RMX - The Retail Media Podcast

The Retail Media Podcast: Full Circle at NRF

Colin Lewis is joined by Octavie Gosselin, Vice President of Mirakl Ads, for a special final episode recorded live at NRF 2026 in New York — exactly one year after the series launched at NRF 2025 with the same pairing. Octavie reflects on the three defining trends of 2025 — marketplace-driven growth, product-led retail media, and full-funnel expansion — and looks ahead to the forces shaping 2026: embedded AI, agentic commerce, yield management, and omnichannel execution. The conversation underscores a year in which retail media moved from proving the model to scaling it, with client success stories from Worten, Debenhams, Rakuten, and Jumia illustrating the speed and substance of the shift.

Key Discussions in This Episode

• Full Circle: One Year of the Retail Media Podcast (00:00–01:00) Colin welcomes Octavie back to the NRF floor and marks the anniversary of the series, noting that the first episode was also recorded with Octavie at NRF 2025. This "full circle" moment sets up a retrospective-and-forward-looking conversation.

• Three Defining Trends of 2025 (01:00–02:30) Octavie identifies the year's three key shifts. First, marketplace as a growth lever for retail media — no longer a brand-only game. Second, the move to product-led, tech-integrated solutions with self-service and algorithmic transparency. Third, full-funnel expansion across on-site, off-site, and in-store — with a clear call to incorporate agentic commerce into that strategy now, not later.

• Growth as the North Star (03:00–05:00) Colin frames everything through the lens of growth — the one metric that unites brand and retailer. Octavie explains how marketplace sellers, many already spending on Amazon and Walmart, represent untapped demand for other retailers. These sellers are higher spenders than top brands, less seasonal, performance-driven, and capable of investing 10–15% of GMV — provided they are given the right automated, self-service tools.

• The Long Tail Opportunity (05:00–06:00) Colin references the Worten podcast with Inês Catão, reinforcing that long-tail marketplace suppliers are eager to spend more when freed from rigid budgets. The individual advertiser may be small, but the collective opportunity is transformational.

• Client Success: From Proving to Scaling (06:00–07:30) Octavie reports 30 new clients in 2025, including Jumia, Debenhams, and Boohoo. Debenhams launched its retail media programme just three weeks after signing — not three years. Existing clients moved from proving the model to repeatable, scalable outcomes: Worten achieved 130% incremental advertiser onboarding within two months; Rakuten saw a 60% increase in fill rate and 25% boost in CTR during its first month of re-platforming.[4]

• Agentic Commerce: The Word on Everybody's Lips (07:30–10:20) Colin notes that 2024's buzzword was AI and 2025's is agentic commerce. Octavie describes Mirakl's response — Nexus for broader agentic e-commerce, and within Mirakl Ads specifically: adapting search algorithms from two-word queries to 13-word natural-language intent, preparing to monetise retailers' own agents, and integrating marketplace results into external agentic commerce platforms.

• From SEO to GEO (10:20–12:15) The discussion turns to Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO). Octavie explains that Mirakl has evolved its catalogue optimisation tools — previously focused on SEO — to include GEO capabilities, helping retailers ensure their catalogues surface correctly in AI-driven discovery platforms. Colin reflects on how his own search behaviour is already shifting, and how the long-keyword challenge compounds existing SEO difficulties for retailers.

• Product as the Centrepiece (12:15–13:00) Both agree that the product itself — its content, imagery, and catalogue structure — becomes the central asset in an agentic world, reshaping how retailers need to think about content and visual merchandising far beyond simply "making it ready for agentic."

• 2026 Trends: AI, Embedded BI, and Navigating Uncertainty (13:00–14:30) Octavie outlines the pivot from defining AI strategy to executing it, in a landscape evolving so fast that flexibility and the right technology partners are essential. In retail media specifically, AI must be embedded across the entire advertiser journey — from onboarding through to campaign optimisation — not bolted on as a separate layer.

