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Retail media: How first-party data enables targeted advertising
10 Nov 2026
How can retailers help brands reach the right audiences? Retail media combines advertising placements with retailers’ first-party data. Colin Lewis, founder of Commerce Media Works, explains how it works online and in-store – and how retailers and brands can get started.
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What sets retail media apart from other forms of advertising
Retail media includes advertising placements on retailers’ and marketplaces’ digital channels, as well as in-store advertising. Brands can use these placements for campaigns. Depending on where an ad appears, retail media is divided into Onsite (for example, on a retailer’s website or app), Offsite (on external platforms using retailer data) and In-store. This classification follows the IAB Europe’s retail media glossary.
The distinctive feature is the combination of advertising placements with retailers’ first-party data. This can provide insights into shopping behaviour and help brands reach relevant audiences more precisely.
“The key point about retail media is the retailers’ data – what is known as first-party data.”
How retailers use first-party data in retail media
A loyalty card at a supermarket, for example, can provide information about the products customers buy, how often they shop and their shopping habits. This allows retailers to build audiences that brands can target.
On this basis, retailers can offer brands relevant advertising formats, such as sponsored search in product results, display advertising or digital placements in-store. The value comes from combining retailer data, an advertising placement and a relevant audience.
How digital screens are bringing retail media into physical stores
As stores become more digital, screens are appearing at a range of points throughout the store. Retailers can sell advertising on these screens. Ads can be tailored to the audience, location and time of day. Lewis says this can be done in a privacy-safe way.
Digital advertising opportunities, once associated mainly with online retail, are now also available in physical stores. Find out more in our article on Digitalisation in Retail.
Getting started with retail media: four steps for retailers
A retail media offering can be built step by step. The key is to turn existing data and advertising placements into a clear proposition for brands.
Set an objective
Will the offering generate additional revenue, give brands greater visibility or bring particular products into focus? The objective determines which audiences and advertising formats are right.
Map your data and advertising placements
Which audiences can retailers reach using their first-party data? Which placements are available – for example, on the online shop, in the app or on digital screens in-store?
Develop a clear advertising proposition
Brands should be able to see which audience they can reach, where the ad will appear and which format will be used. This turns an existing touchpoint into a defined media proposition.
Test and evaluate a pilot
Start with one campaign and one format. Decide in advance how success will be measured, review the results and use them to refine the offering.
Through Commerce Media Works, Colin Lewis advises brands, retailers and platforms worldwide on retail media and commerce media. He is also an author, keynote speaker and host of the Retail Media Therapy and The Retail Media Podcast.
Retail media refers to advertising opportunities offered by retailers or marketplaces that brands can use on their own digital channels, on external platforms or in-store. Retailers’ first-party data can help brands reach audiences more precisely.
First-party data is information a business collects directly through its own touchpoints, such as websites, apps, loyalty cards or CRM systems. In retail media, it can provide insights into shopping behaviour and audiences.
These include sponsored search, display advertising and digital screens in-store. Depending on placement, retail media can run onsite, offsite or in-store.
Retailers can start by deciding which audiences and advertising placements they want to offer. Lewis recommends starting with a suitable channel or a small number of formats, testing them and using the results to inform the next steps.
