The rise of retail media and what this means for the talent market

Retail media has become one of the fastest-growing advertising channels in Australia, already worth $2.6 billion and forecast to grow by 10 - 15% over the next 12 months according to the latest Marketing, Digital & eCommerce In Focus 2025 report.  

It’s now a top 5 investment area across retail, FMCG, and CPG, and it’s rapidly gaining traction in healthcare, telco, and financial services. 

The appeal is clear - retail media networks (RMNs) offer brands rich first-party data, closed-loop measurement, and direct consumer access at the point of purchase. Compared to traditional media, RMNs are seen as more outcome-driven, accountable, and measurable. 

But the challenge here is while businesses are pouring money into retail media, many don’t have the talent or internal capability to make that investment deliver. 

The investment boom vs the capability gap 

According to the Digital, Marketing & eComm in Focus 2025 report, 55% of businesses are already investing in retail media, with another 25% planning to do so in the next 12 months. At the same time, 77% of agencies and brands are now working across three or more RMNs - often juggling complex systems, inconsistent reporting standards, and fragmented buying tools. 

Despite this momentum, only 22% of businesses believe they have the capability in-house to deliver effectively against their retail media investment. In many organisations, retail media responsibility falls to just one or two people. Without deeper expertise, it’s difficult to extract the promised ROI. 

This mismatch between investment and capability is a growing risk for brands - but also an opportunity for leaders to rethink their hiring strategies. 

The players, the complexity, the pressure 

In Australia, four key RMNs dominate the space: Cartology (Woolworths), Coles 360, Stratt, and Hammer Media. Each platform has its own tools, reporting standards, and buying models, which means marketers need to know which levers to pull - and when. 

Leaders like Momentum Foods’ Kiera Day highlight the challenges - Amazon, for instance, requires brands to spend on retail media to unlock demand, but provides only limited data transparency in return. Other networks like Coles 360 and Cartology are improving their offerings, but at a cost. 

The result is mounting pressure on internal teams. Businesses want measurable growth, but retail media remains fragmented, with inconsistent attribution models and underdeveloped reporting frameworks. It’s little wonder that 96% of leaders cite measurement and ROI as their biggest challenge, while 44% say their organisation has low in-house capability to manage retail media effectively. 

The recruitment implications 

Retail media’s rapid rise is reshaping the roles and skillsets marketing, and eCommerce teams need.  

We’re already seeing: 

• Emerging roles such as Head of Retail Media, Retail Media Performance Managers & Retail Media Analyst roles responsible for ROI modelling, attribution, and performance across networks. 

• Hybrid marketers who blend commerce, media buying, data analytics, and digital strategy - increasingly sought after as brands need fewer “specialists in silos” and more talent that can flex across functions. 

• Cross-functional collaboration becoming critical, as sales, marketing, and eComm must align to ensure ROI from retail media spend. 

• Strategic workforce decisions on whether to build capability internally through permanent hires, or supplement with contracting and partnerships to move quickly. 

The war for talent is intensifying. As adoption accelerates, competition for experienced retail media professionals is growing, and those with hands-on expertise in RMNs, data monetisation, and digital shelf strategy will be in highest demand. 

How leaders can get ahead 

To turn retail media investment into measurable growth, leaders need to act now: 

• Upskill existing teams in measurement, attribution, and retail media tools. 

• Hire contracting specialists to bridge capability gaps quickly, while long-term expertise is developed internally. 

• Prioritise hybrid skillsets - look for marketers with both commercial acumen and digital fluency. 

• Embed cross-functional alignment so retail media is integrated into sales, marketing, and eComm strategy. 

• Act early in recruitment - as demand rises, the window for securing top talent in this space is narrowing. 

Conclusion 

Retail media is no longer just an “emerging trend” - it’s already consuming major share of marketing budgets and shaping how consumers discover and buy products. But without the right talent, investment risks being wasted. 

For leaders in marketing, eCommerce, and digital, the message is clear - retail media is a talent challenge as much as it is a media challenge. Those who build the right skills, teams, and partnerships now will turn retail media from a transactional cost into a genuine growth engine. 

If you want to speak to our marketing team about hiring the right talent, reach out below.