Hi friends,
At least one reader has reached out to say they have not been getting my daily emails as they had in the past. The thing is, I migrated to a new email service provider in December and it hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing. Please reply back to me if you’ve also had issues and I’ll fix it on the back end.
Besides that, how did you go with the big freeze this week? In my Aussie family it was a novel experience, but only because nothing terrible really happened in our suburb of Atlanta. I also hosted a neighborhood party to celebrate Australia Day which was this week. Vegemite sandwiches were handed out as “challenges” to the kids. But the crowd favorite was the sausage rolls.
Now, onto the stories and highlights from this week!
Challenger Brands: Being Heavy On Sponsored Products Is a Feature, Not a Bug
Big brands envy the speed-to-market of challengers; challenger brands envy big budgets and vast teams. Here’s how each can lean into their strengths. Read here
While everyone debates agentic shopping, Amazon’s Rufus is racking up sales
In my column for The Drum, I share new research that shows Amazon’s AI shopping assistant drove nearly all incremental growth on the platform over BFCM last year. I argue that this validates that we don’t need fully autonomous agents to see consumer behavior shift. Read here
7 Ways to Break the Retail Media Doom Loop
Practical strategies for brands stuck in underperforming RMN programs. I tackle the most common traps—from overreliance on sponsored products to ignoring incrementality—and lay out specific actions brands can take to reset their approach. Read here
Jassy Is ‘Bullish’ on AI Commerce—Just Not Yours
Amazon’s Q4 earnings call revealed Andy Jassy’s strategy: own the AI shopping layer rather than integrate with third-party agents. I break down what his comments signal about Amazon’s approach to agentic commerce and why it matters for brands betting on a more open AI shopping ecosystem. Read here
Instacart Ads’ Third Act: Ali Miller on Building the Infrastructure Powering Retail Media’s Future
I sat down with Instacart’s VP Ali Miller to talk about how the platform is evolving beyond its roots as a delivery service. She walks through Instacart’s infrastructure buildout and what it means for brands navigating the retail media landscape. Read here
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Other News
- I was excited to be asked to contribute names of people in the retail media industry that I admire for The Drum’s inaugural Commerce Media Power 100 List. That list was published this week, and the editorial team snuck my name on there too. Looking at the list reminded me of just how many smart and passionate people there are in the industry and why I love being part of it.
- Fellow ad industry commentator Pesach Latin of Adotat is conducting some primary research on Retail Media. 12 questions. 3 minutes. Anonymous. Everyone who leaves their email gets a preview edition of the full report before it goes public. [TAKE THE SURVEY]
Coming Up
Next week I’m doing a LinkedIn Live with Jordan Witmer from Salt XC on February 5 at 11AM ET - we’re diving into in-store retail media and the bifurcation between scalable programmatic placements and experiential activations. This is the second livestream we’re doing. I love it because unlike a podcast interview, we can also take live questions & comments from people who join live. Join us here
That’s it for this week!
Catch you next time.
