Beyond Grocers: The Next Frontier for Retail Media in Ireland

What Is the Next Frontier for Retail Media in Ireland?

Writing as a relatively recently anointed Irish citizen, I am allowed to say, with a little misty-eyed admiration and without irony, that Ireland is an incredible country.

This is, after all, the country that became the first in the world to legalise same-sex marriage by popular vote. The Netherlands got there first by Act of Parliament, but Ireland did something uniquely powerful: it asked the people, and the people said yes. Ireland was also the first country in the world to introduce a comprehensive workplace smoking ban, and the first EU country to introduce a plastic bag levy.

In so many ways, Ireland has been exceptionally progressive. Ahead of the curve. Willing to move first.

But, just as people can have what are sometimes called “spiky skills”… exceptionally strong in some areas, less strong in others… perhaps countries can too. And popular wisdom would suggest that, despite the concentration of global tech companies here, Ireland has not been at the very front of the curve when it comes to retail media, or the marketing technology that supports it.

That lead has largely been taken by bigger markets: the US, the UK, Germany, France and others, where larger populations, broader store estates, higher web traffic and deeper advertising budgets make it easier to build retail media networks at scale.

The same has been true of the expansion of retail media beyond grocery. In larger markets, the early momentum from FMCG has already pushed into pharmacies, department stores, electronics, furniture, fashion, DIY, pet, hospitality and travel. Anywhere there is customer attention, transaction data, and a meaningful brand ecosystem, the retail media opportunity is being explored.

So, Ireland Is Behind. Or Is It?

At ReAction, we often say that “we’ve been doing retail media since before retail media was a thing.” That’s true. And we were doing it here in Ireland.

In 2005, we launched our first in-store media format, with a nationwide trolley media network across the grocery channel; a format which still delivers strong results to this day. Ten years later we took our first steps outside the grocery sector, developing a digital screen network in the pharmacy channel, enabling brands to reach health-conscious shoppers in a trusted retail environment, close to professional recommendation.

So while the language of retail media may be relatively new, the underlying idea has been here for some time. Brands have always wanted to show up in the places where people are making decisions. Retailers have always had valuable media assets.

What has changed is the level of structure, technology, data and expectation now being applied to that opportunity... And that change is starting to happen in Ireland, beyond grocery.

Despite the obvious challenge of smaller store networks, lower footfall and lower web traffic than larger markets, more retailers operating outside the grocery sector are beginning to take retail media seriously. Brand promotion within owned retail assets is starting to move from a largely trade-led activity into something more formal, more measurable and more commercially ambitious.

That’s good for retailers and brands because well-run retail media is not just a new revenue stream, it can improve the performance of retail spaces, strengthen supplier relationships, fund better customer experiences, and create more useful, more relevant brand engagement across the shopper journey.

A Lesson From Larger Markets

But there is a caution here too.

As anyone who has attended a retail media conference in the last couple of years will have heard more than once, building a retail media network does not automatically make it successful. A logo, a rate card and the availability of a few ad formats are not enough.

Advertisers in larger markets are already wrestling with an increasingly fragmented retail media landscape. Too many platforms. Too many definitions. Too many reporting templates. Too many different ways of buying what can, from the advertiser’s point of view, feel like broadly similar media opportunities.

The result is predictable. Brands are beginning to narrow and deepen their retail media investment. Rather than spreading budget thinly across every available network, they are focusing on a smaller number of well-operated partners that offer scale, consistency, accountability and ease of use.

Ireland may not be at that frustration point yet. In fact, it is encouraging to see new entrants preparing, testing and launching retail media propositions across new sectors. That is healthy. It shows momentum. It shows that the opportunity is being understood.

But the frustration will come if we are not careful.

The Next Frontier

So, what is the next frontier for retail media in Ireland?

The obvious answer is expansion beyond grocery into other retail sectors. That is certainly part of it. But the more important answer may be what comes after that: not just more retail media networks, but better connected ones.

That could mean shared technologies. Common booking processes. Consistent reporting. Clearer inventory management. More joined-up planning across sectors. And, critically, an easier experience for advertisers and agencies trying to invest efficiently.

The benefits would be felt on all sides.

Advertisers would gain a simpler, more seamless way to plan, book, manage and evaluate campaigns. Retailers, including a longer tail of smaller and mid-sized operators, would gain access to retail media revenues that might otherwise be out of reach. And shoppers would, ideally, experience better, more relevant brand activity in the environments where they are already browsing, choosing and buying.

Ireland may not have the largest retail market. It may not always move first in marketing technology. But it has often shown that being small does not prevent it from being progressive.

In retail media, perhaps the opportunity is not to copy the complexity of larger markets, but to learn from it… and build something more connected from the start.