The 2026 retail media playbook

00:00:00: Inside Fashion Marketing, a podcast by Zalando Partner Marketing Services.

00:00:06: Shaping love brands and supporting your long-term growth through customer centric marketing.

00:00:18: Hello hello welcome dear listeners.

00:00:20: glad to have you on this show.

00:00:22: I'm Haike Larry director partner marketing in consultancy at Zalado partner marketing services helping connect fashion beauty and lifestyle brands to consumers all over Europe.

00:00:34: Retail Media is one of those topics that keeps popping up everywhere in meetings and strategy discussions, performance reviews.

00:00:43: And still I see many brands struggling with the basics not because they are inexperienced but because retail media has evolved very quickly and the terminology can feel overwhelming.

00:00:55: So we decided to kick this new season off with explaining retail media from scratch.

00:01:00: Think about it as a shared starting point A common language An episode you can come back to whenever you go deeper in the future conversations and think, wait let's take a step back.

00:01:12: This is RetailMedia.

00:01:14: one point zero The foundations everyone should understand before moving on more advanced topics.

00:01:20: If don't want to miss Retail Media News in twenty-twenty six make sure to hit subscribe.

00:01:26: Let us look at the big picture of Retailmedia.

00:01:28: Retail media exists because digital advertising has fundamentally changed over the past years.

00:01:35: So, the classic display and social advertising are becoming less efficient and more competitive.

00:01:42: The former spray-and-pray logic no longer works or would be way too expensive.

00:01:47: Retailers sit on a powerful combination of traffic data and purchase intent And they're not just sales platforms but have become media owners.

00:01:58: Retail media brings advertising closer to the point of purchase than traditional channels, and its advertising spend is expected to reach thirty one billion by twenty-twenty eight according to IAB Europe.

00:02:12: But what IS retailmedia actually?

00:02:15: Retail means advertising within retail environments where consumers already are shopping on platforms such as Zalando or Amazon.

00:02:26: Brands pay for visibility directly on platforms that host real purchase decisions.

00:02:32: And why are they doing that?

00:02:33: Either you're a market leader and like to defend your market share, or want to expand into other product categories.

00:02:42: But maybe you have an emerging offer.

00:02:47: You want to reach wider audience.

00:02:50: You want entry in new countries.

00:02:53: Try out the new segment.

00:02:55: Retail media can help you do this and put the exact right ads in front of the right audience.

00:03:01: You want to reach so?

00:03:03: The on-site format live directly under retail media platform an influence shoppers during browsing.

00:03:10: it doesn't replace other marketing channels That's really important to note, but it completes them And this episode focuses on understanding the mechanics at the fundamentals before adding all the complexity.

00:03:22: retail media is a full funnel tool.

00:03:25: And here we start already with a common misconception where users think retail media is only lower funnel activities.

00:03:33: Where as it started, with sponsored products and was looking very much into performance marketing in reality Retail Media supports awareness consideration and conversion.

00:03:46: so the full funnel an each funnel has different objectives.

00:03:51: Each stage requires different KPIs as well.

00:03:54: So mixing KPIs across the funnel stages can lead to false conclusions.

00:04:00: But while I'm mentioning the word KPI already, let's start with a category we call KPI bingo and look at all terms that frequently used here and explain what they are.

00:04:12: KPI is first one.

00:04:14: This translates into Key Performance Indicators the metrics used to measure whether marketing activities are achieving their intended goals.

00:04:26: So retail media comes with many KPIs and they all sound quite familiar, so now let's break them down and make sure that you're not misunderstood.

00:04:34: The first one is AIROI.

00:04:36: This measures overall return relative to total investment And it mostly use at a business level.

00:04:43: Then we have ROAS.

00:04:44: This measures revenue generated per euro spent on advertising and is the most common retail media KPI.

00:04:52: Next, we talk about GMV – Gross Merchandise Value.

00:04:57: this represents total value of merchandise sold indicates scale rather than profitability where it gets interesting as attributed GMV because this shows to Revenue link-to-media activity And depends on attribution model.

00:05:12: but you can see if your marketing strategy has been driving sales.

00:05:17: The term you hear often is CPC, this shows the cost per click and reflects competitiveness not success.

00:05:25: Then we have CPM.

00:05:27: This measures costs per thousand impressions And it's mainly relevant for awareness campaigns.

00:05:33: CTR is to click through rate.

00:05:36: It indicates how relevant a placement or creative is but does not guarantee conversion.

00:05:41: yet Ultimately conversion rate reflects product relevance, pricing and user experience beyond media.

00:05:50: So this is the holy grail so to say.

00:05:53: another KPI that's super important as new customers because this shows whether retail media drives incremental growth.

00:06:01: high performance without new customers can signal saturation rather than success.

00:06:06: And you know You will hit a glass ceiling sooner or later.

00:06:10: ZMS considers new customer as a key quality indicator across the funnel.

00:06:16: So what are the most important takeaways from this section?

00:06:19: KPIs only work with an aligned objective, The Funnel Stages define the KPIs you look at.

00:06:27: If you optimize the wrong KPI This leads to Wrong Decisions And Strong Retail Media Strategies Connect the Golds The Funnels Stages and the Metrics.

00:06:39: After looking at all the relevant KPIs, let's now discuss each of three funnel steps.

00:06:46: And we start with the awareness funnel which is the upper funnel and why this so important?

00:06:54: We see in our data that seventy-five percent of the Gen Z shoppers come without a clear purchase intent.

