Why luxury retail is rethinking retail media

March 25, 2026

Luxury retailers and brands have to strive harder to improve in-store and online shopping experiences to maintain and improve customer loyalty

By Paul Dahill

Times are tough at the top of the market.

Saks Global in the United States is in bankruptcy protection. Kering, the parent company of high-end brands including Gucci, closed 133 stores worldwide last year. And Selfridges in the United Kingdom is struggling to fill the gap left by a slump in tourists looking for luxury goods.

In a sector usually defined by gold, red ink is everywhere.

Shaken to the core
Luxury retailers are struggling as inflation-hit customers pull back discretionary spending.

According to management consultancy Bain, the industry has already lost roughly 50 million luxury consumers in recent years.

In addition, luxury brands face growing competition from resale platforms, which are now the third-largest luxury sales channel.

This shift has diluted the influence that luxury retailers once had over the discovery and exclusive purchasing journey.

As a result, many luxury retailers are beginning to rethink how they engage with their core audiences digitally.

Retail media is emerging as one of the most effective ways to generate new revenue and reclaim control.

On target
Retail media allows luxury retailers to activate one of their most valuable assets: first-party customer data.

Insights into browsing behavior, brand affinity and purchase intent can help retailers deliver more precise targeting and more relevant product placements that feel native to the curated environments that luxury customers expect.

Also, offsite placements across social platforms, creator content and other digital channels can continue the discovery journey that begins within curated retail environments.

Increasingly, AI is helping retailers and brands better understand how those interactions connect, linking inspiration and discovery across the customer journey and turning it into in-store purchase.

Paul Dahill

Curation for the duration
Luxury retail has long relied on exclusive, curated, premium experiences that controlled how consumers discovered their products.

A watch enthusiast can’t just roll up and buy a Rolex. He or she has to qualify to get on a waitlist.

A casual shopper can’t simply pick up a Birkin from Hermés. She has to build a relationship with a sales associate just to receive an invitation to purchase.

Curation remains central to the luxury experience, both in-store and online.

The introduction of retail media does not have to undermine that philosophy. In the right format, it can work within it and, indeed, monetize it.

The opportunity of retail media is not to turn luxury websites into crowded marketplaces, but to create carefully controlled commercial opportunities that complement the existing experience. That might mean limited placements, strict creative standards and brand partnerships that align with the aesthetic and authority of the retailer.

Rather than feeling like traditional advertising, these placements can feel more like editorial storytelling, highlighting brands and products within curated environments and guiding shoppers toward the in-store experiences that define luxury retail.

As luxury brands expand direct-to-consumer strategies and shoppers increasingly discover products through marketplaces, social platforms and other digital channels, retailers face growing pressure to maintain influence over the entire customer journey, from digital discovery to the in-store experiences that still define luxury retail.

AS LUXURY RETAIL adapts to changing consumer expectations, the question is no longer whether retail media fits the category. It’s how it can be implemented in ways that preserve the curated experience customers expect while ensuring retailers remain central to how luxury products are discovered and purchased.

Handled thoughtfully, retail media does not dilute luxury’s defining strength. It can help protect it.

Paul Dahill is managing director of Koddi, London.

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Why luxury retail is rethinking retail media

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