From candid conversations over brunch to industry collaboration and a sold-out Summit, Amsterdam brought the Retail Media community together for two days of fresh perspectives, practical insights and a shared ambition to drive the industry forward.
On 6th and 7th October, IAB Europe hosted three gatherings that put some of Retail Media's biggest priorities firmly in the spotlight. The two days kicked off with an informal industry brunch alongside VIA, followed by our Q3 Retailer Leaders' Council meeting, and culminated in the second edition of our sold-out Retail Media Impact Summit at Felix Meritis, bringing together leaders and practitioners from across the ecosystem.
From measurement and standardisation to AI, data readiness, and new growth opportunities, one message came through loud and clear: the next chapter of Retail Media is about turning momentum into meaningful, measurable progress.
Here's a look at the conversations, insights and takeaways from an action-packed two days in Amsterdam.
The brunch, organised with VIA, brought together Retail Media practitioners who had travelled to Amsterdam for the Summit, alongside Council members already in town. We deliberately kept things small, low-key and unscripted, with no fixed agenda or running order. This created space for open, honest conversations and questions that don't always get the attention they deserve in a busy conference programme. All 20 attendees embraced the format, making for a lively and candid discussion.
Three themes carried the morning, each closely linked to work already under way. First, some Retail Media Networks are seeing increasing requests from large advertisers for measurement standardisation. This reinforces the importance of IAB Europe's in-store and travel media measurement proposals, currently open for public comment, as well as the discussions around certification that closed the Summit the following day.
There was also strong agreement that brands should be challenging their retail partners and asking the right questions. After all, advertisers need to understand how performance is measured, how results compare across different networks and whether those measurements have been independently verified.
However, challenges to standardisation and certification exist too. Whether it is apprehension from management or an unclear understanding of the value of off-site Retail Media, progress is there, but efforts need to continue. There was also agreement that all players would benefit from a healthier ecosystem, with standards and certification supporting that tremendously, since a common basis for measurement gives retailers, brands and agencies the same reference points to work from. This is a great signal that the industry is indeed moving in the right direction.
The Council met in person for its Q3 meeting, and its centrepiece was a live vote. Members held up coloured cards to place 13 AI developments in Retail Media into Signal, meaning real and worth investing in now; Noise, meaning overhyped; or Not Yet, meaning real with impact arriving from 2028 onwards. Generative creative, campaign optimisation, onsite chatbots, generative engine optimisation and data readiness all came through as clear Signal, with one caution attached to generative creative in sensory categories such as beauty, where a single misjudged image can break shopper trust. Data readiness was the only item every member backed without reservation, on the basis that AI measurement is only ever as good as the data it learns from, so the discussion settled on deterministic measurement built on first-party data and on starting in phases with the data a business already trusts. Agentic shopping and agentic media buying both landed as Not Yet, and the room divided on AI-driven media planning, in-store computer vision measurement and sponsored products in AI assistants.
Members also welcomed IAB Europe's guide to endemic, near-endemic and non-endemic advertising, which turns on whether a shopper can buy the advertiser's product at this retailer, while noting that classification is rarely black and white. Nina Hamann, Senior Policy Officer at IAB Europe, covered the Article 50 transparency rules in the EU AI Act. RND Retail Media, the Retail Media group of the Dutch retail council, set out its ambition for Retail Media to mature into a transparent, fully fledged media type in the Netherlands, and priorities for 2027 began to take shape around education, brand investment and creative effectiveness.
Two measurement proposals are also open for public comment until 23rd October and due to be finalised in November: a travel media addendum built with a working group including Skyscanner, KAYAK, Expedia, Koddi, Booking.com and Sojern, and in-store measurement at V2, so please read the in-store and travel media measurement proposals and share your comments.
The Summit took place on 7th October at Felix Meritis, marking its second consecutive sold-out edition. Organised by IAB Europe in collaboration with VIA and hosted by Jason Wescott of WPP Media and Deli Bom, this year's theme was Beyond the Boom: The Next Chapter of Retail Media Growth. With Europe's Retail Media market reaching €13.3 billion in 2025 and exceeding 10% of total digital advertising spend for the first time, the focus was firmly on moving beyond rapid growth towards long-term maturity and sustainable success.
The programme opened with a focus on proof and measurement. Daniel Knapp, Chief Economist at IAB Europe, delivered a keynote, Revealing New Insights That Lift the Hood on Retail Media Performance, followed by Proof Over Promises, with Jenn Vojta of Colgate-Palmolive and Janina Siegert of VML exploring how to turn Amazon Marketing Cloud from a reporting layer into a test-and-learn engine. The advertiser perspective followed, with Unilever, Henkel and Heineken discussing what drives value for brands in Retail Media, moderated by Jason Wescott, alongside a Women in Commerce Media spotlight featuring Emma Helsloot.
Breakout sessions tackled some of the industry's biggest opportunities and challenges. AI and agentic commerce took centre stage in Crowdsourcing the Future: The AI in Retail Media Town Hall with Particular Audience and Five Big Questions About Agentic Commerce with Koddi. Sessions on scaling performance included Hidden Levers to Scale: Introducing the A2G Framework with Moloco, shoppable ads with Fnac Darty and Equativ, and Debenhams' Retail Media Flywheel with Mirakl Ads. MediaMarkt Benelux explored opportunities beyond endemic advertising, while Zitcha addressed the challenge of securing merchant buy-in. Retail Media maturity across Europe was also explored in a session featuring LiveRamp, AH Retail Media Services, REWE Group and Dunnhumby, moderated by John Still of ExchangeWire.
The final sessions brought travel media and certification into focus. Bram van Asperen of Booking.com explored Travel as Media: New Standards, New Growth Engine, before the Summit closed with Beyond the Framework: Lessons from the First Certified Retail Media Businesses, featuring Dentsu, CESP, Nectar360, ABC and Moloco, moderated by Marie-Clare Puffett of IAB Europe.
Several themes connected the two days, from travel media measurement and non-endemic advertising to the growing importance of standards and certification. What began as candid conversations at the brunch carried through to the Council and Summit, reinforcing a shared commitment to a more transparent, consistent and mature Retail Media ecosystem.
We'll be sharing a dedicated Retail Media Impact Summit wrap-up soon, with more insights, key takeaways and what they mean for the year ahead. Stay tuned!
