SMG Swiss Marketplace Group

Change in Governance Structure

The current version includes a new section titled 'Regulations' under the Governance category, indicating a potential update in compliance or governance practices.

UK Brands Raise Retail Media Spend; 'Disconnected Commerce' Slows Growth

UK brands are increasing investment in retail media, with industry estimates showing retail media grew 17.5% year-on-year in 2025 to £3.7 billion, representing just under 10% of the UK’s £40 billion digital ad market. While grocers and marketplaces (notably Amazon) are expanding video and upper-funnel ad formats, many UK campaigns remain focused on traditional shopper-marketing activations and in-store conversions. Industry executives point to inconsistent measurement, limited self-serve tools, and organisational fragmentation between trade/sales and marketing teams — described as “disconnected commerce” — as key barriers to shifting more upper-funnel budgets into retail media. Retailers such as Tesco have launched video inventory and report rising campaign volumes, while Amazon continues to dominate spend share in the sector.

Retail Media Silos and Measurement Hamper Growth

Executives at an ADWEEK House panel held at the Possible conference in Miami discussed persistent challenges slowing retail media growth despite forecasts of nearly $70 billion in spend this year (per Emarketer). Panelists—representing retailers, commerce media networks, brands and adtech firms—said Amazon and Walmart capture the majority of retail media dollars with operating models that are difficult for most retailers to replicate. That concentration, combined with issues around profitability, measurement, collaboration and lack of standardization, has contributed to slow or uneven expansion of many retail media networks and repeated network “resets.” The discussion highlighted the need for better measurement and cross-industry alignment to unlock broader retail media profitability and scale.