersection of creators and retail media. From Walmart’s latest moves wi...

Reporting from Cannes Lions, I sat down with Dr. Mark Grether, SVP & General Manager at PayPal Ads, to explore a different perspective on retail media, one that cuts through the constant stream of announcements and focuses on solving real advertiser challenges. We discussed why PayPal is choosing not to chase the latest product launch headlines and instead is doubling down on helping the market understand the unique advantages of its existing capabilities.

We also dug into one of the industry's most debated topics: shoppable ads. Why have so many shoppable ad initiatives struggled in the past? What...

This week I’m at the 2026 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity wrapping up the final week of this season of Retail Media Breakfast Club. I also share some personal news: after Cannes, I’m taking a much-needed break to recharge, spend time with family in Europe, and prepare for a big move back to my hometown of Perth in Western Australia after 16 years living on and off in the US.

But don’t worry, the show isn’t going anywhere! I’ll be back in late July with more retail media insights, conversations, and chaos (in the best w...

Retail media is splitting into two distinct camps: retailers that see media as an extension of their core business, and those that see themselves as media companies first. In this episode, I unpack that debate through the lens of my conversation with Frank Mulcahy, Head of Chewy Ads, whose perspective challenges some of the industry's most entrenched assumptions.

Drawing on insights from my recent Drum column, we explore why transparency has become one of the most important battlegrounds in retail media. Frank argues that many retail media networks are holding onto first-party data too tightly, and that...

Everyone wants the upside of AI, agentic commerce, autonomous shopping agents, and LLM-powered product discovery. But there’s a problem: none of it works without clean, structured product data. In this episode, I’m joined once again by Anne Hallock, VP Americas at Mirakl Ads, to unpack the final installment in our “Retail Media Demons” series: The Shortcut Demon.

We explore why so many retailers are rushing to announce AI partnerships without addressing the foundational work required to make those initiatives successful. Anne shares practical examples of how product attributes, catalog quality, and organizational alignment directly impact a retail...

Creators and retail media are two of the hottest topics in commerce media right now, and everywhere I turn, I hear that they're converging into a massive opportunity. But the more I listened, the more questions I had. Where does creator-led retail media actually begin and end? Who pays for it? Who measures it? And perhaps most importantly: is this really something new, or is it simply another form of advertising wrapped in fresh packaging?

In this episode, I unpack the growing intersection between creators and retail media networks. Drawing on insights from a recent Inmar Retail...

In this episode, I reflect on a panel I joined at Mirakl’s Annual Outpace Summit in New York, where a World Cup analogy sparked a bigger realization about what it really takes for marketplaces to win. It’s not enough to “qualify” by launching a marketplace: you only start unlocking real enterprise value when you understand how to monetize the audience you’ve built.

I break down why marketplaces and retail media networks aren’t separate strategies, but a single flywheel. From Lowe’s marketplace evolution to the rise of seller-funded advertising demand, I explore how assortment dri...

Recent;u, I made the case that retail media is far more than a tax on brands or a rounding error disguised as a marketing channel. I still firmly believe that. But believing in the opportunity doesn't mean believing every retail media network will succeed.

In this episode, I unpack a sobering reality facing the industry: while retail media continues to grow, the vast majority of that growth is flowing to a handful of dominant players. Drawing on a recent IAB white paper, I break down the six strategic paths available to commerce media networks, and explain...

Today we continue our series on the biggest threats facing retail media by tackling what I call the “Silo Demon.” Joined by Anne Hallock, VP Americas at Mirakl Ads, we explore why one of the greatest challenges facing retail media networks today isn’t external disruption: it’s organizational structure.

Anne and I discuss how retail media teams have evolved far beyond ad sales, often becoming the most technologically advanced and data-driven part of a retailer’s business. We unpack why retail media leaders are increasingly being asked to take on broader responsibilities across marketing, technology, customer data, and...