• From Dashboards to Decisions (14:30–16:00) A key shift for 2026: retailers and advertisers no longer want dashboards — they want decisions. Embedded business intelligence powered by agents will deliver actionable recommendations at the right moment, replacing retrospective reporting with real-time guidance. Colin adds that scenario-based thinking ("what if") will be more valuable than point predictions in this environment of wide parameters and rapid change.

• Growth in 2026: Finding New Levers (16:00–17:30) Octavie acknowledges that traditional, legacy retail media is likely to be challenged. Growth will come from three additional levers: scaling marketplace advertising with mid- and long-tail sellers (not just top sellers), diversifying channels from on-site to off-site, offline, and agentic, and capturing overspend — redirecting advertiser budgets that cannot be fully spent on-site into off-site and other channels to optimise the full programme.

• Self-Service and the Tension with Intuitive Guidance (17:30–18:30) Colin identifies a productive tension: retailers need to push self-service responsibility onto suppliers, but those same suppliers need intuitive, immediate recommendations rather than complex dashboards. Both imperatives — scale through self-service and simplification through intelligence — must be solved simultaneously.

• Programmatic: A Bespoke Approach by Geography and Vertical (18:30–19:30) Octavie describes Mirakl's partnership-led approach to programmatic, acknowledging that maturity varies enormously by market, vertical, and individual retailer. Rather than a one-size-fits-all product, the approach is bespoke — a pragmatic stance given the gap between US-scale audiences and the rest of the world.

• Omnichannel and In-Store: The Differentiator (19:30–21:00) In-store retail media is one of the big differentiators for marketplace retailers versus Amazon. Octavie reports wide variation in maturity — from retailers wanting multi-format solutions (screens, cameras, audio) to those testing a few stores with no clear roadmap — but best-in-class UK and US retailers are proving the model. Colin frames this as a "continental divide": in the US, retail media grew online first and is catching up in-store; elsewhere, the reverse is true.

• Mirakl Ads Innovation Pipeline for 2026 (21:00–23:30) Four priorities emerge: (1) AI-powered embedded business intelligence with agent-driven actionable insights; (2) yield management — giving retailers flexibility to optimise supply and demand across placements and categories, borrowing from airline-style yield thinking; (3) agentic commerce support across retailer-owned agents, search adaptation, and integration with external agentic platforms; and (4) continued full-funnel and omnichann...

Colin Lewis is joined by Ines Catao, Retail Media Director at Worten, for an in-depth conversation about building a marketplace-powered retail media business in an emerging market. Ines explains how Worten—Portugal’s leading electronics retailer with over 35% market share and 200+ stores—transformed its online marketplace into a high-growth advertising platform, achieving 300% monetisation growth and 800% ROAS in just seven months. The discussion covers the strategic shift from traditional retail to a media business, the power of marketplace democratisation for SMBs, and how Worten is bridging online and in-store retail media as it scales into 2026 and beyond.

