Retail Media Reaches 30 Billion Euros: Why Brands Must Act Strategically Now
Retail media is changing marketing at its core. Not gradually, not at the margins – but fundamentally. Colin Lewis, consultant for retail media strategies and Chair of the Retail Media Awards, puts it clearly: anyone who still believes today that retail media is a niche topic is overlooking a 30-billion-euro market that, within a few years, will bring together almost as much advertising budget as all television worldwide. This article summarizes the central insights from his presentation at the Grassfish Summit 2026 – for everyone working on the brand or retail side who wants to understand where the journey is heading.
What is retail media really?
Retail media begins with a single foundation: the retailer’s first-party data. Loyalty card data, online data and brick-and-mortar sales data make it possible to understand the shopper and their purchase journey. Lewis formulates it clearly: without first-party data, it is not retail media – it is shopper marketing.
On the basis of this data, three delivery levels are created:
• Onsite – advertising on the retailer’s digital channels
• Offsite – delivery on external platforms, supported by retailer data
• In-store – advertising at the point of sale, via screens and other touchpoints
Anyone who visits retail media conferences mainly hears about onsite formats. But Lewis emphasizes: in-store is the fastest-growing area within retail media – and requires a fundamentally different way of thinking.
The market is growing – and the numbers speak for themselves
Already today, every fifth euro of marketing budget in Europe flows into retail media. By 2028, the market is expected to grow to 30 billion euros. Lewis gives a concrete example: a single brand – which he does not name – spends 60 million euros on retail media in only two European countries. “60 million,” he repeats in the presentation, to underline the dimension.
Health & beauty and personal care brands in particular are investing intensively: up to 30 percent of their marketing budget flows into retail media. Even in categories such as food & beverage or home care, the share is still around 10 percent.
What brands are doing – and how far they really are
Lewis describes a so-called maturity spectrum: a maturity model that shows how differently advanced brands are in their retail media strategy. On one side are brands that are enthusiastic but have not yet built any structures. Beverage brands such as Coca-Cola, for example, have hardly gathered e-commerce experience and therefore entered late. (Note: measured against what we see in Austria, this is not entirely correct; perhaps on a global level.) In the middle are brands that are already using budgets, building teams and establishing centers of excellence. On the advanced side are brands that strategically interlink onsite, offsite and in-store, have set up expert teams in individual markets and pursue a clear go-to-market model.
What is striking: the most advanced brands almost without exception come from the health & beauty segment. Lewis explains this with higher price points, higher margins and years of experience in the USA and Asia – markets in which a large part of digital advertising already is retail media.
As a shining example, Lewis cites Unilever. In the interview, the company named the following goal: “We want to build, test and scale leading media and data capabilities in order to deliver unforgettable content to the right shoppers at the right time, in the right place, with the right measurement.” The term “new to category” – that is, gaining new buyers for a category – is particularly central here. Because the overarching goal of all brands is: gain new customers, increase brand penetration.
Lewis also interviewed Diageo – known for Johnnie Walker and Guinness. Its vision: “The data will improve our consumer experience.” Not retail media as an end in itself, but as a lever for better customer experiences – that is the perspective of advanced brands.
In-store: the underestimated channel with the greatest potential
Lewis observes: all in-store media are developing into retail media. Every touchpoint in the store becomes a data-driven advertising channel. The principle is: “In-store reaches shoppers in an environment with high visibility, high attention and high purchase intent.”
For many brand managers, this is not yet self-evident. They buy through agencies, and these agencies often have not yet fully grasped the technological possibilities of modern in-store screens. Lewis names three dimensions that are developing rapidly: inventory, technology and creative possibilities.
The CFO of Procter & Gamble also underlines the importance of brick-and-mortar retail: “I believe that many decisions are made in the store – and that the influence of the point of sale is always stronger than one expects.” Especially in economically difficult times, brands will increasingly invest in in-store measures because that is where conversion happens.
A comparison Lewis draws: Europe is far ahead of the USA when it comes to in-store usage. American industry representatives come to Europe and are amazed at how far implementation has already progressed here. So anyone consuming retail media content from the USA should keep in mind: there, Amazon and Walmart e-commerce dominate – in-store plays a subordinate role.
The shopper funnel and the power of shopper missions
Brands think in funnels: awareness, consideration, conversion. Retail media today serves all three stages – onsite, offsite and in-store. Lewis shows how in-store screens fulfil different goals depending on their placement:
• Entrance area and shop windows – build brand awareness, storytelling, lifestyle messages
• Aisle area and shelf environment – promote consideration, influence shopper decisions, context-relevant content
• Directly at the shelf – trigger conversion, communicate product-related messages, create purchase impulses
As an example of successful consideration communication, Lewis names an award-winning campaign by Nestlé with the British retailer Co-op: KitKat content was played out in real time via screens in the store and linked with an interactive mechanism. Content can be controlled depending on time of day or weather – but Lewis observes: only very few brands are already actively using these possibilities.
In addition, brands think in shopper missions: is someone buying for an emergency, for lunch, for the weekly shop or for impulse reasons? Whoever knows the mission can align content, products and calls to action specifically with it.
The biggest mistakes
Lewis describes the organizational challenge: in many brand companies, trade team, brand marketing, shopper marketing and digital marketing exist side by side – without talking to each other. Retail media touches all these areas at the same time. The result: silos, misunderstandings, wasted budgets. Lewis reports from a meeting in Australia at which shopper marketing and brand marketing teams had to introduce themselves to each other because they had simply never met before.
The three most common mistakes in dealing with retail media:
• Retail media is viewed exclusively as a performance channel in the lower funnel.
• There are no briefings – campaigns arise from phone calls instead of structured assignments.
• Nobody carries responsibility – neither on the brand side nor on the retailer side.
