Retail Media Networks in EMEA and APAC: Navigating Regional Complexity and Unlocking Growth

Retail media networks (RMNs) are rapidly reshaping the global advertising landscape, offering retailers and brands a powerful new lever for growth. While North America has led the initial charge, the spotlight is now shifting to Europe, the Middle East, Africa (EMEA), and Asia-Pacific (APAC)—regions defined by diverse consumer behaviors, complex regulatory environments, and varying levels of digital maturity. For organizations ready to act, these markets represent a significant, largely untapped opportunity to unlock new revenue streams, deepen customer engagement, and future-proof their business models.

Understanding Regional Complexity: Consumer Behaviors and Regulatory Environments

EMEA and APAC are home to some of the world’s most digitally engaged consumers, but their expectations and behaviors are far from uniform. In Europe, privacy-conscious shoppers demand transparency and control over their data, making robust consent management and clear value exchange essential. Loyalty programs and personalized offers are popular, but only when paired with strong privacy protections. In the Middle East and Africa, mobile-first engagement is the norm, with many consumers leapfrogging desktop experiences entirely. APAC, meanwhile, is a mosaic of digital ecosystems—from super-app-driven Southeast Asia to highly regulated markets like Australia and Japan.

This diversity creates fertile ground for RMNs that can tailor experiences to local preferences. Retailers, fuel stations, quick-service restaurants (QSR), and financial institutions across these regions are uniquely positioned to leverage their first-party data to deliver relevant, personalized advertising—driving both customer engagement and new revenue streams.

One of the defining features of EMEA and APAC is the complexity of their regulatory landscapes. The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) sets a global benchmark for data privacy, requiring explicit consent and giving consumers control over their information. Similar privacy laws are emerging across APAC, with countries like Singapore, Japan, and Australia implementing stringent data protection standards. For organizations building RMNs, compliance is non-negotiable. Success hinges on privacy-by-design principles: anonymizing personally identifiable information, implementing robust consent management, and ensuring data governance aligns with local laws. RMNs that prioritize transparency and customer trust will be best positioned to thrive in these regions.

Digital Maturity and Sector-Specific Opportunities

While North America has led the initial wave of RMN adoption, EMEA and APAC are poised for rapid acceleration. Digital ad spend in these regions is rising sharply, with consumer products companies and advertisers seeking new, high-ROI channels beyond traditional media. Yet, the proliferation of RMNs—especially in Europe—remains in its early stages, leaving significant white space for first movers. Retailers and brands that invest in robust first-party data strategies and advanced targeting capabilities can capture a disproportionate share of this growth.

The opportunity is not limited to retail. Fuel retailers, financial services, hospitality, and entertainment companies are all leveraging their owned digital and physical properties to create high-margin advertising platforms. For example:

Fuel retailers in EMEA and APAC are using loyalty programs and in-store data to deliver personalized offers at the pump and in-app, driving impulse purchases and deeper customer insights.
Financial institutions are monetizing transaction-level data, offering advertisers closed-loop measurement and high-intent audience targeting—all while maintaining strict privacy compliance.
QSR and convenience stores are capitalizing on high-frequency, short-duration visits by delivering hyper-targeted offers via digital signage, apps, and loyalty programs.

Overcoming Regional Challenges

Despite the clear opportunity, several challenges persist:

Fragmented Technology and Data: Many organizations in EMEA and APAC operate with siloed data and legacy systems, making it difficult to unify customer insights and deliver seamless advertising experiences.
Organizational Readiness: Building an RMN requires new capabilities in ad sales, campaign management, and data governance. Some businesses lack the in-house expertise or operational maturity to scale quickly.
Market Hesitancy: In Europe, for example, some retailers remain cautious about investing in RMNs due to uncertainty around returns and the complexity of the regulatory environment.

Publicis Sapient’s Regional Expertise: Accelerating Success

Publicis Sapient brings deep regional expertise and a proven track record in digital business transformation across EMEA and APAC. Our end-to-end approach—spanning strategy, technology, data, and operations—empowers organizations to unlock the full potential of their first-party data and accelerate their RMN journey. Here’s how we help clients navigate the unique challenges of these regions:

Data Modernization: We help unify and refine first-party data across all touchpoints—loyalty programs, apps, websites, and in-store systems—laying the foundation for effective targeting and measurement.
Privacy and Compliance: Our solutions are built with privacy-by-design, leveraging data clean rooms, anonymization, and transparent consent management to ensure compliance with GDPR and local regulations.
Technology Accelerators: Our Media Network Accelerator, developed in partnership with Google Cloud, enables rapid launch and scaling of RMNs. With AI-powered audience segmentation, omnichannel measurement, and automated campaign management, clients reduce time-to-value and operational risk.
Flexible Operating Models: We offer build-operate-transfer partnerships to bridge capability gaps, allowing organizations to design, launch, and optimize their RMN with expert support before transitioning operations in-house.
Cross-Industry Collaboration: We facilitate data cooperatives and partnerships with non-endemic brands to expand reach and create richer audience segments—always within the bounds of privacy law.
Incrementality and Real-Time Measurement: Our solutions provide advertisers with closed-loop, near real-time reporting on campaign performance, differentiating our clients’ RMNs and driving advertiser satisfaction.

Regional Success Stories

Retail and Grocery: Leading grocers in the U.S. have achieved $100 million in annual media revenue within three years, laying the groundwork for billion-dollar business lines. EMEA and APAC retailers can replicate this success by unifying data across channels, activating audience segments, and providing transparent, high-ROI advertising at the point of sale.
Fuel and Convenience: As electric vehicles disrupt traditional fuel sales, fuel retailers in EMEA and APAC are turning to RMNs to diversify revenue. By leveraging loyalty programs and in-store data, they deliver personalized offers at the pump and in-app, driving impulse purchases and deeper customer insights.
Financial Services and Hospitality: Banks, fintechs, and hospitality brands are using RMNs to reach loyalty members with targeted offers, both digitally and on-premise, enhancing guest experiences and unlocking new revenue streams.

Actionable Recommendations for EMEA and APAC Organizations

Invest in Data Modernization: Unify and refine first-party data across all touchpoints for effective targeting and measurement.
Prioritize Privacy and Compliance: Build privacy-by-design into every aspect of your RMN, using data clean rooms and transparent consent management.
Leverage Technology Accelerators: Use proven solutions to launch and scale quickly, reducing operational risk.
Adopt Flexible Operating Models: Consider partnerships to bridge capability gaps and accelerate time-to-market.
Embrace Cross-Industry Collaboration: Explore partnerships to expand reach and create richer audience segments.
Focus on Incrementality and Real-Time Measurement: Offer advertisers closed-loop, near real-time reporting to drive satisfaction and differentiation.

Why Publicis Sapient?

With deep regional expertise and a holistic, end-to-end approach, Publicis Sapient is the partner of choice for organizations looking to unlock the full potential of retail media networks in EMEA and APAC. Whether you’re looking to build, enhance, or scale your RMN, we provide the guidance, technology, and operational support to help you succeed in these dynamic markets.

Ready to capture the retail media network opportunity in EMEA and APAC? Connect with Publicis Sapient to start your journey and unlock new revenue streams, deeper customer engagement, and sustainable growth.