Retail Media Breakfast Club
10 minutes of expert insights every weekday. Your morning ritual for staying ahead in retail media.
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Mirakl Ads at Cannes: Commerce Media Skips Its Own Lion
<p>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.</p><p>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...
Same Words, Different Forks: Recap of eMarketer & Sensor Tower Commerce Media Executive Briefing at Cannes Lions
<p>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.</p><p>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 Sam's Club "Connects" With Walmart, What Actually Connects?
<p>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.</p><p>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...
Cannes Lions 2026 Dispatch: Agentic Media Buying, Retail Media Shakeups, and the Future of Creator Commerce
<p>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.</p><p>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...
PayPal Ads’ Big Retail Media Bet: Why Shoppable Ads Could Finally Work (And The Future of Commerce in an AI World)
<p>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.</p><p>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...
Retail Media at Cannes, 278 Episodes In & What’s Next for Retail Media Breakfast Club (Break Announcement + New Projects)
<p>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.</p><p>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...
Chewy Ads vs. Retail Media’s Data Hoarders: Why Transparency Wins in Retail Media
<p>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.</p><p>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...
The Shortcut Demon: The AI Data Problem Nobody In Agentic Commerce Wants to Fix (Demons Series Part 3 of 3)
<p>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.</p><p>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...
Creator-Led Retail Media Explained: The Truth About Influencer Marketing, Retail Media Networks & Shopper Data
<p>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?</p><p>In this episode, I unpack the growing intersection between creators and retail media networks. Drawing on insights from a recent Inmar Retail...
Retail Media Flywheel Explained: How Marketplaces Become Ad Revenue Engines (Lowe’s Case Study + Future of Commerce)
<p>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.</p><p>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...
