Retail Media is growing fast but now comes the challenge of proving sustainable value for advertisers. Ahead of IAB Europe’s Retail Media Impact Summit on 7 October, we explore what comes next.

Retail Media has spent the past few years establishing itself as one of digital advertising’s fastest-growing areas. In 2025, the European market grew by 16.7% to €13.3 billion*, accounting for more than 10% of total digital advertising spend.

That growth is significant. But as more investment flows into Retail Media, the conversation is moving on, with the focus increasingly on what comes next: proving value to advertisers, improving consistency, building sustainable commercial models and making an increasingly complex ecosystem easier to navigate.

These questions will be at the heart of IAB Europe’s Retail Media Impact Summit on 7th October at Felix Meritis in Amsterdam.

Bringing together 200 senior decision-makers from across the Retail and Commerce Media ecosystem, the Summit will explore the next stage of growth and give the people in the room a chance to contribute to the discussion.

Moving From Growth to Maturity

Retail Media’s continued expansion is bringing new expectations. Brands want clearer evidence of performance and incrementality. Retailers are looking at how to build scalable media businesses that work for advertisers and their wider commercial organisations. Agencies need greater consistency across networks and markets, while technology companies continue to address challenges around data, measurement and interoperability.

At the same time, new opportunities are opening up quickly, from AI and agentic commerce to travel media and non-endemic advertising.

The next phase of Retail Media will depend on how effectively the industry can turn these opportunities into sustainable value.

That is the thinking behind this year’s Summit theme: Beyond the Boom: The Next Chapter of Retail Media Growth.

The Questions Retail Media Needs to Answer

The day will open with IAB Europe’s Chief Economist Dr Daniel Knapp, who will set the European market context with new insights into Retail Media performance, sponsored product inventory and areas where further growth remains untapped.

From there, the agenda will examine some of the biggest opportunities and challenges facing the market.

A fireside chat with Booking.com will explore the rise of travel media, and data will also be a major focus. Leaders from AH Retail Media Services, REWE Group, dunnhumby and LiveRamp will come together for a pan-European discussion on how Retail Media data maturity differs across markets and what progress looks like in practice.

AI is moving just as quickly. James Taylor of Particular Audience will lead an interactive town hall exploring how AI is already being adopted across Retail Media, while Paul Dahill of Koddi will tackle Five Big Questions About Agentic Commerce, looking at where the near-term opportunities are and where the industry may still be getting ahead of itself.

The agenda will also address some of the commercial challenges that come with growth. Lisa Avery of Zitcha will explore the credibility gap Retail Media businesses need to overcome with merchants, while a session featuring Opel and MediaMarktSaturn will look at the growing opportunity for non-endemic advertisers and what it takes to make those partnerships work.

More speakers and sessions will be announced as the Summit approaches.

A Summit Built Around Participation

The content is only part of the experience. Alongside keynotes and expert-led conversations, attendees will be able to take part in interactive breakout sessions, live polling, town halls and audience debate.

The aim is not to present the industry with a fixed set of answers. Retail Media is developing differently across businesses and markets, so the Summit is designed to create space for attendees to compare experiences, test ideas and challenge the views they hear on stage.

Bringing the Ecosystem Together

The Summit will bring together retailers, brands, agencies, technology companies, publishers, consultants and members of IAB Europe’s Retail & Commerce Media Committee.

IAB Europe is also working with the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) to bring senior brand-side media and marketing leaders into the room.

There will also be plenty of time to continue conversations outside the formal agenda, from the opening coffee through to the closing cocktail reception.

What Happens Next Matters

Retail Media has already demonstrated its ability to attract significant advertiser investment. The next challenge is making that growth sustainable.

Can the industry make buying easier? Create more consistent measurement? Build models that work for merchants as well as advertisers? And turn opportunities such as AI, travel media and non-endemic demand into meaningful incremental growth?

Those are the questions that matter now.

On 7th October, 200 senior leaders will come together at Felix Meritis in Amsterdam to discuss them.

Registration is now open. Join IAB Europe at the Retail Media Impact Summit 2026 and be part of the conversation about what comes next.