Why Retail Media Won't Follow a Single Path

I hear people talk about the future of retail media as though we are all heading toward the same destination. But retail media is part of a much broader retail ecosystem, and that ecosystem is evolving very differently from one market to another.

That broader retail picture came through clearly at this past Consumer Goods Forum Global Summit. Chinese e-commerce retailer JD.com described an operating model where 90% of deliveries arrive the same or next day. In India, some retailers are promising delivery in as little as 15 minutes. Meanwhile, Walmart is working toward 30-minute delivery and pickup across channels in the US. Chinese dairy company Mengniu showed how social and live commerce are scaling at speed. Other conversations explored the growing role of data and AI, while Middle Eastern supermarket retailer Spinneys and French global retailer Carrefour reinforced the continued importance of the physical store and the opportunity to make that experience more valuable. Different markets are taking different approaches, but they are often responding to many of the same shifts in consumer expectations.

These aren't different stages of the same retail evolution. They're different versions of it. And as those models evolve differently, so will the role retail media plays within them.

Retail media has to reflect the market around it

Retail media doesn't operate independently of the retail business around it. Consumer expectations, infrastructure, and retail structures vary from market to market, shaping how retailers connect with consumers and where media can add value.

In a retail model built around speed and digital convenience, the opportunities for retail media may look very different from those in a business where the physical store plays a more central role in the customer experience. The same is true in markets where social commerce is deeply embedded in consumer behaviour, or where data and AI are reshaping more established retail models. As those environments differ, so too will what advertisers need from their retail media networks.

For global retailers and suppliers, scale remains a powerful advantage. The challenge is knowing what can be consistent across markets, and what needs to adapt to the retailer, the consumer and the market.

There is no single model to follow

One of the things I value most about gatherings like the Consumer Goods Forum is the opportunity to see very different approaches side by side. The value isn't in deciding which one everyone else should replicate. It's in understanding why something works in one environment and what that can teach us about another.

That distinction matters for retail media. The industry is still developing, and there is a natural tendency to look for a winning model. I’m not convinced there will be one.

What works in one market can inspire what happens in another without becoming its blueprint. The real value comes from learning across markets while building around the consumers, retailers, and advertisers each one serves.

The future of retail media won't be defined by everyone arriving at the same place. It will be shaped by how well we learn from what works elsewhere while building what works here.

We’ll continue exploring how retail media is evolving through our Retail Media research and perspectives.