Tesco, B&Q, John Lewis and Waitrose are taking part in a series of pilots to enable brands to run retail media campaigns across multiple retailers via a “single route”.
The retailers – as part of the newly formed ‘Dunnhumby network alliance’ – will launch the pilots in the coming weeks.
“Brands are demanding scale, consistency and transparency, but fragmentation has held the market back,” said Josh Bottomley, CEO of Dunnhumby. “This ground-breaking alliance is made possible through Dunnhumby’s unique position in the market, bringing the industry together under a shared framework, making it easier for brands to activate, measure and grow through retail media.”
The “siloed ecosystems” of various retailers’ retail media networks had been a pain point for brands, requiring them to rebuild campaign plans and workflows for each outlet, Dunnhumby said, as had the inconsistent measurement and operational complexity that comes from marketing across multiple media networks.
The “single solution” – built in partnership with technology company Kevel – also enables retailers to access “broader demand and deliver inventory in a more scalable way, while opening retail media budgets to publishers through retailer data-enabled audiences” Dunnhumby said.
Further retailers are expected to join the alliance in the coming months. Initial pilots will involve variety of categories including household and DIY products, health & beauty, and grocery.
According to IAB forecasts, UK retail media spend will reach £8.6bn by 2030, growing at an average annual rate of 17%.
Retail media has, however, become a point of friction between retailers and suppliers.
At The Grocer’s Marketing Business Lunch earlier this month, a debate on the value of this lucrative supermarket revenue stream testified to growing disgruntlement by suppliers and brands over the range of retail media network demands and sense of entitlement, the variation in service levels, the lack of differentiation and mutuality, the failure to demonstrate objective value, and the high entry cost.
At the same time, Advantage Group’s 2026 survey of retailers found they rated supplier commercial activation as weak, with retail media described by one retailer as a “trade afterthought” by most suppliers.
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