The 380-Million Awakening: How Retail Media Is Turning the Swiss Advertising World Upside Down

Anyone who walked into the theater at Zurich’s Volkshaus on September 2, 2026, sensed it immediately: This wasn’t about some distant pipe dream, but about concrete budgets and tectonic shifts in marketing. Moderator Marc Götti (CEO of Excom Media AG) and IAB President Roger Baur summed it up right from the start: Retail media has come of age in Switzerland. What was still a vague promise just two years ago is now a top priority in the executive suites of retailers, brands, and agencies.

The fact that the industry is booming was evident not least in the audience. IAB Managing Director Urs Flückiger noted in an interview with m&k A happy conclusion:

„It was an extremely successful event—we had one of the lowest no-show rates ever. While the topic of retail media isn’t quite as advanced here as it is among publishers, that’s precisely where the enormous opportunity lies. The IAB working group is actively helping retailers exchange ideas on neutral ground, talk to one another, and establish common standards.“

- Urs Flückiger, Managing Director of IAB Switzerland (in conversation with m&k)

But what exactly is going on here? Why are CFOs suddenly eyeing shelf facades, why is MediaMarkt displaying cars next to coffee makers, and why might the RMD26 have been the last of its kind?

1. The Macro-Quake: Capital Allocation Instead of Advertising Romance

The theoretical and statistical highlight of the afternoon came from Daniel Knapp, Chief Economist at IAB Europe. With analytical precision, he dissected the European advertising market—and in the process debunked a myth: Advertisers do not think primarily in terms of media categories. For them, advertising is simply a matter of capital allocation: How do I achieve the highest return with the least amount of friction?

The numbers speak for themselves: In Europe, digital advertising now accounts for about 70 % of the total market. However, nearly 90 % of that growth goes to a handful of global U.S. platforms. The big exception, with true European champions: Retail Media.

Knapp estimated a hypothetical market potential for Switzerland of approximately 380 million Swiss francs if the local market were to reach the level of maturity seen in Germany or the United Kingdom. In an exclusive interview with m&k Daniel Knapp emphasized what matters most right now:

„The European retail media market is on track to reach 14 to 15 billion euros by 2026. To fully realize this potential, the retail sector must undergo a genuine cultural shift: Retailers must begin to think in a media-centric way and act like media companies—not just like retailers. At the same time, advertisers must reallocate their budgets and break down the traditional separation between traditional media budgets and retail promotion (WKZ).“

- Daniel Knapp, Chief Economist at IAB Europe (in conversation with m&k)

2. Are We Facing a Paradigm Shift? AI Commerce vs. Agent-Based Commerce

Immediately afterward, he threw Markus Caspari (Managing Partner of Digital Innovation & Transformation at Dentsu Germany) offers a nuanced perspective on the current hype surrounding artificial intelligence:

• 99.9% of the market's % are not yet autonomous: Following the model used in the automotive industry (Levels 0 through 5), we are still in the very early stages of fully autonomous shopping („Agentic Commerce“). The idea of bots shopping autonomously on behalf of people is fascinating, but it’s still a long way off.

• Shopping vs. Buying: Shopping is discovery, inspiration, and emotion. Buying is purely utilitarian—meeting basic needs (toilet paper, toothpaste). AI agents will primarily and radically optimize emotionless „buying.“.

• The Protocol Revolution: With standards such as the UCP (Google & Shopify's Universal Commerce Protocol) and WebMCP For the first time, platforms are joining forces. If Google starts rendering search results directly in the browser using AI, or if ChatGPT builds in-app stores through partnerships, the funnel will shift entirely.

