As the retail media boom accelerates, non-traditional players are stepping into the space.
Moderated by RMA Editor Tyrone Stewart, the ‘Goes Beyond Just Retail’ panel at the ‘Welcome to the (new) Retail Media Age‘ event, in partnership with Trainline and MiQ, saw leaders from PayPal, Trainline, Expedia, and Kinesso discuss why commerce media is the next frontier, the creative opportunities it unlocks, and the challenges brands must navigate.
Why non-retailers are joining the party
For Henry Stokes, PayPal Ads UK’s Senior Director, the decision to enter retail media was overdue. “We’re a 25-year-old business with amazing transaction data across millions of retailers globally, and we never considered launching an ad solution — which is almost a crime,” he admitted. “There’s a huge amount of revenue to be made, but more importantly, our merchants were asking us to help drive growth. With 400 million consumers who use PayPal at checkout, we felt a responsibility to connect them.”
Sam Eads, Head of Ad Sales and Operations at Trainline, echoed that logic. “When you look at the traditional retail media model, surely there is something in this for non-traditional players as well. Trainline sits at the intersection between retail, travel and commerce media, and with 27 million monthly users, we’re in a unique position to deliver creative offers and closed-loop attribution for brands.”
Expedia, meanwhile, has been monetising data through advertising for two decades. But as Angelique Miller, Vice President, E Studio at Expedia Group Advertising, explained, the company is reframing its approach. “This is probably the first time I’ve never been late to the party. We’ve rebranded our efforts under the retail media umbrella because we sit on so much valuable data. What’s exciting is moving from on-site to off-site, tapping into the ‘travel mindset’ — a high-value audience who is also shopping, streaming, and planning. We want to help brands run full-funnel campaigns, not just sell flights and hotels.”
From the buy-side, Liam Russell, Ecommerce Director, EMEA at Kinesso, highlighted why agencies are increasingly turning to commerce media. “We’ve started working with Klarna, quick-commerce players, and others because they have such deep, interesting data about consumer spending habits — not just purchases, but lifestyle indicators. That allows us to build lifestyle audiences, and the barriers to entry are much lower than with traditional retail media.”
What excites agencies most, Russell said, is the creative scope. “Brands love the ability to develop really creative campaigns around contexts like travel or quick commerce. Without this model, they wouldn’t traditionally think of Trainline or Expedia as partners.”
Creativity as a differentiator
For Miller, creativity is the unlock that moves commerce media beyond transactional advertising. “For 20 years we mainly sold to travel brands. But travellers are doing so much more — buying clothes, sunscreen, entertainment. The challenge is to help agencies see us that way,” she said.
An example of this creativity is the playful activations Expedia has pitched, including how film studios could create “fictional travel experiences” that link travel and entertainment around film releases. Think promoting flights to Jurassic Park or hotels on a distant planet.
Stokes argued that the most successful platforms lean into their uniqueness. “Uber realised that dwell time while waiting for a ride was their ad moment. Marriott has screens in every hotel room. PayPal owns the payment process, so we ask: how do we reduce friction and bring storefronts into ad units? Commerce media works best when it channels what makes the platform distinctive.”
The scale and measurement question
All panellists acknowledged that scale remains both an asset and a challenge. “PayPal is a global brand with 400 million logged-in consumers, including nearly 30 million active accounts in the UK,” Stokes said. “It’s about reminding people of the quality of that first-party data, and showing we can measure more than clicks — we can model share of wallet and prove category shifts.”
Eads noted that Trainline faces a different challenge: overcoming perceptions of being “just a travel app.” “The data we have is vast and contextual, and we can translate briefs into targeted campaigns. But with so much competition, we have to constantly prove why Trainline deserves a place on the media plan.”
Miller added that the real opportunity lies in precision: “Scale is a blessing, but it’s also about drilling down into contextual relevancy and applying data in ways that deliver results. No one has that perfectly figured out yet, but it’s where the value lies.”
The road ahead
Looking forward, AI and collaboration emerged as consistent themes. “Budgets are tighter, and every pound has to prove ROI,” said Eads. “That pressure forces us to step up, but also encourages more joint partnerships across publishers. Measurement will also remain key — proving not just dwell time but attention.”
Miller predicted a shakeout as the retail media landscape expands. “Pretty soon everyone will be a retail media network. The interesting question is: who should brands really engage with? The future will be about strategic partnerships — imagine what PayPal, Expedia, and Trainline data combined could deliver.”
For agencies, Russell said the hope is that brands embrace these platforms for more than conversion. “Expedia, Trainline, PayPal — the reach they provide means they can play in awareness and consideration too. That’s a shift we want to see over the next 12 months.”
Advice for first movers
Russell stressed the importance of investing in creativity rather than just sales. The best campaigns, he argued, don’t simply replicate existing formats but emerge from unique data sets and ad surfaces that only commerce media can offer.
Miller encouraged newcomers not to be intimidated by the sector’s complexity. “Don’t be afraid of the wild west,” she said, noting that no one has the formula perfected yet. That uncertainty, she suggested, is precisely where the opportunity lies: “The future of advertising is in finding ways to capture attention meaningfully.”
Eads urged patience and persistence. Success in retail media, he said, rarely comes from a quick win but rather from building internal trust and securing senior buy-in. He added that companies should be prepared for the practical realities of launching a new ad business, particularly the time and effort required to navigate legal and compliance processes.
Finally, Stokes emphasised the need for integration and careful planning. He warned against letting ad initiatives sit in isolation, instead urging businesses to weave them into the broader organisation. “Make sure you’re not siloed,” he advised, adding that technology partners should be chosen strategically rather than hastily.
