December 9, 2025

- 30:18

Interview

or listen on

Why Retail Media Is Entering Its Most Transformative Phase

📍New York, USA

Retail Media has become one of the fastest growing engines of profitability and transformation in retail. Yet long before the industry understood its potential, Sherry Smith was already shaping its foundations. In this episode of OFFBounds, Sherry, now President of Retail Media at Criteo, takes us back to 2008, when retail media was still undefined and digital activation was experimental. She reflects on an era when companies like Walmart were just beginning to explore digital monetization and when measurement, talent, and structures looked nothing like they do today.

The turning point came in 2020. What was once a gradual rise quickly accelerated as retailers rushed to prioritize ecommerce, strengthen data strategies, and prove measurable value. Sherry describes that period as a crash course for the industry. Retail Media Networks multiplied, talent shifted dramatically, and retailers learned to operate more like publishers. Brands, on the other hand, had to evolve beyond viewing retail media as only bottom-funnel conversion, expanding into awareness, consideration, and omnichannel planning.

Looking ahead, Sherry highlights two transformative shifts. The first is the move to self-serve activation. For years, retailers operated with managed service models that limited transparency and slowed execution. Now, brands want direct control, real-time measurement, and unified planning across media formats. The second shift is the integration of AI and conversational shopping. As shoppers move toward agent-assisted discovery, merchandising, media, and experience will no longer operate in separate tracks. Teams, systems, and investment models must fully connect around the customer journey.

Sherry leaves listeners with candid advice. To prepare for the next 18 months, companies must hire differently, organize teams around shared outcomes, reduce operational fragmentation, and learn quickly. Curiosity, adaptability, and transparency will separate those who lead from those who follow. This conversation is not only a history lesson, it is a view into where retail media is heading and why this next chapter will redefine how brands grow, how retailers operate, and how customers shop.

Listen more

Interview

The Strategy Behind TCL’s Rise: Culture, Data, and Challenger Thinking

At the core of TCL’s transformation is a disciplined approach to understanding the consumer.

Interview

At the core of TCL’s transformation is a disciplined approach to understanding the consumer.

The Strategy Behind TCL’s Rise: Culture, Data, and Challenger Thinking

At the core of TCL’s transformation is a disciplined approach to understanding the consumer.

Book Author

Something Is Shifting in Business and We Can All Feel It

Book Author

Something Is Shifting in Business and We Can All Feel It

Interview

Rohlik Group: Europe’s Best-Kept Secret in Online Grocery

Operating across five European countries under locally adapted brand names, Rohlik delivers a full grocery assortment of 25,000 SKUs to customers' doors in as little as 60 minutes

Interview

Operating across five European countries under locally adapted brand names, Rohlik delivers a full grocery assortment of 25,000 SKUs to customers' doors in as little as 60 minutes

Rohlik Group: Europe’s Best-Kept Secret in Online Grocery

Operating across five European countries under locally adapted brand names, Rohlik delivers a full grocery assortment of 25,000 SKUs to customers' doors in as little as 60 minutes

Interview

From Points to Participation: What Actually Drives Loyalty

Points are just the visible layer. The real engine is engagement. Opening the app, loading offers, interacting weekly, building habits around the experience.

Interview

Points are just the visible layer. The real engine is engagement. Opening the app, loading offers, interacting weekly, building habits around the experience.

From Points to Participation: What Actually Drives Loyalty

Points are just the visible layer. The real engine is engagement. Opening the app, loading offers, interacting weekly, building habits around the experience.

Book Author

Retail Doesn’t Have a Technology Problem. It Has a Process Problem

Drawing from her experience in merchandising and the ideas explored in her book The Material Life, Liza points to the concept to market journey as the root cause of many of these breakdowns.

Book Author

Drawing from her experience in merchandising and the ideas explored in her book The Material Life, Liza points to the concept to market journey as the root cause of many of these breakdowns.

Retail Doesn’t Have a Technology Problem. It Has a Process Problem

Drawing from her experience in merchandising and the ideas explored in her book The Material Life, Liza points to the concept to market journey as the root cause of many of these breakdowns.

Why Retail Media Is Entering Its Most Transformative Phase

📍New York, USA

Listen more

The Strategy Behind TCL’s Rise: Culture, Data, and Challenger Thinking

The Strategy Behind TCL’s Rise: Culture, Data, and Challenger Thinking

Something Is Shifting in Business and We Can All Feel It

Something Is Shifting in Business and We Can All Feel It

Rohlik Group: Europe’s Best-Kept Secret in Online Grocery

Rohlik Group: Europe’s Best-Kept Secret in Online Grocery

From Points to Participation: What Actually Drives Loyalty

From Points to Participation: What Actually Drives Loyalty

Retail Doesn’t Have a Technology Problem. It Has a Process Problem

Retail Doesn’t Have a Technology Problem. It Has a Process Problem

Menu

All Episodes

Receive new exclusive episodes

Receive new exclusive episodes 