Retail Media & Retail Marketing in the UK: The Guide (Updated Weekly)
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 3 hours ago
TL;DR: Retail media — advertising sold by retailers against their own shopper data — is the fastest-growing UK ad channel, letting brands reach buyers at the point of purchase.
Retail media has quietly become one of the most important stories in advertising. By selling ad space against their own first-party shopper data, retailers from Amazon to the big UK grocers have built a fast-growing, high-margin business — and handed brands a powerful way to reach customers at the moment they buy.
What is retail media?
Retail media is advertising sold by a retailer, on and off its own channels, targeted using the shopper data it holds. Think sponsored products on a retailer's site and app, plus off-site ads powered by that same purchase data. For brands it closes the gap between ad exposure and the checkout.
Why UK marketers should care
It is where budgets are shifting, and where measurement is genuinely improving. But shopper behaviour is also changing — value-consciousness, trading down and category shifts all affect what works. Below is our ongoing coverage of retail media and UK retail marketing.
The latest coverage
Quick FAQ
What is retail media?
Advertising sold by retailers using their own first-party shopper data — sponsored listings on their sites and apps, plus off-site ads targeted with purchase data — reaching customers close to the point of sale.
Why is retail media growing so fast in the UK?
It offers strong targeting, closed-loop measurement tied to actual sales, and high margins for retailers, so both brands and retailers are investing heavily as budgets shift from less measurable channels.
Retail media is the rare channel that sits right where the money changes hands. The winners won't just buy sponsored listings — they'll use the shopper data to understand demand, then shape range, price and message around it. Proximity to the purchase is the most valuable real estate in marketing.
— Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing
Retail media's edge is closed-loop proof — it ties spend to actual sales in a way most channels still can't.
Is retail media a line item in your plan, or a core part of your route to the shopper?
If you would like to know more about this topic, please contact us on danieln@merxmarketing.co.uk
Written by Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing Ltd and Marketing Minute
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