Retail Media Breakfast Club

In this 'Snips' episode, I unpack some of the most thought-provoking ideas from tech analyst Benedict Evans’ recent interview on The Knowledge Project, specifically his comparison of AI to the invention of the iPhone. Not electricity. Not the Industrial Revolution. The iPhone. And the second-order effects of that comparison are much more relevant than you might think for retail media and the futur...

Costco has always been the effortlessly cool kid of the retail media world: unbothered by hype, quietly confident, and doing things entirely on its own terms. In this episode, I unpack what makes Costco’s retail media approach so different from the 80+ U.S. retail media networks vying for attention, and why their “member-first, margin-second” philosophy is more than just a tagline. After digging t...

In this halftime recap of Black Friday — Cyber Monday, I unpack the avalanche of headlines claiming that AI shopping has finally arrived . Everywhere you look, analysts are touting explosive growth — 805% spikes, billions in generative AI-influenced sales, and a surge in chatbot-assisted shopping sessions. But as I dig into the data, I’m asking a much more important question: Does any of this actu...

This week, I’m digging into a fiery debate that lit up LinkedIn — one that questions whether retail media is measuring the right things at all. After reading a thought-provoking post from Steve Gray, I found myself going down a rabbit hole of insights, rebuttals, and philosophical clashes about how brands actually grow—and what retail media should be optimizing for. Spoiler: the answers aren’t as...

In today’s episode I dig into a surprising and quietly powerful engine of growth for retail media networks: long-tail advertisers. While major CPG brands continue to cap their RMN partnerships at around six networks, retailers are pouring investment into Amazon and Walmart-level capabilities, hoping to win those national budgets. But the ceiling isn’t moving… so where’s the growth coming from? New...

In today’s 'Snips' episode, I’m diving into one of the biggest unlocks for retail media networks right now: earning the trust (and the budgets) of media agencies. As retail media growth slows and retailers look beyond performance budgets, everyone suddenly wants a slice of those top-of-funnel brand-building dollars. But as I unpack the insights from Viv Craske and Colin Lewis from the Retail Media...

This week, I’m breaking down a fascinating shift I’ve been watching closely: the moment AI-enabled commerce finally tips from novelty to norm, just in time for the holiday shopping rush. After a near-disaster of traveling without my wallet (which somehow wasn’t a disaster at all), I couldn’t help but notice how quickly behavior changes when technology quietly becomes infrastructure. And based on f...

In this episode I’m digging into a question I’ve been thinking about for months: If ads inevitably show up inside AI interfaces… do they actually have to suck? With billions invested into AI infrastructure and only modest subscription revenue to offset it, advertising is the most likely economic engine powering the next wave of AI platforms. But I’m not convinced it has to lead us down the same me...

In this reprise episode, I’m bringing back one of the most timely conversations we can have as we gear up for 2026 conference season: getting on the damn stage. After so many of you resonated with my encouragement to apply for the damn award despite imposter syndrome, it felt like the perfect moment to revisit this message. Because the truth is no one cares about your future as much as you do, and...

Last week at the Path to Purchase Institute LIVE conference, I heard something that most retail media networks probably don’t want to hear out loud: Mars has built a structured, data-driven investment matrix that decides exactly who gets budget and who doesn’t. In today’s episode, I’m breaking down what Mars revealed, why scorecards are becoming standard across major CPGs, and the uncomfortable tr...

In today’s 'Snips' episode, I’m diving into one of the conversations that has been rattling around in my head for a while now. While listening to the Unpacking the Digital Shelf podcast with my friends Lauren Livak Gilbert, and Peter Crosby, I found myself nodding as their guest Natalija Pavic from Kibo Commerce unpacked the rise of agentic AI and AI shopping agents. She articulated (brilliantly,...

What is Unboxed, really? This week, I was in Nashville for Amazon’s signature advertising event — a showcase where the tech giant reveals its latest innovations in retail media, automation, and ad tech. After taking it all in (and chatting with a few familiar faces from the industry), I’m breaking down the key announcements, the unspoken messages, and what they mean for advertisers and partners mo...