00:07:01: And once they come to your shopping platform, this is your big opportunity to get their attention and entertain them inspire them create awareness for you brand!

00:07:13: Here I have my favorite example which comes after the famous Bad Bunny Halftime show to mind.

00:07:20: He has been the talent a big underwear campaign we showed last year and the brand said beforehand, We believe Bad Bunny is going to break the internet.

00:07:31: And this is exactly what we saw happening!

00:07:34: We had sixty five million impressions for almost naked bad bunny in front of our pages within two weeks.

00:07:43: I think it's fair to say that no matter if you were interested before hand To purchase these new line of niggers you certainly have noticed, seen that bunny and subconsciously discreated awareness for the brand.

00:08:00: So well done on this one!

00:08:01: And I think a good example to see why awareness is so important?

00:08:06: These campaigns are mostly measured with unique uses reached.

00:08:11: also viewable impressions are looked at.

00:08:14: in end they should not be evaluated by ROAS.

00:08:18: So this is then for really the consideration and conversion stage, not the awareness stage.

00:08:24: And we see that retail media awareness benefits from being close to the shopping environment.

00:08:29: of course The next stage Is one thats often overlooked.

00:08:33: It's called the consideration stage –the mid-tier funnel.

00:08:38: This is where shoppers actively evaluate brands and products.

00:08:42: And to make it very tangible, at the moment we have Berlin Winter Times... ...and everyone who did not buy a proper winter jacket….

00:08:49: …is definitely in need for one by now!

00:08:52: And this is when you want the shopper come on your platform.. ..and already has certain set of brands in mind.

00:09:00: So what's the brand they think about purchasing?

00:09:03: A new winter coat off?

00:09:05: This might be one, two three four five brands.

00:09:08: And here in the consideration stage you want to help consumers remember your brand as one of them.

00:09:14: So product detail pages play a central role at this stage Of course and best case You make shoppers a brand follower because this indicates long-term interest and brand relevance.

00:09:27: We measure PDP views that are being explored in more detail, then we look at add to wish list and add to basket.

00:09:35: Also here new consumers represent a long-term growth potential.

00:09:40: Consideration is often underestimated as sad but especially in fashion very critical.

00:09:47: so now we move through the lower funnel of conversion stage or where magic happens At the Conversion Stage we look at turning intent into measurable sales.

00:09:59: So item sales show a direct product performance and as mentioned in the beginning, we looked at attributed GMV.

00:10:07: We Look At The New Customers And we Look At Roars Return On Ad Spend Which Measures Efficiency But Should Not Be Viewed In Isolation.

00:10:17: Here it is very key to remember that long-term conversion performance depends heavily on upper and mid-funnel stages.

00:10:26: Now we have talked about the three funnel stages one by one, of course ultimately they should not be optimized separately but interconnected.

00:10:36: to summarize awareness creates familiarity and feeds consideration.

00:10:41: Consideration builds confidence enables conversion.

00:10:45: strong retail media strategies connect at all these stages And in ZMS, we approach retail media as an orchestrated full funnel system.

00:10:55: We build tools like the customer journey compass to look at each brand individually and come up with a clear plan to elevate marketing strategies for each of these steps.

00:11:06: but most importantly looked it all together.

00:11:09: another very interesting topic on retail media is offline then online and how this all connects into one ecosystem.

00:11:18: so fashion remains an emotional and experimental category.

00:11:22: And offline moments still create credibility, trust ,and of course brand meaning.

00:11:27: We see that events in pop-ups can be seen as part of the broader ecosystem because this is where consumers really connect with their brands.

00:11:36: we cannot forget even a highly digital world.

00:11:39: it's super important to have full sense experience for the consumer.

00:11:45: What is key here, that event content can be reused in media and on-site placements.

00:11:52: So you activate offline but scale online.

00:11:55: And of course offline storytelling humanizes performance driven retail media formats.

00:12:01: This why for instance we opened our own brand events space.

00:12:05: It's called the Brand Experience Hub where give partners to chance to meet with their consumers every time in a different setup, in the versatile space and to have real interaction.

00:12:17: And create really experience that then lives in different content formats on site.

00:12:23: now let's look at common mistakes brands make treating events as one of activations With no long-term plan.

00:12:30: producing content without considering later retail media usage That is certainly something customers see.

00:12:37: separating brand marketing and performance-marketing teams.

00:12:40: Not a good idea!

00:12:42: Expecting immediate conversion from awareness focus activities, this is something we experience all the time.

00:12:49: but only if you measure each funnel step with right KPIs will also get your success intent.

00:12:57: Seeing retail media as only relevant for lower funds As discussed before, there is a huge interconnectivity between all the funnel stages and hence strategies must be thought holistically.

00:13:08: So how can you use this episode going forward?

00:13:11: This episode serves as a foundation for future discussions that provides shared language in basic understanding.

00:13:17: You can return to this episode whenever topics get more complex or are unsure what a certain KPI means.

00:13:25: which of the funnels depth is important?

00:13:28: So please feel free to save this episode and come back any time.

00:13:32: Retail Media is a journey, and this episode marks the starting point!

00:13:40: Dear listeners thank you for tuning in today And get ready for next season.

00:13:45: If your looking more we've dropped some useful links on show notes of our episode.

00:13:49: Make sure check them out.

00:13:51: if you liked it Please hit subscribe.

00:13:53: We'll have more wisdom from top marketeers across our partner base In the next episode.

00:13:58: Ciao for now.