JCPenney's $1B Lesson: B2B Buyers Want Emotion Over Logic

In-store retail media hasn’t failed. But it also hasn’t moved in a straight line. After doing CES and NRF back-to-back — two very different kinds of chaos — what stood out to me wasn’t a new format or a new vendor, but a shift in defaults. We’re moving away from bespoke, over-instrumented, brand-led experiences and toward approaches that can actually scale across very different types of retailers. The hard part is that what advertisers want — engagement, measurement, dwell — isn’t always what retailers want inside the store. Throughput, speed, and the shopper experience still matter. I recorded a short solo episode — a bit of a banded pack, if you will — to frame how I’m thinking about where in-store retail media is heading after those two shows. I’m posting the full 9-minute episode here. If you’d rather watch or listen on Apple, Spotify, or YouTube, I’ll drop those links in the comments.

Still celebrating your welcome flow. You might be celebrating the wrong win. Ethan Burnett from Salesfire makes the case that far too many retailers chase fast gratification in the inbox. Big open rates. Discount-driven signups. Generic automations that look great on the dashboard but do nothing for loyalty. If a customer already came to buy, a discount code did not build trust. It just cost margin. The real craft is what happens next. Turning the second order into the sixth. Using real data to show relevance. Building a relationship that survives beyond day one. Retail growth does not come from a welcome email. It comes from earning the return. 🎧 Watch the full Retail is Detail episode today.

Close to 100% sell-through rate. That's what Dr. Gareth Menton has achieved at Carwow by focusing on one thing: relevance. In our latest Unlocking Retail Media episode, Gareth shares how he measures success in retail media—and why the next frontier is following users off-site to reach them wherever they are in their buying journey. Watch the clip, then listen to the full episode: https://lnkd.in/eCsENa9P #RetailMedia #CommerceMedia #UnlockingRetailMedia James Avery

Most people miiiight not realize my boss is one of the sharpest minds in retail (until now). Amanda Stierwalt - Green is one of the best product leaders I know. She’s a former small business owner who knows exactly what it’s like to prep for the busy seasons with limited time, limited staff, and way too much inventory stress. In this episode, she shares some of the most tactical and heartfelt pieces of advice we’ve heard all season: - How to design themed collections that drive repeat visits - Why pop-ups should be test labs, not just events - Smart ways to build community through collaboration - What store culture really means in 2025 - How to beat Amazon at the things that matter - Real loyalty-building tactics that don’t involve discounting If you felt underprepared during this past holiday season, you definitely need to listen to this. Full episode with Amanda is live everywhere! Link is shared below.

🎙️ What’s the secret to building a retail media network that truly works? It starts with putting customers first. In this Unlocking Retail Media episode, Ben Johnson, Senior Director of Chewy Ads, explains why cookie-cutter strategies fall short, and how Chewy developed ad solutions as unique as their high-growth subscription model. If you’re in retail media, don’t miss the part where Ben dives into building cross-team alignment and hiring for cognitive diversity, it’s a game-changer. Let's put innovation at the forefront of retail media. Listen here: https://lnkd.in/eACQBgvR #UnlockingRetailMedia

Love these, and they just keep on coming! Check out James Avery on his latest discussion with Ben Johnson from Chewy. Learn why platform independence might not seem vital in the first 6-12 months, but it becomes the foundation for long-term success and how Chewy's subscription-based model changed the game for how they approached their ads programme.

🚀 Start fast, think ahead! In the latest episode of Unlocking Retail Media with James Avery, James talks to Ben Johnson, Senior Director of Chewy Ads, who offers invaluable advice for building a truly differentiated retail media strategy: 🌟 Platform independence might not seem vital in the first 6-12 months, but it becomes the foundation for long-term success. 🌟 Don't just replicate Amazon, learn what makes your customers unique and build on it. Chewy's subscription-based model changed the game for how they approached ads, proving that in retail media, the ads ARE the content. Balancing ad performance with customer satisfaction is key. Catch the full conversation now on your favorite podcast platform and discover Ben's framework for aligning user and advertiser goals. 🎧 Listen here: https://lnkd.in/e__UX5rp #UnlockingRetailMedia

Your CEO went to a conference, heard the word "Personalization," and now it is the only thing that matters on your 2026 e-commerce roadmap. It doesn’t matter that your data is a mess. It doesn’t matter that you’re still trying to fix basic site speed. The CEO wants "1-to-1 AI-driven experiences" because the keynote speaker said it was the future. Kasey Wiese, Director of E-Commerce at Liberty Safe, calls it what it actually is: Creepy. We sat down with Kasey for the second episode of Season 2 of Checkin to Checkout, and she didn’t hold back on the industry nonsense we all politely nod at in meetings. She’s tired of the "old model" of personalization where we track every click like a digital stalker. "I buy one baby shower gift, and suddenly the internet decides I’m a mother of three and need diapers for the next 4 years. You’re wrong. Stop assuming." It is wildly refreshing to hear a Director actually say the quiet part out loud: Most of these "strategic initiatives" are just buzzwords that leadership teams use to feel involved. We also got into the messy reality of the job: Why Black Friday is actually the worst time of the year (it's all panic, zero strategy). The art of "Radical Candor" and how to stop taking site bugs personally. The time she sent an email to the entire list with a typo in the word "The" (and why it probably performed better because of it). If you’re tired of chasing buzzwords and want to hear from a leader who’s actually doing the work, you need to hear this one. Link to the full episode right here: https://lnkd.in/esHd44zZ My take: I’m skeptical of personalization because it costs a fortune in time and treasure, yet usually impacts a tiny percentage of total revenue. Is personalization actually driving growth for you, or is it just a word on a slide to keep the board happy?

Retailers love to talk about product market fit. Dan Coleman from Coleman Marketing Limited believes there is an even bigger question: Do you have the right to ask for the sale in the first place? If your product is a basket-add on Amazon, why would a customer visit your dedicated website? If convenience is your competitor’s edge, why pretend it is yours too? If your proposition is not attractive enough, no amount of traffic solves the problem. Dan has audited hundreds of sites. He can tell within minutes whether a retailer understands real shopping behavior or is living in fantasy ecommerce land. It is not innovation to break what the customer expects. It is not a strategy to ignore where the market is already eating your lunch. The full episode airs today.