At Kenshoo Skai’s ShopAble in the Park 2025 last week, the importance of video, measurement and AI took center stage. With rain giving way to sunshine in Hoxton, London, the day mirrored the mood of the industry: uncertain at times, but increasingly optimistic and energized. A few standout sessions are detailed below. 

 

TikTokification and the Creative Curve

Retail media thought leader Colin Lewis argued that retail media is being reshaped by short-form video. TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Reels have trained consumers to expect inspiration and transaction to happen in seconds. Brands must now design content that’s not just engaging but “AI-readable”—rich in structured data, ratings, reviews, and emotional context. “The new storefront isn’t the shelf – it’s the scroll,” said Lewis. “And if you’re not building for that, you’re already behind.”

 

Measurement and the Standardization Imperative

As identified by IAB Europe’s Attitude to Retail Media Report, scaled investment is still hampered by inconsistent measurement. Platform-level discrepancies—like mismatched naming conventions and varying definitions of “sales” and “ROAS”—continue to frustrate marketers. As Jason Wescott, Global Head of Commerce Solutions at WPP and Chair of IAB Europe’s Retail Media Committee, put it, “We’re not trying to stifle innovation or differentiation, but a set of standards is needed so we all know what a sale or return on ad spend actually means.”

Yet progress is being made. IAB Europe’s retail media certification framework, launched in April, is gaining traction. Retailers like Nectar360 are among the first to adopt it, with third-party audits underway. The message is clear: collaboration is key, and without agreed metrics, media remains difficult to justify.

Yara Daher from IAB Europe put it plainly: “Without standardization, there is no scale. A sale needs to mean the same thing everywhere, or nothing means anything.”

 

The GenAI Panel: From Conversation to Conversion

One of the day’s most insightful sessions explored how GenAI is collapsing the purchase funnel. As assistants like ChatGPT and Perplexity influence discovery and decision-making, brands must adapt to a world where AI agents play a pivotal role.

Speakers emphasized that being “AI-recommendable” requires more than SEO. Brands must structure their data, enrich their content, and feed emotional cues through user-generated content and reviews. AI doesn’t guess – it scores.

Tracey Pilon, Managing Director of Financial Services at Microsoft AI explained: “AI wants to do a good job. It wants to get an A-star. That only happens when brands provide the structured, sentiment-rich content it can understand.”

Moreover, personalization is becoming non-negotiable. Consumers expect intelligent recommendations that reflect their preferences, budget, and habits. The media plan must now consider how to influence both humans and the agents advising them.

 

Looking Ahead

Retail media is consolidating around new principles: structured data, intelligent systems, omnichannel, and alignment and agreed standards and terms. ShopAble 2025 proved that progress is happening at pace. The brands and platforms embracing this complexity will be the ones who shape what’s next.