ional marketing tool, it is now regarded as a critical growth engine for modern retail businesses. For brands, retail media means access to high-intent consumers, and for retailers, it acts as a new revenue stream powered by proximity, relevance and first-party data. Several speakers at Online Retailer described it as a high-margin revenue stream, a customer acquisition channel and a long-term brand-building play, and for some, it’s already proving to be lucrative. Chemist Warehouse has reportedly built one of the nation’s largest advertising operations through retail media, which, according to a 2024 article in The Australian Financial Review, accounted for 20 per cent of its total sales. Through its network of a weekly television program, digital channels and high volume of foot traffic, the pharmacy giant has created an ecosystem that advertisers are eager to tap into. But it’s not just the major players that should be making moves. Speaking at the conference, Kogan’s chief technology officer Goran Stefkovski unpacked the growing role of retail media from a platform perspective. “Every business turns into an ad business when it’s successful. If you look at anything online, that’s what they all turn into,” he said. “When you’re a platform, your revenues start to spread. You’re not a self-brand where you can take a huge margin as you built and invented a product. You need to start diversifying [your] business.” For Kogan, retail media offers a dual benefit. On one hand, it gives sellers more control over their visibility on the online marketplace. On the other hand, it provides a source of income for the marketplace itself. Retail media, Stefkovski claimed, not only strengthens the business model but empowers sellers. Similar to how retailers can optimise their listings for visibility on platforms like Google, third-party sellers now require tools to manage their presence and performance within online marketplaces.  “As there are more and more sellers, you want to empower them to be able to control their destiny on your platform – just like us, as a first-party retailer, you control your destiny to some degree on Google,” he explained. Stefkovski pointed to features like sponsored product listings and branded placements as crucial instruments for sellers to amplify product launches, drive campaigns and ultimately reach more customers. From ad space to brand stage The conference also highlighted how retail media unlocks data-minded decision making, giving sellers insight into what works and what doesn’t faster than traditional ad channels. In a fireside chat, Leteesha Serzycki, head of digital and e-commerce at Chemist Warehouse, positioned retail media as one of the three core drivers behind the company’s rapidly expanding digital strategy. She explained that retail media is now a major revenue lever both in terms of supplier value and internal business impact. “I think every single keynote or panel I listened to [at Online Retailer] mentioned retail media, and [Chemist Warehouse] has done a really incredible job at building a network. Our online channel is a key component of that strategy,” she said.  “Within our digital packages for our suppliers, we sell our on-site inventory. That benefits our suppliers because they get to promote their brands, their products and keep promotional periods, to a site that gets 10 million unique visitors each month,” she added. Serzycki claimed Chemist Warehouse brings in those marketing dollars, but also assists in generating sales with most suppliers and for the business itself. A tiered value proposition Meanwhile, e-commerce advisor and former Adore Beauty CMO Dan Ferguson focused on the broader implications of retail media during his presentation, pointing to the layered impact of partnerships and the long-term brand opportunity that lies within this space. Retail media, he said, isn’t just about monetising space but about strategically aligning data, community and creativity. As Ferguson put it, “Retail media is a fundamental game-changer.”  He spoke about the ability to identify product unknowns, tap into new customers and inform strategy with data.  At the same time, he stressed how live-streaming, personality and community can enhance a brand, driving passion amongst customers and improving pricing power.  This perspective signals a broader shift in how retail media is being positioned, not just as a short-term sales channel, but as a brand amplifier.  Retail media is rapidly expanding beyond display ads into dynamic and creative storytelling. Brands are now experimenting with immersive formats, live shopping and collaborations with influencers directly on retail platforms.  The takeaway from this year’s Online Retailer convention was that retailers have more power than ever before.