Waitrose expands retail media capabilities to allow offsite advertising

The John Lewis Partnership has expanded its retail media offer, with a new partnership that will allow brands access to offsite advertising for the first time.

It means that any brand partnering either with Waitrose, or John Lewis, will be able to run advertising campaigns across connected TV, online and in display ads on other websites.

The partnership’s retail media offer was previously limited to the Waitrose and John Lewis websites, meaning brands could only run advertising on those platforms. 

JLP has expanded its existing partnership with Epilson to offer the new capability, which marked a “significant step forward” in the partnership’s rollout of a “fully-fledged” retail media network, JLP said.

“This move is a big step forward in creating an insight-led retail media offer that spans both grocery and non-grocery,” said Jemma Haley, JLP retail media lead.

“It helps us build a detailed understanding of audiences across vastly different purchase journeys, from immediate necessities to more considered items,” she said.

“This will enable our brand partners to target smarter audiences powered by first-party data, helping our customers discover more relevant and tailored brands,” Haley added.

Initially JLP will offer offsite advertising as a managed service. However, it aims to introduce a self-service option in the future, which will enable brands to run their own end-to-end campaigns.

Waitrose is growing its retail media network

It is the latest expansion since JLP first launched its retail media network in November 2023, following a overhaul of its core IT capabilities, and loyalty programme.

“The offsite opportunity is enormous and connecting onsite and offsite media remains a key challenge,” said Tim Frankcom, Epsilon president for global and mid-market expansion.

“It’s all too easy to rely on retail media partners that lean heavily on third-party data, but this can result in fragmented targeting and a disjointed customer experience.

“The John Lewis Partnership is invested in taking a different approach, giving brands access to real identity, not guesswork, and campaigns that truly reflect the customer.”