Key Discussions in This Episode

•  Introduction to Worten and Ines’s Background (00:01–01:12) Ines introduces Worten as Portugal’s leading electronics retailer with over 35% market share, 200+ stores, and a strong online presence. She shares her own journey from seven years at Google in advertising across Europe to joining Worten two years ago to build the retail media business.
• The Portuguese Market Context (02:11–05:44) Portugal’s 10 million population, strong culture of in-store retail, and rapid mobile adoption (80% of consumers discover brands on phones) create a unique opportunity. E-commerce is growing rapidly, but Worten is ahead of competitors with over 20% of sales online, compared to just 8% for other major Portuguese retailers.
• The Marketplace Journey and Seller Growth (06:28–09:45) Worten partnered with Mirakl to launch its marketplace, now featuring over 3,000 sellers from 50+ countries. The “win-win-win” strategy benefits sellers (easy onboarding and shipping), consumers (increased choice), and Worten (new revenue streams and traffic). Sellers recently gained access to Worten’s first advertising offerings on the marketplace.
• Democratizing Access Through Marketplaces (09:45–11:18) The marketplace model democratizes access to the Portuguese market for SMBs and international sellers, enabling small businesses to compete and scale. This aligns with broader European opportunities to help companies succeed in the online world.
• The SMB Advantage in Retail Media (11:18–14:58) Unlike large brand budgets constrained by rigid allocation structures, SMB sellers can flexibly allocate and adjust their retail media spending based on real performance. This agility makes SMB budgets more effective and appealing to retailers building media businesses. Colin and Ines discuss how this flexibility in creative, capability, and budget reallocation creates competitive advantages.
• Segmented Retail Media Strategy (14:58–18:27) Worten structures its retail media into two distinct offerings: a full-funnel brand proposition (awareness, brand consideration, market share) competing with TV, Google, and Meta, and a performance-focused seller offering (consideration and conversion) designed for rapid ROI. This segmentation ensures Worten differentiates itself from traditional advertising channels and meets each customer segment’s unique needs.
• The Importance of Differentiation (15:26–17:18) To stand out against established advertising players, Worten emphasizes what makes retail media unique: direct consumer insights, the ability to test products in-store and online, direct access to Gen Z, and opportunities to experiment with packaging and positioning. Big brands love innovation, and Worten’s differentiated offering gives them a reason to invest.
• Strategic Transformation and Change Management (19:23–21:55) Two years ago, Worten made a pivotal strategic decision to professionalize retail media as a true marketing channel. This required top-down leadership support, cross-team collaboration, aligned KPIs, and educating the organization that this represented a significant shift after 20+ years of traditional retail operations. Success came through communication, alignment, and crediting teams across the business.
• Building Buy-In Through Influence and Results (21:55–25:54) Change wasn’t easy initially—there were roadblocks and closed doors. However, Ines emphasizes education, persuasion, and demonstrating impact. After 9–12 months of persistent effort, the organization saw the untapped potential and began cheering for retail media. The key was showing concrete results for the business, brands, and customers while staying true to Worten’s mission of customer satisfaction.
• Marketplace Ads: Rapid Adoption and Growth Metrics (28:37–31:00) When Worten introduced its ads program powered by Mirakl technology, adoption exploded. From fewer than 30 sellers, the program grew to over 350 sellers in just seven months. Monetization revenue jumped 300%, and sellers experienced a 40-percentage-point boost in their ability to generate sales within the marketplace—a clear win-win outcome.
• ROAS Performance and the Role of E-Commerce Excellence (31:33–34:13) Worten achieves over 800% ROAS on its marketplace retail media. This exceptional performance stems from the e-commerce team’s strong and growing conversion rates (powered by AI-driven content creation, optimization, and catalog management). Retail media benefits directly from a high-performing e-commerce platform; the two are inseparable.
• Pragmatic AI Usage in Emerging Retail Media (34:13–35:04) While AI is critical to Worten’s e-commerce operations, Ines believes retail media needs to mature further before advanced AI optimization becomes the priority. Currently, Worten uses AI moderately—in internal tools, collaboration with e-commerce, and the Mirakl ad server—but focuses on getting the basics right during this fast-growth phase rather than optimizing decimal points of yield.
• 2026 Roadmap: In-Store Placements, Omnichannel Integration, and Marketplace Scaling (35:04–36:55) Worten’s 2026 strategy includes three major initiatives: launching in-store ad placements by year-end, connecting the online ad server with in-store bookings for a seamless omnichannel experience, and tripling last year’s marketplace ads objectives. The focus is on integrating stores and online, measuring performance together, and delivering continued growth for sellers.

Colin Lewis is joined by Anne-Claire Baschet, Chief Data and AI Officer at Mirakl, for a wide-ranging conversation about how AI and agentic commerce are fundamentally reshaping retail media.

Anne-Claire explains why “the personalisation you used to know is dead,” explores the dramatic shift from keyword search to intent-led discovery, and reveals how retailers can navigate a landscape where 60% of shoppers already use AI in their shopping journey. This episode unpacks the technical and strategic foundations retailers need to thrive when the disruptor becomes disrupted.