For years, we've debated where retail media belongs. Is it part of search? Is search part of retail media? In this episode, I revisit a question I posed 18 months ago after a thought-provoking essay from Hershey's Vinny Rinaldi helped clarify what I was missing.

I explore why retail media continues to be funded, measured, and evaluated differently from other media channels, and why that may have less to do with capabilities, and more to do with organizational structures and inherited expectations. I unpack the growing conversation around demand creation versus demand capture, the role of budget ownership...

Last week, I facilitated a closed-door workshop with brand leaders, retailers, agencies, and technology partners at the P2PI Retail Media Summit in Chicago. While much of the conversation centered on AI's impact on retail media and shopping behavior, what surprised me most wasn't panic: it was curiosity. Despite all the headlines about disruption, most brands aren't seeing dramatic changes in ad performance or sales outcomes just yet.

What is changing, however, is where shopping journeys begin. In this episode, I unpack the emerging signals brands are seeing as consumers increasingly turn to AI assistants, communities, and...

At Advertising Week New York, I had a surprising encounter that perfectly captured a growing sentiment in the advertising industry: that retail media is nothing more than a tax on brands. It’s a criticism I’ve heard more than once, and one that raises some important questions about where the industry stands today.

In this episode, I unpack the strongest arguments both for and against retail media’s future. Drawing on insights from leading industry voices, I explore whether retail media’s reputation problem is justified, why Amazon’s dominance continues to shape perceptions, and what could happ...

Retail media has spent years chasing top-line revenue growth, but what happens when growth alone is no longer enough? In this episode, I’m joined by Anne Hallock, VP Americas at Mirakl Ads, to kick off our three-part series, The Demons Inside Retail Media. Together, we unpack the first and perhaps most pressing challenge facing the industry today: the growth demon.

We explore why retailers are beginning to scrutinize retail media profitability, how internal pressures are reshaping expectations for retail media networks, and why driving the broader retail business — not just ad revenue — has become the new benchm...

I recently noticed something strange while selling items on Facebook Marketplace: automated buyers sending automated messages, met by my own automated seller responses. It got me thinking about a much bigger trend happening in retail media right now.

In this episode, I unpack the rapid rise of objective-based, AI-driven retail media buying and share the results of a LinkedIn poll I ran to find out what advertisers really think about handing campaign decisions over to algorithms. While automation promises efficiency, many marketers are raising important questions about transparency, control, incrementality, and long-term brand building. Are we removing...

In this episode, I’m pulling back the curtain on what it’s actually like being on the receiving end of PR pitches in the retail media industry, and why most of them completely miss the mark. Inspired by a standout interaction with LoyaltyLion and PR pro Francesca Baker Brooker, I unpack what separates relationship-building from transactional pitching, and why “spilling some tea” is often the difference between getting ignored and becoming a trusted source.

I also dive into how influence in media is shifting away from traditional gatekeepers toward niche newsletters, podcasts, LinkedIn creators, and independent analysts...

In this episode, I unpack one of the clearest real-world examples yet of how AI shopping is reshaping retail strategy. Ashley Furniture is officially experimenting with transactional commerce inside Perplexity, and their approach reveals how major retailers are thinking about AI discovery, customer behavior, and the future of shopping experiences.

I break down key insights from Ashley Furniture’s SVP of E-commerce and Marketing, Nick Lezin, shared on an episode of Total Retail Talks, including why AI referral traffic matters even when it’s still small, why “content hygiene” suddenly became mission-critical, and how AI shopping is creating...

Amazon has always operated in contradictions. And in this episode, I dissect comments made on Christine Russo's What Just Happened podcast made by Justin Honaman, AWS's global head of retail, consumer goods, and restaurants, to unpack one of the biggest contradictions emerging in the AI commerce era. 

On one hand, Amazon is encouraging retailers and brands to embrace “off-site search” and make themselves discoverable through AI agents like ChatGPT and Perplexity. On the other hand, Amazon is actively blocking outside shopping agents from accessing its own ecosystem while simultaneously sending its own Buy For Me agent onto every...