Tom Langley, head of retail media for the John Lewis Partnership, says the next phase of growth will depend on retailers proving they can deliver measurable value for brands without compromising the customer trust that underpins their businesses.
Retail media may have become one of the fastest-growing opportunities in advertising, but for John Lewis Partnership it is not simply a new revenue stream to bolt on to the 162-year old business.
Tom Langley, head of retail media for the John Lewis Partnership, argues that the most successful retail media networks will be those that reinforce the retailer’s wider brand proposition, while creating better experiences for shoppers.
“Some people look at retail media as a quick win revenue stream. At the Partnership, our priority is focusing on how it supports the core brand strategy,” he explains.
This means ensuring retail media activity fits naturally with the positioning of both Waitrose and John Lewis.
Looking at Waitrose, Langley says the ambition is to be recognised as “The Home of Food Lovers”. While, John Lewis is focused on premium ranges that are “thoughtfully created and curated”.
Overall, the Partnership is working to create campaigns that not only drive sales but actually improve the customer experience while growing awareness for brands.
“Retail media thrives when the core brand is thriving. We aim to create ‘win-win-win’ propositions which deliver amazing engaging customer experiences, whilst supporting sales and awareness for client brands, and driving growth for the Partnership.”
From advertising space to brand storytelling
Langley believes retailers have the potential to become more powerful media owners: “As customer attention becomes ever more fragmented, retailers have customers in a perfect context; they’re paying attention and in a high consideration mode.”
However, Langley stresses that this opportunity only works if it builds rather than erodes shopper trust. Relevance, personalisation and creative execution are therefore central to how the Partnership thinks about retail media.
“It’s vital that anything we do builds on trust with customers, connecting them with relevant and meaningful brands, rather than just pushing products for the sheer sake of sales,” he adds.
Over the past three years, the Partnership has focused on building the foundations of its retail media proposition. Langley says this has meant ensuring it can operate like a media business, with the right partners, tools and measurement capabilities in place.
Partnerships with Kevel, Barrows, Epsilon and dunnhumby have helped create a toolkit designed to deliver growth and measurement for brands.
Now, the focus is moving from building the offer to scaling it. Recent campaigns include digital screen work in stores for Oura and Lego, as well as a homepage takeover on JohnLewis.com for Dyson.
Keeping customer trust at the centre
John Lewis Partnership’s reputation has long been built around trust and customer relationships. That heritage shapes how the business evaluates every retail media opportunity.
“Our customer’s trust is incredibly important to us, and not something we take for granted, so everything we do is viewed through the lens of whether it improves the customer experience,” notes Langley.
Although retail media is not new, the discipline has become far more precise. Where it once meant blanket advertising, the Partnership can now use greater detail to help customers discover new brands or reconnect with favourites.
Brand partnerships are also selected with the customer experience in mind. Investment generated through retail media can support areas such as new digital signage, experiential store formats and onsite personalisation.
“Even with all the technology our ultimate focus is on how we can create great customer engagement — that way the brands and we will win together,” stresses Langley.
Brands demand better measurement
As brands become more sophisticated in how they invest in retail media, measurement has become the most consistent demand from advertisers.
Langley explains: “The key thing we always hear from brands is about measurement and the expectation that as a retailer, we have the data to close the loop back to purchase.”
The Partnership’s work with Kevel, launched earlier this year, is intended to give clients fuller campaign measurement. Much of the capability is available on a self-serve basis, allowing brands to access real-time updates for formats such as sponsored products.
The retailer can also provide insight into richer creative media and help brands understand “ROPO” behaviour — research online, purchase offline — as well as the reverse, closing the gap between onsite media and in-store sales.
Langley says the wider industry is still working out how to give advertisers greater confidence in performance and return on investment.
He admits: “We’re no exception, and are working with partners to continue to improve the measurement we provide.”
Two priorities stand out for the Partnership. The first is setting clearer benchmarks so both the retailer and its brand partners can understand the difference between “good success” and “great success”, taking into account different media types and product categories.
The second is comparability across channels and retailers: “If retail media is going to grow exponentially, it won’t be just shifting spend between retailers.
“We need to work out how to support the broader media measurement solutions which advertisers are using.”
The networks that will thrive
Langley adds the retail media networks that maintain relevance will be those that go beyond data: “The focus needs to be on creating more engaging customer experiences.
“It’s not just about focusing on the data, but also the creative execution.”
At John Lewis Partnership, some of the most visible examples of that strategy are appearing in physical stores. The retailer launched a seven-metre-high atrium screen at its Bluewater store in November, which Langley describes as a “showstopper” that grabs shoppers’ attention.
At Waitrose, the business has expanded its “stunt spaces” to 10 stores, working with brands on experiential activations ranging from wine bar takeovers with interactive masterclasses to oversized cereal boxes pouring from the ceiling.
There is more to come, too, with Langley teasing “an exciting new format” for Oxford Street later this year.
“Ultimately our job is to engage customers — by getting this right, it’s great for them, great for brands and great for us,” Langley concludes.
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