Lewis recommends: define clear ownership, demand briefings, set goals – regardless of whether one works on the brand side or on the retail side.
The future: connected experiences, AI and creator content
Lewis sees three development lines that will shape retail media in the coming years.
Connected consumer experiences: onsite, offsite and in-store grow together into an integrated experience. Brands like Diageo already no longer think in channels, but in customer experiences.
Generative AI: Lewis names a concrete use case: a brand plays out content in 500 stores, divided into five regional groups, with different messages at different times of day and shopper missions. Without AI, producing the necessary creatives simply would not be financially viable. With generative AI, creatives can be A/B tested, adapted to brand guidelines and automatically generated for different contexts. Lewis: “That is the best use case of all – the brand wins, the retailer wins, the shopper wins.”
Creator and influencer content: Unilever plans to use 50 percent of its total marketing budget for influencer content. Lewis asks the question: why do we not use TikTok content on screens in the store? Short, attention-grabbing clips – without sound, with text – can tell stories in ten seconds. Lewis refers to his own experience: when he was responsible for 20 million per year exclusively for TV advertising, not a single spot was longer than ten seconds. “The creative has barely begun,” he says – and means it as an invitation, not as criticism.
Conclusion: now is the moment to act
Retail media is not a trend that can simply be observed. It is a structural shift in marketing that is already underway. The brands that invest, structure and experiment today will set the benchmark tomorrow. Anyone working on the retail side should learn to speak the language of brands: awareness, consideration, conversion – and above all: growth through new customers.
Lewis summarizes it like this: the future of retail media lies in connected consumer experiences, in new organizational capabilities and in a creative revolution that is only just beginning. The question is not whether in-store screens will play a role. The question is who will be the first to use the possibilities consistently.
What this means for retail media at the point of sale
This is exactly the interface where DMS comes in. If in-store is no longer understood in the future merely as a sales area, but as a data-driven media and experience space, partners are needed who think technology, content, location logic and measurable impact together. DMS does not see itself as a classic digital signage provider, but as a provider of the Intelligent Space: an intelligently connected space in which digital touchpoints, contextual data, content logic and retail media objectives are combined into an effective overall system.
For retailers, this means: existing areas become actively controllable communication and marketing spaces. For brands, new possibilities arise to orchestrate awareness, consideration and conversion directly along the shopper journey. And for shoppers, brick-and-mortar retail becomes more relevant, more inspiring and better aligned with concrete purchase moments.
Retail media becomes particularly strong when technology is not used in isolation, but is part of a well-thought-out spatial, media and impact concept. This is precisely where the role of DMS lies: translating the point of sale into an Intelligent Space – strategically planned, technically integrated and oriented toward measurable media impact.
DMS supports retail companies and brands in developing such intelligent retail media environments – from conception to technical integration to the ongoing playout of digital touchpoints. As a partner for digital communication and media solutions in brick-and-mortar retail, DMS combines technological implementation competence with a clear view of shopper experience, content relevance and economic impact. Because the future of retail media does not arise only on platforms. It arises where purchase decisions are actually made: in the intelligently connected space.
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Questions, this blog answers:
1. What is retail media and why is it strategically relevant for brands?
Retail media refers to data-based advertising on a retailer’s channels – online, offsite and directly in the store. For brands, retail media is strategically relevant because they can reach shoppers along the entire customer journey: from attention to the purchase decision to conversion at the point of sale.
2. Why are first-party data the foundation of real retail media?
First-party data are the basis of retail media because they come directly from the retailer and provide concrete information about purchase behavior, loyalty programs, online interactions and brick-and-mortar sales. Without these data, a measure remains more classic shopper marketing than real retail media.
3. -What role do in-store screens play in the retail media market?
In-store screens turn brick-and-mortar retail into a data-driven media channel. They enable brands to reach shoppers directly in the store with relevant messages – that is, where attention, purchase intent and purchase decision are particularly close together
4. Why is in-store retail media growing particularly strongly?
In-store retail media is growing particularly strongly because many purchase decisions continue to be made directly in the store. Digital screens, better delivery technologies and new creative possibilities make the point of sale a particularly effective advertising environment for brands.
5. How do onsite, offsite and in-store retail media differ?
Onsite retail media takes place on a retailer’s digital channels, for example in the web shop or in the app. Offsite retail media uses retailer data for advertising on external platforms. In-store retail media activates advertising messages directly in the brick-and-mortar store, for example via digital screens at the entrance, in the aisle area or at the shelf
6. How can brands gain new customers with retail media?
Brands can use retail media to specifically gain new buyers for products or categories. Particularly important here is the goal “new to category”: people should not only be moved to make a purchase, but should be opened up long-term for a category or brand.
7. Why should brands not view retail media only as a performance channel?
Retail media should not only be understood as a lower-funnel or performance channel. Used correctly, retail media can connect awareness, consideration and conversion. In-store screens in particular can effectively combine brand messages, product information and purchase impulses along the shopper journey.
8. What mistakes do companies often make in retail media campaigns?
Common mistakes are too narrow a view as a pure performance channel, missing structured briefings and unclear responsibilities. In addition, brand marketing, trade marketing, shopper marketing and digital marketing still work too strongly in silos in many companies, although retail media connects all these areas
9. How are AI and creator content changing the future of retail media?
Generative AI can make retail media campaigns significantly more scalable because creatives for different regions, times of day, target groups and shopper missions can be created and tested automatically. Creator content additionally opens up new possibilities for short, attention-grabbing content on digital screens in the store.
10. Why is now the right time to invest in retail media?
Now is the right time because retail media is not a short-term fad, but a structural shift in marketing. Brands that invest early, build capabilities and strategically interlink onsite, offsite and in-store formats can secure clear competitive advantages.
