Retail Media Breakfast Club

Recently an essay stopped me in my tracks. My friend Drew Cashmore (Chief Strategy Officer at Vantage) wrote a brilliant piece for his Retail Media Leapfrog Series newsletter that draws a surprising parallel between the famous Fermi Paradox and the current state of retail media. And with Drew's permission I'm sharing sections of his essay in today's podcast.
The piece delves into a big, uncomfortable question: if retail media is such a massive opportunity, why are so few retailers actually winning? I walk through Drew’s concept of the “Retail Media Fermi Paradox” and unpack the structural challenges (what Drew calls “the great filters”) that are preventing most retailers from scaling. If you’ve ever wondered why the gap between Amazon/Walmart and everyone else keeps widening, this episode will get you thinking.

This episode is sponsored by Mirakl Ads

Timeline
[00:00] – Why I’m featuring Drew Cashmore’s essay and why it’s a must-read 
[00:39] – The original Fermi Paradox explained and why it matters here 
[02:15] – Introducing the “Retail Media Fermi Paradox” 
[03:00] – The shocking concentration: Amazon & Walmart dominate ~90% of spend 
[04:10] – Great Filter #1: The “tactic trap” and copying Amazon’s playbook 
[05:32] – Great Filter #2: The retail media “doom loop” and underinvestment 
[08:19] – Great Filters #3 & #4: Commoditization and fragmented tech stacks 
[09:30] – Quick preview: how retailers can break through these barriers

Links & Resources
Read Drew Cashmore's essay: Retail Media Leapfrog Series: The Fermi Paradox
Subscribe to Drew's newsletter: Retail Media Leapfrog Series
Follow Drew Cashmore, Chief Strategy Officer at Vantage, on LinkedIn
Read my related articles:The Retail Media Doom Loop
Retail Media's Next Challenge: Proving Real Results
7 Ways to Break the Retail Media Doom Loop

Subscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletter
Follow Kiri Masters on LinkedIn

Today I'm unpacking a fascinating conversation from a recent episode of the Unlocking Retail Media podcast with Andrew Covato and host James Avery that reframed how I think about measurement in retail media networks. If you’ve ever wondered why brands keep getting frustrated — or why retail media struggles to prove its value — this conversation gets right to the heart of it.
I use snippets from the podcast to break down three major gaps that are holding retail media back, from misaligned measurement strategies to outdated data approaches. I also explore why the biggest ad platforms succeed where retail media often fails, what sophisticated advertisers are really asking for today, and how measurement needs to evolve to stay credible. If you're in retail media, brand marketing, or ad tech, this is an important primer on how to tackle measurement head on.

This episode is sponsored by Mirakl Ads

Timeline
[00:00] - The recurring disconnect: why brands ask for data but get dashboards instead
[01:09] - Lesson #1: Why big ad platforms win by staying measurement agnostic
[04:00] - Lesson #2: Retail media is solving for the wrong measurement questions
[05:15] - The shift from user-level attribution to aggregated modeling & experimentation
[07:03] - Lesson #3: Why first-party lift is “grading your own homework”
[09:00] - The measurement maturity curve: from attribution to incrementality to MMM
[10:00] - The hidden problem: why most brands can’t actually evaluate the data they’re given

Links & Resources
Listen to the full Unlocking Retail Media episode: Measurement Science and the Future of Performance with Andrew Covato
Subscribe to Unlocking Retail Media on Apple Podcasts
Follow Andrew Covato, Founder & CEO @ Growth By Science, on LinkedIn
Follow James Avery, Founder & CEO @ Kevel , on LinkedIn
Read my related articles:83% of retail media campaigns can be gamed on iROAS. Here’s how (The Drum)
Brands demand retail media standards. Retailers say it's too hard. Do they kind of have a point?
Retail Media's Measurement Problem: It's Not Just the Retailers

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Follow Kiri Masters on LinkedIn

Today I’m revisiting a recent article I penned for The Drum and digging into something that feels almost counterintuitive in a world obsessed with AI and automation: the resurgence of print magazines, catalogs, and direct mail as powerful retail media channels. I share why Gen Z and millennials are actively seeking out physical, tactile experiences, and how that shift is creating a surprising opportunity for retailers and brands to reconnect with shoppers in more meaningful, high-trust environments.
I also walk through real-world examples — from Costco to Amazon to retailers in Australia — who are already turning editorial content and print media into high-performing retail media assets. If you’ve been thinking about the future of retail media as purely digital, this episode might challenge that assumption. Because in an AI-driven shopping landscape, the most defensible advantage might just be sitting on your customer’s kitchen counter!

