As I reflect on today’s event, The Great Debate: Retail Media 2026, I’m genuinely energised by the calibre of discussion, the openness of our community, and the sense that we are collectively shaping a pivotal moment for retail and commerce media. Days like this remind me why our work matters and why bringing the right people together can accelerate progress in ways no roadmap alone ever could.
For anyone who missed it, or for those who would like to watch the sessions again, you can access the overviews and recordings in our Knowledge Hub here.
We began with Patricia Grundmann and Jason Wescott, Vice-Chair and Chair of IAB Europe's Retail & Commerce Media Committee, who set a confident and forward‑looking tone. Jason walked us through the four pillars of our Retail & Commerce Media Committee Roadmap, emphasising the growing importance of AI across use cases and operations. His message was clear: IAB Europe is the authority on these initiatives, and that our certification programme is a “very, very important step for the industry and our highest priority.”
He also encouraged everyone to keep an eye out for our annual Attitudes to Retail Media study—one of the most referenced pieces of research in the industry.
With that foundation, we moved into our first panel of the day.
Moderated by James Taylor, Founder and CEO, Particular Audience, this session explored how AI is reshaping the retail media supply chain from insight to real-time activation.
Diana Abebrese, Global Lead, Retail Media, Empathy Lab by EPAM captured a key theme early on: “AI reality is moving us closer to making true omnichannel a reality.” She highlighted how AI is helping us make sense of signals across the entire shopper journey, especially for off‑site where real‑time data is transforming audience strategies.
Polina Melnikova, Strategic Growth Director, Moloco Commerce Media, reminded us that “AI works within guardrails, and retailers use that to stay in control,” while Cedric Epiard spoke candidly about fragmentation:
“Expecting brands to master a different platform for every retailer creates prohibitive entry costs. This is where AI protocols like MCP become genuinely transformative.”
One of the most fascinating moments came when Diana shared that synthetic audiences are now performing at 75–80% accuracy compared to real‑audience studies—an impressive indicator of how AI can reduce risk and accelerate testing.
James closed the session by underscoring the importance of governance as AI scales beyond human capacity—a theme that echoed throughout the day.
Our Oxford‑style debate, led by Nicolas Trannoy, Chief Strategy & Marketing Officer, Luckycart - Representative of Alliance Digitale RM Committee, was one of the most dynamic sessions of the day. Lisa Avery, Director of Customer Success, EMEA, Zitcha argued for unification, emphasising that “everyone needs to bring everything to the table with one key set of measures.” She reminded us that customers don’t think in channels—they simply see a retailer, a product, and a reason to buy.
On the other side, Sébastien Camusot, VP Retailers at Unlimitail, made a compelling case for separation, “If you mix trade and retail, you won’t succeed and trust will fail. You can’t win trust back.”
Both perspectives were thoughtful, grounded, and delivered with conviction.
When Jason compared the audience poll results from before the session to after, we saw a slight shift but ultimately a consistent outcome: 64%/36% for unifying Trade and Media compared to 63%/37% before the debate. A sign that while minds were opened, the industry remains divided—and that’s exactly why conversations like this matter.
Our second panel, moderated by Alessandro Zanotti, Managing Director, Global Lead Retail Media & Data Monetization Practice, EU Lead Retail Industry, Accenture Song, explored how programmatic on‑site is unlocking new opportunities for both endemic and non‑endemic brands.
Selen Ozkan, Head of CPG & Retail EMEA, Uber Advertising, highlighted the internal challenges retailers face—speed, complexity, and the cost of building full‑stack programmatic capabilities—while Mazen Mroueh, Head of Retail Media & Partnerships, Publicis Media, noted that opening programmatic supply “brings advertisers you haven’t had before.”
Paul Dahill, Managing Director of EMEA Sales, Koddi, framed the shift perfectly: “Programmatic is a platform you probably already know. Retail media is becoming more like the media business, where it can sit alongside any part of the media plan.”
The conversation around standards was refreshingly honest. Mazen acknowledged the complexity, while Paul pointed to two major hurdles: education and the “field of dreams” problem— “just because you open on-site doesn't mean the pipes will flow. We need to educate and work additionally to make the pipes flow and get it ready form a brand perspective”
When we turned to opportunities, the optimism was palpable. Paul highlighted the potential to remove friction and unlock new ways to buy, while Selen shared a promising example from Instacart in the US. Mazen added a powerful perspective on relevance:
“You are bringing your brand closer at the right moment. The beauty of programmatic is dynamically changing the ads to match the demographic profile of the desired audience. You are bringing your brand closer in the right moment”
We then welcomed Yara, who spoke about the ongoing challenge of measurement standards and how IAB Europe is driving this work forward. See Yara’s slides here.
Tim Abraham from The Trade Desk. joined us for the final sessions with a compelling case study with Nestlé, showing:
A strong reminder of what’s possible when retail data is activated effectively. See more about the case study here and Tim’s slides here.
As I wrap up today, I feel incredibly proud of what we achieved together. The conversations were rich, the perspectives diverse, and the energy of the event was unmistakably forward‑looking.
Events like this are only possible because of the expertise of our speakers, moderators, and members. Thank you for your insights, your openness, and your commitment to shaping the future of retail and commerce media.
I’m already looking forward to the next chapter at our Retail Media Impact Summit this October the 7th in Amsterdam, and to continuing this journey with all of you.
For anyone who missed it, or for those who would like to watch the sessions again, you can access the overviews and recordings in our Knowledge Hub here.
