Justin Pearse

Interviews, insight & analysis on the retail media sector

Justin Pearse

Justin Pearse is the Editor-in-Chief of Retail Media Age and New Digital Age, with more than 25 years in digital media across journalism and branded content. Outside of NDA and RMA, he is usually found on a stage somewhere, hosting, chairing and running industry events. He previously worked at Digiday, The Drum, New Media Age, ZDNet and IT Week. He’s appeared regularly on television, radio and in the national press as an expert on digital media, from BBC’s Newsnight to Channel 4 News and the national press.

AI & Automation

What defines advertising value in the age of AI and retail media?

In an industry long focused on immediate returns, marketers are increasingly finding themselves at a crossroads. While measuring clicks, conversions, and return on ad spend (ROAS) offers quick results, it often fails to capture the broader significance of advertising on long-term business goals. At NDA’s recent Foresight event, Esme Robinson, VP Platform Solutions & GTM at Epsilon, joined Rebecca Sentance, Editorial & Content Director at Retail Media Age, to discuss the distinction between “outcomes” and true business value.

Read more ->

27 October 2026

Brands

From attention to outcomes: Rethinking the economics of advertising

At NDA’s Foresight event, Rebecca Sentance, Editor of Retail Media Age, led a panel exploring why defining advertising value is still so challenging and what must change for marketing to be recognised as a genuine engine of business growth.

Read more ->

19 October 2026

Brands

“Retail media is not the strategy”: Chris Doe, Marketing & Innovation Director at food brand Pilgrim’s Europe on smarter investment

Chris Doe is Marketing & Innovation Director at food company Pilgrim’s Europe, owner of brands including including Richmond, Fridge Raiders, Mattessons and Denny. He sat down with Retail Media Age to discuss retail media’s role in the company’s portfolio of brands.

Read more ->

14 October 2026

Brands

The AI-enabled consumer: how algorithms, retail media, and brand strategy are rewriting shopper journeys

As algorithms, generative AI, and retail media reshape how consumers discover and buy products, senior marketing and agency leaders gathered at NDA’s Foresight conference to discuss a fundamental question: who is truly driving consumer decisions today?

Read more ->

12 October 2026

Brands

Breaking silos and building scale: Why every brand needs a connected retail media strategy

At the Brand & AI Safety Summit London, a panel asked: Every brand wants and needs a retail or direct-to-consumer (DTC) story. What is yours, and how does it scale?

Read more ->

21 September 2026

Agencies

Dentsu’s Ash White on retail media’s shift from silo to integrated media

Retail media is becoming less of a standalone discipline and more of a natural part of the wider media mix, according to Ash White, Managing Partner, Total Commerce, Dentsu.

Read more ->

15 September 2026

Customer Journey

Retail media’s next phase: From hype to systemic integration [Part 2 – Creativity and the consumer]

Now a much more mature proposition, retail media still needs to prove itself to leadership. This means solving questions of creative effectiveness, building a unified customer experience, and most importantly, bringing on the right talent while creating an environment that enables that talent to thrive.

Read more ->

10 August 2026

Measurement & Analytics

Retail media’s next phase: From hype to systemic integration [Part 1 – Stabilisation]

In Maison New Digital Age at Cannes Lions, a group of industry leaders gathered to discuss retail media’s next phase: how to move beyond the ‘hype’ of growth and tackle urgent questions of fragmentation, measurement, customer experience, and more.

Read more ->

10 August 2026

Technology

Retail media’s next act: from land grab to proof of value

Retail media has spent the last few years as advertising’s fastest-growing channel – but that era of explosive, uncontested growth is over, according to Alexia Nakad, General Manager, EMEA West at AppsFlyer, who sat down for a fireside chat with Retail Media Age at MadFest to map out where the channel goes next.

Read more ->

27 July 2026

Justin Pearse and Alex Knapman speak on stage at Madfest London 2026.

Retail Media Networks

“Trust permeates everything”: Alex Knapman, Retail Media Lead at Halfords, on creating authentic brand partnerships

Alex Knapman leads retail media at Halfords, where he has spent the past eighteen months building an in-house function from scratch. Retail Media Age caught up with him in a fireside chat at MadFest to talk trust, creativity and the future of the channel.

Read more ->

20 July 2026

AI & Automation

From aisles to algorithms: Insights from Kimberly-Clark, PMI, PHD and IAB UK

Retail media is one of the fastest-growing channels in digital advertising, expanding at 70% year on year and expected to hit £8 billion across the digital landscape by 2030. But with that growth comes fragmentation, siloed measurement, and pressure to prove real business outcomes.

Read more ->

9 June 2026

AI & Automation

Silos still hamper holistic programmatic success: lessons from Mars, Tesco, Kimberley Clark & Global

A panel at Programmatic Pioneers brought together senior figures from across media and advertising to tackle one of the industry’s most persistent problems: how to break down silos, diversify supply, and build retail media strategies that go beyond short-term conversion.

Read more ->

8 June 2026