This episode is sponsored by Mirakl Ads

Timeline
[00:00] – Why Gen Z is rediscovering print, vinyl, and physical retail experiences
[01:02] – How AI-powered shopping is threatening traditional retail media margins
[01:37] – The overlooked opportunity in retailer magazines and print media
[02:03] – Costco Connection: scale, trust, and measurable purchase influence
[04:15] – Bunnings and building a retail media network around print content
[06:19] – Chemist Warehouse and turning content into a full media brand
[08:00] – The rise of programmatic direct mail and why it’s outperforming digital
[09:32] – Escaping the retail media “doom loop” with editorial strategies

Links & Resources
My original article on The Drum: The humble magazine might be retail media's most defensible surface
Read my related articles:Dark Search, Broken Signals, and What Comes Next for Retail Media
Standing Room Only: What Shoptalk Attendees Wanted Most Wasn’t on the Main Stage
While We Debate What's 'Really' Agentic, Retail Media's Foundation Is Already Shifting

Atlanta-based retail media professionals: Wednesday, April 1 is the next In-Person Atlanta Happy Hour! RSVP here.
Subscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletter
Follow Kiri Masters on LinkedIn

Last year, I found myself navigating chaotic scooter traffic in Thailand, only to realize how dramatically things can change with just a little extra weight. And honestly, that experience became the perfect metaphor for something I see all the time in retail media: people trying to compare markets like the US and Europe as if they’re built the same… when they’re absolutely not.
Today I'm unpacking a fascinating conversation I had with Adam Smith from Iceland and Daniel Torres Dwyer on the FMCG Guys podcast. We dig into the real reasons why retail media has evolved so differently across regions: from geography and regulation to e-commerce penetration and legacy trade structures. If you’ve ever wondered whether the US is “behind” in-store retail media (or if those comparisons even make sense), this one will challenge how you think about the entire landscape.

This episode is sponsored by Mirakl Ads

Timeline
[00:36] – Why retail media comparisons across markets can break down 
[01:26] – Setting the stage: US vs UK retail media discussion with Adam Smith 
[02:00] – Adam on scale differences and the challenge of in-store digital rollout 
[03:07] – I break down the structural reasons the US market operates differently 
[04:07] – GDPR and why offsite retail media is more developed in the US 
[05:00] – The Robinson-Patman Act and its hidden impact on retail media budgets 
[06:10] – Industry debate: are we measuring the wrong things across markets? 
[09:30] – Why “US is behind in-store” is a misleading narrative 
[11:25] – Final takeaway: different markets, different paths, and what we can learn

Links & Resources
Listen to the full FMCG Guys ep: Adam Smith, Head of Retail Media at Iceland and Kiri Masters
Subscribe to The FMCG Guys on YouTube and Apple Podcasts
Follow Adam Smith, Head of Retail Media @ Iceland, on LinkedIn
Follow Daniel Torres Dwyer, Founder @ Dwyer Partners, on LinkedIn
Read my related articles:Why US Retail Media Hits Different
Agentic Shopping Poses An Existential Threat To Retail Media (Part 2)
Why RMNs Keep Their Tech Stacks Secret

Atlanta-based retail media professionals: Wednesday, April 1 is the next In-Person Atlanta Happy Hour! RSVP here.
Subscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletter
Follow Kiri Masters on LinkedIn

At Shoptalk last week, I noticed something that really stuck with me; and it wasn’t happening on the main stage. The sessions that had an overflow of attendees sitting on the floor weren’t the big, flashy keynotes… they were the practical, roll-up-your-sleeves workshops. That tells you everything you need to know about where retail leaders are at right now. 
Today I’m breaking down what I heard in the “corridor track”. The real conversations happening between sessions. Why AI-powered discovery is becoming the new battleground, how brands are rethinking where their next dollar goes, and why change management — not technology — is the biggest thing slowing teams down. If you’re trying to figure out what actually matters heading into the next phase of retail media, this one’s for you.

This episode is sponsored by Mirakl Ads

Timeline
[00:00] – Why the most in-demand sessions at Shoptalk weren’t on the main stage
[01:18] – Discovery becomes the new battleground in an AI-compressed digital shelf 
[02:45] – The rise of multi-layered product detail pages built for humans, SEO, and AI 
[04:00] – Why the “next best dollar” is now a full business decision, not just marketing 
[05:00] – Rethinking measurement: patience, strategy, and long-term growth 
[06:16] – The real bottleneck: how internal processes are slowing AI adoption 
[08:00] – The overlooked surge of social commerce and embedded shopping experiences

Links & Resources
Watch Rick Watson's live recording of the ShopTalk floor: Shoptalk 2026: What Nobody Said Out Loud About Agentic Commerce
Read my related articles:The Corridor Track At Shoptalk
Retail Media's Next Challenge: Proving Real Results
Are AI Ads the Next Big Ad Surface? How Retail Media Can Thrive

Atlanta-based retail media professionals: Wednesday, April 1 is the next In-Person Atlanta Happy Hour! RSVP here.
Subscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletter
Follow Kiri Masters on LinkedIn