We hosted an industry networking roundtable at London’s Haymarket Hotel, with journalist Ben Sillitoe hosting the conversation. The roundtable took place over a tasty breakfast in the West End as we focused on the opportunities in post-purchase monetisation and retail media, which continues to be an area of huge potential for the industry.
E-commerce and digital directors, heads of retail media, and a range of other digital decision makers from Decathlon, The Entertainer, Harrods, Holiday Extras, John Lewis, Joybuy, Maplin, Rapha, Richemont, and Snappy Shopper were at the table.
Below, Ben has picked out five key quotes that summarise the conversation and paint a picture of modern retailer thinking and the challenges the industry faces, as well as viewpoints on how best to develop new digital revenue streams. The event was run under the Chatham House Rule, so the quotes are anonymous – but that doesn’t stop us analysing what it all means.
The economic backdrop
I can’t remember the last time we had fair weather, and retailers continue to look for ways to build resilience because that is where the focus has to be.
These roundtables can be used as a barometer to measure industry sentiment and economic confidence, and the commentary from this one supported what the likes of the British Retail Consortium-KPMG, IMRG, GFK and others are reporting on a national scale. It’s a tough market. Retailers are battling for every penny, and consumers are not showing signs of spending particularly discretionarily.
The quote above indicates where much of retailers’ focus is at present, and was backed up by another guest saying “everything is even ground” in online retail – particularly for the non-specialists where competition is as fierce as it has ever been.
One guest suggested “Argos got given away” by Sainsbury’s to Swift Partners for £120 million following its £1.4 billion acquisition just ten years ago. Such a deal, which was announced by the supermarket chain in July, is indicative of the competitive landscape in the sector right now, it was suggested.
True CX-friendly partnerships
Retailers need to be proactive in the retail media space, make it easy for advertisers to work with them, and it needs to be done with customer experience (CX) firmly in mind.
IAB UK’s Digital Adspend Study for the first half of 2026, published in October, suggests online retail media grew faster than any other category in UK digital advertising in the opening six months of the year. Spend in this space rose by 32% year-on-year to reach £2 billion, according to the report.
The £2 billion retail media market means it is larger than gaming, digital out-of-home, and classified advertising combined, with retailers, brands, travel companies and a whole host of consumer businesses playing in the space.
The quote above highlights the need for retailers and brands to find appropriate partnerships and to explore the retail media opportunities diligently; and particularly to not lose sight of what the customer is looking for from them.
“Those retailers who have a point of view on the CX have a better idea on how to create a post-purchase strategy and/or monetise their existing assets through channels such as retail media,” someone in the room argued.
Another attendee noted: “Retail media isn’t just about sweating assets – the brands are looking to work with retailers that will give them real growth opportunities.”
Double your money, try to get rich
The North Star is to be paid twice by the customer – through the normal transaction and then via a relevant retail media play.
This comment underlines the importance of retailers focusing on customer centricity first and foremost. And that must be done through their core proposition but also in terms of the ads and products offered up though ancillary retail media.
Another speaker supported this with research showing that most shoppers already have a brand in mind before they start shopping, which leaves only a small window to influence them.
It’s crucial retailers find the balance between driving new revenue streams in such an uncertain economy and keeping customers happy because – as one roundtabler put it – “lifetime value (LTV) is what it’s all about for retailers”. That’s how a great number of them are measuring success today: they are looking for repeat visits across channels over a sustained period.
More reasons to chat
New product ranges and additional services launched by retailers, provide greater opportunities for them to drive additional revenue streams.
One retailer at the table said launching into new product ranges and developing new services, as many retailers continue to do as they compete in a crowded market and look to diversify, creates more reasons to talk to the customer post-purchase.
These opportunities should be taken to “strengthen that relationship”, they added. It all plays into the goal of extending customer LTV, and the reality is retailers have more chances than ever to talk to customers after a purchase, including the confirmation email, the delivery update email, returns process messages, and reviews and feedback requests.
During a previous roundtable I hosted on this subject, a luxury retailer revealed that the emails they send receiving the highest traffic are those which report a delay with an order and those which confirm when a delivery has been made. This is an example of just how engaged consumers are with a retailer post-purchase, showing it as an area to optimise commercially and in which to build a stronger rapport with shoppers.
Intent and trust established
Traditional advertising attempts to interrupt consumers as they go about their day, but post-purchase engagement comes when intent and trust between customer and retailer has been established.
The above comment from our very own Dominic West, managing director, Northern Europe, is supported by our Post-Purchase Monetisation report, goes into detail on what makes good customer interactions after a transaction has been made.
Some 1,000 adults in the UK were surveyed for the report, and 56% said post-purchase offers on purchase confirmation pages improve the shopping CX. In addition, two-fifths of consumers view special offers in post-purchase comms as a helpful way to gain additional value or save money.
“Post-purchase represents retail’s chance to monetise further and strengthen customer relationships,” West argues.
“Post-purchase represents retail’s chance to monetise further and strengthen customer relationships,” West argues.
“It’s still an untapped commercial area for so many retailers, and should be a key platform for creative message, banners and promotions as they build out their retail media strategy and look to take advantage of the fastest growth area of digital advertising.”
For more roundtables, see our Insights page. If you’d like to be part of our next roundtable, contact us and we’ll be in touch.