Can retail media be a brand channel? With Tesco's Tash Whitmey

This week, The Media Leader is embarking on its first ever Retail Media Week in Focus.The fledgling channel has been having a moment. Investment in retail media has grown substantially – in 2025, adspend in the channel grew 17.5% year on year, according to the latest AA/Warc figures.Brands are seeking to join up the ends of the funnel by targeting consumers based on their shopping habits and measuring directly the link between ad delivery and outcomes within closed-loop retail environments.But, as attendees heard at The Media Leader's Future of Brands event last week, with growth has come some scepticism – is retail media overhyped? Is it just useful for lower-funnel activations? How is it being defined on media plans?One of the largest retail media players here in the UK is Tesco. Recently, The Media Leader reported that Tesco Media had launched new video ad inventory on its website and app as it looks to offer brand advertising opportunities to marketers.Tash Whitmey is the managing director of the Tesco Media and Insight Platform. She joined host Jack Benjamin recently via video call to discuss the latest innovations the company is making, the state of the retail media market and how Tesco sizes up to global competitors like Amazon, and whether shopping habits are changing amid macroeconomic turbulence.Highlights:4:36: What's driving growth in retail media?9:11: Innovations in retail media allowing movement up the funnel15:49: How does Tesco stand up against its competitors, many of which are global?24:57: Measurement standardisation needed27:23: How shopping behaviour is changing amid macroeconomic headwindsRelated articles:Tesco Media launches premium video inventory across website and appIs AI accelerating Google, Meta and Amazon’s dominance? Takeaways from Big Tech’s Q1Global partners with Sainsbury’s and Nectar360 on audio measurement trackingIf retail media networks want to talk like ITV, they have to act like ITV