In this episode of Commerce Media Matters, Nick Morgan and Paul Blackburn sit down with Adam Skinner, Managing Director of Retail Media at Epsilon and former COO & CTO of CitrusAd, to discuss what's next for retail and commerce media. Drawing on more than a decade in the industry, Adam explores retail media's evolution, the shift beyond sponsored products, and the opportunities driving the next phase of growth. The conversation covers measurement and incrementality, commerce media, AI-driven discovery, market maturity, and the growing importance of authenticated customer relationships. From in-store media and clean rooms to airlines, banks and fitness networks entering the space, Adam shares a global perspective on where the industry is headed next. If you're looking to understand what comes after retail media's first wave of growth, this episode offers valuable insights into the trends and models shaping its future. What you’ll learn from this episode: The truth about retail media saturation The perception that retail media is becoming overcrowded is only partly true. While endemic sponsored product budgets are becoming increasingly concentrated among major players like Amazon, Walmart and Target, enormous growth opportunities still exist across audience monetisation, commerce media, data partnerships, in-store media and non-endemic advertising. Why audience uniqueness matters more than scale Not every retail media network can compete on reach. The networks succeeding today are those that can demonstrate access to unique audiences that brands cannot easily reach elsewhere, creating value beyond simply adding another media buy into the mix. How commerce media expands beyond retail Retail media may be the foundation, but commerce media is becoming the broader ecosystem. Airlines, hotels, banks, fintechs and fitness platforms are increasingly using transaction data and customer relationships to create new advertising opportunities that extend far beyond traditional retail environments. Why incrementality matters more than ROAS alone ROAS remains important, but it rarely tells the full story. Adam explains why brands need to focus on incrementality, new-to-brand customers, category growth and lifetime value to properly understand campaign performance and long-term business impact. The rise of full-funnel commerce media Commerce media is rapidly evolving from a lower-funnel performance channel into a full-funnel ecosystem. Success increasingly depends on connecting awareness, consideration and conversion across onsite, offsite, in-store and connected TV environments. How global markets are maturing differently The US leads in clean rooms, offsite media and data partnerships, while Australia continues to excel in onsite innovation, in-store media and omnichannel retail experiences. Meanwhile, Asia and Latin America are emerging as some of the most exciting markets to watch as commerce, payments, travel and retail converge. Why AI will reshape discovery before it reshapes transactions While AI-powered agents may help consumers search and shop, Adam argues they are ultimately just a proxy for the person behind them. Success will still depend on understanding customer identities, preferences and behaviours to deliver relevant recommendations and experiences. About the hosts: Nick Morgan: Nick is an entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in digital marketing and eCommerce. He founded Vudoo in 2018, a platform that enables in-stream content commerce across articles, videos, and images. Nick's work transforms every ad impression into a potential shop front, offering a seamless eCommerce experience. Paul Blackburn: Paul is a digital media innovator with over 20 years of experience. At News Corp Australia, he launched the "Intent Connect" data platform and led innovation in shoppable video and the "Total Commerce" framework. Now as Chief Growth Officer at Vudoo, he helps brands, publishers, and agencies unlock new ways to monetise content through immersive, commerce-enabled experiences. Subscribe & Leave a Review: If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to Commerce Media Matters and leave us a review on your favourite podcast platform!