Opposite m&k Markus Caspari emphasized the close interconnection between commerce and technology:

„Retail media and AI commerce are two sides of the same coin. Retail media is an interdisciplinary field at the intersection of retail and media—right where search, social, and e-commerce meet. For agencies and brands, this means that retail media should never be viewed in isolation as a standalone channel, but rather must be firmly embedded within a holistic overall strategy.“

- Markus Caspari, Managing Partner of Dentsu Germany (in conversation with m&k)

3. The Swiss Reality Check: From the Corner Store Poster to the 1,500-Screen Machine

It has been proven that Switzerland is not just a theoretical concept Sven Ruoss (CEO of Post Futurum) and Séverine Hubatschek (Head of Retail Media, Migros Supermarkt AG).

Ruoss opened with a pointed provocation: „Retail Media Day 2026 will likely have been the last one—because in the future, we’ll be talking about Commerce Media.“ It has long since ceased to be just about supermarkets; it's now about all commercial transaction platforms—from SBB and Twint to the Swiss Post app.

The Five Unbeatable Advantages of Retail Media:

1. Actual purchase data: First-party transaction data instead of third-party cookies.

2. Brand Safety: Zero risk of deepfakes or questionable environments.

3. Context & High Intent: Anyone who's in a store or shop is in the mood to shop.

4. Native Integration: Advertising right at the shelf or at the digital checkout.

5. Closed measurability: Proof of actual sales (closed-loop).

Séverine Hubatschek highlighted how the Swiss giant Migros is putting these PS to use: «»We are Switzerland's new advertising space."

100 years ago, Migros was still advertising pears from its sales truck. Today, there are 660 stores in the center, where 97 %: All transactions still take place physically. By spring 2027, Migros will be rolling out across Switzerland 1,500 digital screens Combined with the tremendous reach of the Cumulus program (over 3.1 million households, more than 5 million people, over 70% in-store scan rate, and over 90% online), Migros is building an ecosystem for highly granular targeting.

In conversation with m&k Séverine Hubatschek explained the strategic dimension for the retail giant:

„For Migros, retail media isn’t just an afterthought that we do ‚on top‘ of everything else. We’ve firmly anchored retail media in our supermarket strategy and professionalized it. The biggest innovation in recent months has been the establishment of our technology partnership with Criteo for Sponsored Products on Migros Online. Through this partnership, we use our first-party purchase data in compliance with data protection regulations to offer consumers genuine guidance at the right moment.“

- Séverine Hubatschek, Head of Retail Media at Migros Supermarkt AG (in conversation with m&k)

4. The Marketer's Perspective: Why Retail Media Can't Scale Without Publishers

The fact that retail media has long since expanded beyond the confines of online stores was demonstrated by Mitja Grušovnik (Director of Ad Technology at Ringier Advertising). From a marketer's perspective, he shed light on the evolution of «Scale, Data & Reach»—and brought a dash of realism to the debate:

More than five years ago, Ringier was already experimenting with e-commerce models and on-site retail concepts (at the time, including geschenke.de, among others). Yet the fundamental problem facing many retailers remains their limited organic reach. With the gradual phase-out of third-party cookies and the demand for maximum brand safety and first-party data, the time has now come for strategic alliances:

„Retailers have fantastic purchase and transaction data, but eventually reach the limits of their reach on their own platforms. As marketers and publishers, we bring exactly what’s missing for scaling in the off-site space: mass reach and relevant journalistic contexts on the open web. The future lies in seamlessly integrating retail data with our publisher reach through smart interfaces.“

- Mitja Grušovnik, Director of Ad Technology at Ringier Advertising (on RMD26)

It is only through this integration of retail data and large media networks that retail media becomes programmatic and bookable on a large scale for agencies and brands.

5. The Comeback of Physical Spaces: 85 % Events Take Place in Stores

The contributions from MediaMarkt, OBI, and the One Tech Group reinforced the notion that the physical point of sale is the real gold mine. Daniel Siegmund (One Tech Group) provided the number of the day: 85 % of the trading volume in Switzerland is processed through brick-and-mortar locations. Anyone who thinks of retail media as nothing more than a banner in an online store is missing out on the lion's share of the market.

