The dog days of summer are here, and Europe’s retail media sector is heating up. But TWIRM wants to know: Why is the EU’s in-store ad spending stuck on a low simmer?
TWIRM, as always, is the This Week in Retail Media podcast, where Kate Dickson, Head of Marketing and Communications, Retail Media, STRATACACHE, and Jonathan Rosen, STRATACACHE’s Global EVP of Retail Media Strategy, reach across the Atlantic to discuss three retail media news stories that intrigue them, excite them and even, sometimes, let them read the proverbial “Tea leaves.”
This week, the Orange Pekoe (or perhaps English Breakfast) has been spilled by IAB Europe, as reported by ExchangeWire. The IAB’s new Attitudes to Retail Media Report 2025 surveys Europe’s retail media landscape and finds that in-store ad investment remains stubbornly low compared to on-site and off-site channels. Brands are doubling down on digital—offsite channels jumped from 30% to 46% of retail media spending—while the brick-and-mortar goldmine sits largely untapped.
Kate wonders if the data signals a massive blind spot, with agencies viewing digital in-store as a “static system,” missing opportunities for dynamic, personalized experiences. But, she notes, the onus falls on “retail media networks and retailers themselves to show off to brands all that you can do in store that they may not have considered.”
After sizing up Europe’s retail media attitudes, Kate and Jonathan look into Co-op’s massive data breach, which hit 6.5 million UK shoppers, raising sticky data security concerns. Lastly, they check out Sainsbury’s rollout of personalized nectar prices directly at checkout—no app scanning required.
Click here to listen to Kate and Jonathan unpack all of the insights in IAB Europe’s latest retail media attitude check.