Key Discussions in This Episode

• Introduction and Anne-Claire’s Role at Mirakl (04:48–06:48) Anne-Claire describes her three-part role: empowering Mirakl employees to leverage AI, disrupting existing products with AI capabilities, and building solutions that help customers capitalise on agentic commerce opportunities.
• Defining AI and Agentic Commerce (06:48–09:42) Anne-Claire breaks down two core aspects of agentic commerce: shoppers using AI to discover and purchase products, and retailers using agents to accelerate operations. She discusses the evolution from today’s discovery tools to tomorrow’s autonomous purchasing agents that can hunt down rare items and complete transactions while you sleep.
• The Changing Shopper Funnel (09:42–12:26) How AI is already disrupting shopping behavior: 60% of shoppers now use AI at some stage of their journey, searches have expanded from 2-3 keywords to detailed, contextual descriptions, and organic traffic to e-commerce sites has declined 10% in the first half of 2025 as consumers find answers directly on AI platforms.
• Impact on Retail Media Revenue Models (14:02–18:53) The shift from keyword-based to intent-led search, with 37% of shoppers now using more than eight words in AI platform searches (up from just 4% in August 2024). Anne-Claire explains how retailers can leverage AI platforms as off-site placements, similar to Google Shopping, and create new sponsored placement opportunities within shopping agents.
• The Future of Search and Interaction (18:53–23:31) Moving beyond traditional keyword search to conversational, multi-turn discovery where shoppers may see only 2-3 featured products plus 7-9 additional options, all matched to intent rather than keywords. The critical importance of product content and embeddings over traditional keyword optimisation.
• Category-Specific Adoption Patterns (24:08–27:36) Discussion of how agentic commerce will capture significant goods transactions—McKinsey projects $1 trillion in the US and $3-5 trillion globally by 2030—with varying adoption rates across categories, price points, and demographics.
• The Death of Traditional Personalisation (28:48–31:10). Why “the personalisation you used to know is dead”: AI platforms already possess deep contextual knowledge about users that far exceeds traditional CRM and customer data platforms. The importance of enhancing product content to match shopper intent and problem-solving needs.
• Voice and Visual Search Adoption (31:10–34:25) Current trends indicate that shoppers prefer speaking to AI (typing while walking) over full voice conversations, as well as the significant adoption of visual search—photographing items to find matching products or even generating shopping lists from fridge contents.
• Building Shopping Agents: Retailer Strategies (34:25–37:39) How advanced US retailers are converging on unified customer-facing agents with specialised sub-agents behind the scenes handling specific tasks like inventory checking, customer service, and returns processing.
• Navigating a Rapidly Evolving Ecosystem (37:39–40:34). Why this isn’t a “winner takes all” situation, the parallels to the mid-1990s internet emergence, and the critical need for interoperability and an agentic client layer that can connect to multiple protocols and platforms as they evolve.
• Implications for Marketplaces (41:25–45:21). How curated marketplaces become even more valuable in an AI-driven discovery environment, the heightened importance of accurate pricing, availability, and delivery date promises, and why these fundamentals remain critical regardless of interface changes.
• Final Advice and Takeaways (45:21–46:52) Anne-Claire’s TLDR: Start experimenting now, understand how shopper behaviour is changing, build critical foundations, improve product content to match intent, and maintain marketplace fundamentals while testing new approaches.

Colin Lewis is joined by three members of the Douglas Marketing Solutions team for an in-depth look at the beauty and health care giant's approach to retail media. 

Heike Schneider, Lena Schütze and Nesma Abdel-Hamid explain the trends, innovation and agility of this inspirational sector. This episode stresses why "data is the engine" of retail media campaigns, and the move from the science of retail media to the art of it. 

Joe Cano, SVP of digital ecommerce at Lowe's dropped by the Mirakl Cabana to speak to Colin Lewis, providing insight into the company's strategic initiatives to become the "total home solution" for customers. 

