This week on Beyond the Shelf, Dave sits down with Stephen Shepherd, Head of Strategy & Consulting at Tesco Media, to explore how retail media has evolved from a tactical revenue stream into a strategic growth engine.

With nearly two decades in the space — beginning with Dunnhumby’s early retail media initiatives — Stephen brings a data-first perspective to how retailers and brands should think about customer experience, creative, and measurement.

In this episode, Dave and Stephen discuss:

• Why retail media must stay customer-first (not tech-first)
• The “win-win-win” model: retailer, brand, and customer
• How creative storytelling and data science overlap
• The importance of micro-decisions across the customer journey
• Where AI is quietly solving operational complexity
• Why ROAS may not be the right north star anymore

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Theme music: "Happy" by Mixaud - https://mixaund.bandcamp.com

Producer: Jake Musiker