Observed Signal · Jul 15, 2026 · Industry Analysis · Source: Meedia · Impact: 3/5 · Sentiment: Positive
Retail Media 3.0: The Shelf Now Decides
The article argues that Retail Media has evolved from a tactical commerce tool into a strategic, full-fledged media channel—'Retail Media 3.0'—driven by retailers' first-party purchase data and improved measurement. It highlights the growing importance of Retail Media Networks (RMNs), the rise of in-store digital media at the point of sale, and the efficacy of combining OOH/DOOH branding with retail activation to drive measurable sales. The author recommends CMOs prioritise data infrastructure (including clean rooms), integrate organisation silos (e‑commerce, trade marketing, brand and media), and form deep partnerships with a limited set of high-performing RMNs while employing standardised metrics to compare Retail Media with other channels.
Argues a sector-wide shift: retailer first-party data and in-store digital media make Retail Media a strategic channel, affecting measurement, media mix, and CMO priorities—important but not a platform policy change or technical release from a major platform.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- The global retail-media market is steering toward a volume of more than 100 billion US dollars.
- The author positions Retail Media as a full media channel that competes with Google and Meta in technology, reach and measurability.
- Retail Media Networks (RMNs) provide direct access to first-party purchase behaviour at the point of sale, increasing in importance as third-party cookie-based tracking declines.
- Reported in the article: 36% of surveyed brands rated in-store networks as highly relevant in 2022, 46% in 2024, and 52% expected in 2025.
- Jonas Lembeck is identified as Co-Founder and Managing Partner Strategy of the agency Lehof GmbH.
Connected Companies & Entities
1 Entity mapped“Current studies (BCG) show that 50 percent of surveyed companies expect data-driven insights into customer purchase behaviour, 63 percent wa...”
Ontology Mapping & Concepts
Related Market Signals & Shifts
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Retail Media Success Hinges on Transparency and Collaboration
The article argues that transparency is a key determinant of success in Retail Media in 2025. Global Retail Media spend is forecast at 166 billion USD, and worldwide ad spend in Retail Media grew from 67 billion USD in 2020 to 140 billion USD in 2024, accounting for about one-fifth of digital advertising. Germany contributed about 2.73 billion to the spend last year. RMNs are fragmenting the market as retailers evolve into media companies and e-commerce platforms expand their ad infrastructure. Advertisers leverage first-party retailer data to deliver purchase-contextual ads, avoiding third-party data, but this fragmentation makes consistent measurement and cross-channel reporting difficult. The piece calls for standardized cross-channel metrics, unified reporting of impressions, clicks, conversions, and sales, and emphasizes brand suitability—particularly for off-site placements, which show higher risk and lower engagement than on-site. It also notes rising self-service RMN platforms and the need for industry collaboration to implement common transparency tools.
CFO Questions Reveal CMOs Must Think Like Business Leaders
François Bazini, former International CMO at Suntory, argues that CMOs often fail because they focus solely on marketing rather than business leadership. He lists five dangerous CFO questions that signal a CMO's narrowed perspective, including queries about short-term ROI, brand value destruction, operating deleverage, growth sustainability, and investment prioritization. Bazini emphasizes that CMOs must understand P&L, capital allocation, and long-term brand economics. He illustrates each point with personal experiences from Suntory, Courvoisier, Lucozade, and Jim Beam. The piece calls for marketers to defend the business, not just marketing, and to contribute to strategic decisions beyond their functional role.
BCG: Global Payment Growth Slows to 5%
According to the Boston Consulting Group's Global Payments Report 2026, worldwide payment industry revenues are expected to reach $2.6 trillion by 2030, but annual growth will slow to about 5% from around 7% in previous years. Regional disparities are widening, with Europe and North America, which currently account for 85% of the revenue pool, growing only 5% annually, while the Middle East and Africa are expected to grow 8% and Latin America 7%. Publicly listed payment companies are trading about 25% below their long-term average valuation, and a recovery could unlock $500 billion in market capitalization. AI and agentic commerce are becoming competitive factors, with 73% of large merchants willing to switch acquirers for better AI-agent transaction support. National instant payment systems in 137 countries are fragmenting the market, increasing complexity for international providers.
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