Cano, with 25 years in retail and ecommerce, highlights Lowe's focus on customer experience and convenience, particularly through the expansion of their online marketplace. This marketplace dramatically increases product assortment, offering everything from basic screws to high-end saunas and trampolines, aiming to save customers time by providing a single destination for all home improvement needs. 

This episode also covers innovation such as the integration of AI tools, including the Milo companion app for store associates and the customer-facing Milo website assistant. Hear how it is designed to reduce friction in the shopping journey by offering tailored product recommendations and DIY advice. Lowe's also demonstrates a commitment to the "pro" or trade customer through dedicated support and training programmes, reinforcing their position as a trusted resource.

Andrew Lipsman is an independent analyst and consultant at Media, Ads + Commerce. His industry coverage specialises in retail media—which he is known for anointing as “digital advertising’s third big wave”— and other areas of the digital media, advertising, and commerce ecosystem. He is also a founding advisor and strategist at retail media consultancy, Colosseum Strategy.

In this episode Lipsman argued that the future of retail media is, in essence, the future of all media. Lipsman stresses that transactional and retail data will become the foundational mechanism for targeting and measurement in the advertising landscape, moving beyond less reliable behavioural data. He elaborates on how retail media networks are evolving from lower-funnel performance to include upper-funnel formats and extend across various retail channels. 

Lipsman further contends that retail media will redefine search, display, and even TV advertising by leveraging high-fidelity transaction data to prove true incrementality of sales and brand building, ultimately challenging traditional marketing metrics like Return on Ad Spend.

Roger Dunn, Global Lead for Retail Media at Diageo joins Colin Lewis to explore the multifaceted world of retail media within the alcoholic beverage sector, highlighting Dunn's extensive experience across agency, platform, and brand perspectives. 

Key themes in this episode include the diverse challenges and opportunities in various global markets due to differing regulations and consumer purchasing habits, such as the distinction between "on-trade" (consumption at venues) and "off-trade" (retail purchases). 

The conversation also touches on emerging trends like quick commerce and the strategic use of data in retail media, concluding with a light-hearted segment about Dunn's viral "meme lord" persona within the industry.

In a special episode, Colin Lewis collates the key lessons from Cannes Lions speaking with guests from Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Forrester, Rakuten and Symbiosys.

Recorded live at Mirakl Mornings event in Cabana 13 on Majestic Beach, Cannes, this episode features exclusive interviews conducted by Colin as well as soundbites from each of the speakers' presentations. Hear from Bashar Kachachi, founder and CEO of Symbiosys; Kristina Raptovaia
head of partnerships & advertising, Retail Media Lead at Rakuten France; Daniel Gospodinov, partner, EMEA Retail Media Lead at BCG; and Nikhil Lai principal analyst, performance marketing for Forrester.

This podcast episode sees Paul Stafford, Head of Retail Media at Superdrug, join Colin Lewis to detail their journey building a retail media network.

The discussion between Colin and Paul covers the internal complexities of establishing a new business unit within a large organisation, highlighting the need to engage various teams like finance, legal, IT, and HR, and crucially, bring trading teams on board. 

It also explores the external facing challenges, including selecting ad tech partners, building a sales proposition, and understanding the diverse needs and structures of brand suppliers and media agencies. Stafford emphasises the importance of viewing retail media as a form of change management that requires tailoring approaches to different partners and constantly evolving the offering, including considering future expansions like marketplace and in-store screens.

This podcast episode sees Colin Lewis and Yara Daher delving into the evolution of retail media. Yara, an early figure in the field from her time at Hooklogic, shares how the industry began with sponsored products on retail sites and the challenges of convincing traditional retailers to adopt this new approach and attract media agency budgets.

The conversation then shifts to the current state of retail media, highlighting the need for the industry to "grow up" through standardisation and breaking down silos, before focusing on the critical topic of measurement and incrementality, as defined by the IAB Europe's measurement funnel.