Just how spectacular in-store activation can be was demonstrated by Felicia Wegmann (Team Lead, Partner Marketing & Retail Media, MediaMarkt Switzerland), based on a best-practice case study developed in collaboration with Publicis for Opel: To launch the new Opel Frontera, MediaMarkt simply placed a real car right in the middle of its electronics store. Combined with synchronized TV walls, in-store screens, newsletters, and on-site advertising, the key metrics skyrocketed:

• +444 % Web Traffic for Opel

• +660 % more vehicle configurations

• Doubling (+100 %) of vehicle orders

Opposite m&k Felicia Wegmann emphasized the value of this cross-channel approach:

„Our case study with Opel and Publicis has impressively demonstrated how cost-effective retail media can be compared to traditional media—even for non-endemic brands outside the electronics sector. By combining a physical ‚space experience‘ in-store with a digital extension, we were able to demonstrate a massive increase in brand awareness and tangible leads.“

- Felicia Wegmann, Team Lead, Partner Marketing & Retail Media, MediaMarkt Switzerland (in conversation with m&k)

Joining us from Germany, [Name] presented Patricia Grundmann (Managing Director of OBI Advertising) on what the future looks like on the shelves: A pilot project is underway in the 15 OBI stores in Switzerland with Advertima. Using smart sensors, the displays analyze passing customers in real time (length of stay, eye contact, target audience segments) and programmatically deliver the appropriate advertising message. If a potential homeowner stands in front of the display, they see professional tools; if a family stops by, the gardening campaign plays.

6. The Reality Check in the Panel: „Who Has to Deliver Now?“

The fact that retail media must become an integral part of media planning was also highlighted in the presentation by Albert Gubler (Director of Expert Practices at WPP Media) and Gian Berger (Head of Product & Business Development, Retail Media, Migros) in the spotlight. In conversation with m&k Albert Gubler summarized the agency's perspective:

„There’s a tremendous sense of momentum in the Swiss market. For us as a media agency and for our clients, retail media is an incredibly exciting field because it brings advertising messages extremely close to the point of sale. However, for retail media to become an established part of the media mix, it requires absolute transparency, standardized formats, seamless bookability, and reliable comparability with other media types.“

- Albert Gubler, Director of Expert Practices at WPP Media (in conversation with m&k)

At the closing panel discussion, moderated by Gian Berger (Migros) and Nicolas Bill (Co-Leaders of the IAB Retail Media Working Group) discussed Julia Sams (Henkel), Pierre Bohren (Brack.Alltron), Mitja Grušovnik (Ringier Advertising) and Tobias Kober (MediaMarkt Switzerland).

The answer to the panel question „Who has to deliver now?“ was unanimous: Everyone involved needs to pitch in.

• Retailers must deliver: A shift away from the siloed thinking of traditional advertising cost subsidies (WKZ) toward transparent, predictable digital and media standards. Advertisers are calling for standardized metrics, booking interfaces, and reliable measurability.

• Brands must deliver: Marketing decision-makers must reallocate their budget allocations. Retail media should no longer be funded from whatever is left over in the retail promotion budget; rather, it belongs in the core media mix as a permanent performance and branding channel.

• Tech companies and agencies must deliver: The fragmentation of the Swiss market is detrimental to scaling. Agencies need programmatic booking channels (DSP/SSP integrations) and standardized formats to manage campaigns across multiple retailers without incurring significant additional effort.

The bottom line: A gold rush atmosphere with a test of maturity

The 2nd Swiss Retail Media Day proved that retail media is not just a passing fad, but the link between digital precision and real-world consumption.

Switzerland is at a turning point. The potential is enormous, the technology is in place, and retailers sit on the country’s most valuable data treasures. But the era of siloed solutions is over. If retailers, brands, and tech service providers establish common standards now, retail media will transform Swiss marketing for the long term—and the targeted 380 million francs will become a reality sooner than some media planners currently believe.