In this episode, I share snippets of my recent livestream with Andreas Reiffen, CEO and co-Founder of Pentaleap, to unpack one of the most debated topics in retail media today — Real-Time Bidding (RTB). Once dismissed as a messy, low-quality relic of early programmatic advertising, RTB is now being reimagined as the key to unlocking retail media’s next phase of scalable growth. Note: I encountered...

I’m coming to you fresh from Amazon’s Unboxed event in Nashville, where Amazon dropped a wave of updates that show just how far their advertising ambitions are reaching. Beyond retail, beyond search, and even beyond reality itself! In this episode, I unpack the biggest product launches and innovations revealed at the event including AI-powered campaign tools, creative automation for Prime Video, a...

I first met Molly Hjelm, Head of Retail Media at Ace Hardware, during a panel at the RMN Ascendant Event in Silicon Valley, and right away I was struck by her candor and data-driven mindset. In this episode, I share the highlights from our conversation that didn’t make it into my full profile piece for The Drum. We dive into how Ace Hardware has intentionally taken its time entering retail media,...

A lot of brands are focused on Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) right now — making sure their products surface when consumers ask ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Claude for recommendations. That’s a great first step. But as I explain in this episode, the next frontier isn’t just about being found — it’s about being bought . We’re entering an era where AI agents won’t just recommend products, they’ll a...

In this episode, I dive into one of the biggest questions facing retail media leaders today: how can retailers and brands adapt as AI-driven shopping agents and zero-click discovery start reshaping how consumers buy? With sponsored search revenue under pressure and growth slowing across the industry, it’s time to look at creative alternatives to the traditional onsite, offsite, and in-store ad mod...

How many times have you not hit publish, not applied, or not shared your achievements because of fear of what others might think? In this episode, I’m diving into the concept of Tall Poppy Syndrome - a cultural tendency to cut down those who stand out - and how it feeds into FOPO, the fear of other people’s opinions . After being named one of the National Retail Federation’s 2026 Top Retail Voices...

In this 'Snips' episode, I’m adding commentary to clips of one of my favorite ecommerce podcasts: Cocktails & Commerce with Brian Walker and Bill Friend. These two industry veterans bring on some of the sharpest minds in digital commerce, and in this snippet, they’re joined by John Andrews, co-founder and CEO of Cimulate, a generative AI company focused on commerce platforms. If you’ve been se...

Despite the buzz surrounding in-store retail media, most retailers are still struggling to move beyond the pilot phase. But Sam’s Club? They’ve done it, and done it well. After touring one of their clubs in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, with Harvey Ma, Head of Sam’s Club’s Member Access Platform, I witnessed firsthand how they’ve turned what’s typically a complex, fragmented endeavor into a well-oiled,...

I’m a total podcast junkie, and today I’m bringing you another episode in my 'Snips' series, where I share bite-sized highlights from fascinating conversations and add my personal commentary. This one’s a crossover between Commerce Media Matters and Mind the Model , a newer podcast that’s quickly made its way into my regular rotation (find both shows under 'Links & Resources' below). The snips...

Last week, I got a first look at groundbreaking new research from EMARKETER and Bain that flips the retail media conversation on its head. Instead of surveying brands and media buyers, this study goes straight to the source, the leaders of Retail Media Networks (RMNs), to uncover their honest perspectives on what’s working, what’s not, and where the industry is headed next. In this episode, I unpa...

In my recent LinkedIn Live with Andreas Reiffen, co-founder and CEO of adtech company Pentaleap, we dove into one of the most intriguing shifts happening in retail media right now: the rise of multi-retailer ad networks. This isn’t just about another layer of technology, it’s about simplifying one of the biggest pain points for brands and media buyers: the crushing complexity of managing ad spend...

We all know the usual suspects — ROAS, impressions, clicks — but what if the real indicators of retail media success are hiding in plain sight? In this episode, I ask four leading brand-side retail media experts a simple but revealing question: What’s the metric you’re obsessed with that everyone else seems to ignore? You’ll hear why one leader swapped vanity metrics for incrementality and househo...

A few weeks ago, I sat down with Brian Monahan of Albertsons Media Collective, for a profile in The Drum. And let me tell you, Brian isn’t your typical corporate executive. He’s unfiltered, entrepreneurial, and not afraid to say what everyone else in retail media is only thinking. In this 'Snips' episode, I dive into some of the biggest insights from Brian’s recent appearance on The Snarketing Pod...