Retail Media Radar– May 2025: Data, Direction and Disruption

This month’s retail media headlines are defined by strategic expansion and disruptive innovation. ASDA is opening up its shopper data to offsite and D2C campaigns, Google is embedding commerce signals into YouTube ads, and OpenAI’s ChatGPT is fast becoming a new front door for digital shopping. Meanwhile, the M&S cyberattack has reignited industry focus on privacy and data governance, reminding us that personalisation and protection must evolve hand in hand.

This edition of Retail Media Radar spotlights where the industry is heading next: toward AI-enabled journeys, platform convergence, and performance underpinned by trust.

1.  ChatGPT's AI shopping update: A new retail media disruptor?

• OpenAI has rolled out new shopping features for ChatGPT, including real-time product search, pricing data, and direct shopping links via partnerships with platforms like Shopify and Instacart.

• Users can now ask ChatGPT for personalised shopping recommendations, compare options, and navigate directly to product pages - effectively introducing a conversational commerce interface that bypasses traditional search engines and eCommerce entry points.

• While this may enhance the consumer experience through simplicity and speed, it could also disrupt how and where brand media dollars are spent.

• If AI assistants become the front door to online shopping, retailers and brands may face a major shift in visibility, where algorithms, not search ads or retail media placements, determine what gets surfaced.

• The implications for retail media are significant: platforms may need to rethink how product data, availability, and offers are optimised for AI discovery, not just retail site performance.

• We see this as both a threat and an opportunity. Networks that can feed real-time, structured, and shoppable data to AI tools could expand their reach, but those who rely solely on on-site banners risk being outpaced by newer, AI-native paths to purchase.​

  Find out more here.

2. Google brings retail media data to YouTube ads

• Google announced at the 2025 NewFronts that it will begin integrating retail media data into YouTube ads through its DV360 platform.

• The integration is designed to help brands better target and measure campaigns by linking YouTube exposure to retail media signals, such as shopper intent, loyalty status, and purchase behaviour.

• Partners including Instacart, Kroger, Costco, and Lowe’s will supply retail data to enable precise targeting and close the loop between media exposure and sales conversion.

• The initiative will allow brands to target audiences based on real-time buying signals and evaluate performance with commerce-based attribution, bringing retail-grade accountability to video advertising.

• This development also represents a major step forward in the convergence between retail media and connected TV (CTV), highlighting how commerce data is becoming the connective tissue across digital ecosystems.

• At id8 retail, we believe this signals the next evolution in omnichannel media strategy. As retail media extends beyond owned properties, brands will expect joined-up, insight-led planning across platforms like YouTube, Amazon, and retail DSPs.

• It’s no longer just about advertising at the point of sale, but influencing consumers earlier in the journey, when they’re consuming video, engaging with influencers, or researching products. Retail media data is now the thread that ties it all together.

  Find our more here.

3. ASDA Expands Retail Media Offsite and Into D2C

• ASDA has announced a major expansion of its retail media offering, enabling advertisers to reach shoppers both on and off its owned platforms through a new partnership with The Trade Desk.

• This development unlocks the potential for ASDA’s 10 million-strong first-party customer base to be targeted across the open web, using anonymised data to deliver personalised advertising beyond ASDA.com and its apps.

• As part of the update, ASDA is also offering brands the ability to integrate retail media into direct-to-consumer (D2C) journeys, allowing seamless connection between ad exposure and product purchase.

• The partnership supports greater measurement and audience activation, giving advertisers the ability to track conversion more accurately across channels.

• This as a pivotal step in retail media maturity. By bridging onsite and offsite targeting with D2C integration, ASDA is building a more connected, shopper-centric ecosystem, one that meets brands’ need for both reach and relevance in a cookieless future.

  Find our more here.

4. When personalisation meets privacy: what we can learn from recent retail cyber attacks

• The recent cyber attacks targeting M&S, Co-op and Harrods, which disrupted access to customer accounts and raised serious concerns around data exposure, have reignited industry-wide conversations about digital trust and data responsibility.

• These incidents highlight the retail sector's vulnerability to cyber threats, especially given the increasing reliance on digital operations and the handling of extensive customer data

• These attacks are becoming more common - according to insurance firm QBE, the number of disruptive global cyberattacks more than doubled from 2020 to 2024, underscoring the escalating threat landscape.

• In retail media, where loyalty cards, purchase histories and behavioural data underpin personalisation, the integrity and security of that data is critical - not just for shoppers, but for brand partners.

• Retailers with media networks are now expected to operate with the same scrutiny and rigour as digital publishers, safeguarding sensitive customer information while delivering advertising outcomes.

• As more advertisers weigh the value of first-party data-rich media platforms like Tesco Clubcard and Nectar360, they will also be scrutinising how those networks store, secure and govern their data.

• We believe that retail media’s credibility will increasingly rely on how well networks balance commercial activation with privacy protection. Resilient data infrastructure and transparent policies will become key pillars of advertiser confidence.

  Read more here.

Summary

In summary, this edition of Retail Media Radar reflects a retail media landscape in transition, from owned walled gardens to omnichannel ecosystems powered by data and technology. ASDA’s offsite and D2C move underscores the need for scale and flexibility, while Google’s and OpenAI’s advancements show that retail media is no longer limited to retail environments.

At the same time, the cyberattacks on a number of high street retailers offers a timely reminder that data protection is as vital as campaign performance. As we look ahead, retail media networks that can balance reach, relevance, and responsibility will define the next phase of growth.