How to assess five UK retail media networks

What to take away

Tesco Media, Boots Media, Asda, Ocado and Amazon Ads differ more in data access than in ad formats.
Amazon Ads and Ocado usually allow a smaller first test than the grocery giants, though the retailer sets the floor.
Ask how each network defines a sale before you ask for the rate card.
Match the network to shoppers you already sell to, not to the largest audience on offer.
In-store screens and off-site placements need different data checks from on-site sponsored products.

Compare the networks on what you control

Treat each network as a route to a defined shopper group, not as a channel. Amazon Ads reaches people already searching with a purchase in mind. Tesco Media and Asda reach shoppers whose grocery baskets the retailer can observe. Boots Media reaches a health and beauty audience. Ocado reaches an online-only grocery basket.

Retail media networks compared

Tesco Media

Where it reaches: Grocery site/app/off-site
Ask first: Live surfaces and pricing
Often suits: Ranged brands

Boots Media

Where it reaches: Health and beauty
Ask first: Consent capture
Often suits: Beauty and wellness

Asda

Where it reaches: Grocery site/app/store
Ask first: Minimum and exit terms
Often suits: Store visibility goals

Ocado

Where it reaches: Online grocery
Ask first: Small range reporting
Often suits: Small online catalogues

The formats overlap: sponsored products, display, off-site placements bought through a demand-side platform, in-store screens. What separates the networks is the audience data behind the placement and the reporting that comes back. Tesco Media against Boots Media is a category question before it is a format question.

Where it reaches shoppers

Tesco Media: Grocery: retailer site and app, plus off-site placements
Boots Media: Health and beauty: boots.com and app
Asda: Grocery: site, app and store-based formats
Ocado: Online grocery: site and app
Amazon Ads: Marketplace and Amazon-owned surfaces

Ask first

Tesco Media: Which surfaces are live for your category, and how are they priced?
Boots Media: How is consent captured for the audience you are buying?
Asda: What is the minimum commitment and what are the exit terms?
Ocado: How are results reported for a small range?
Amazon Ads: Which attribution window applies to the ad product you buy?

Often suits

Tesco Media: Brands already ranged by the retailer
Boots Media: Beauty, personal care and wellness brands
Asda: Brands in Asda ranges with store visibility goals
Ocado: Smaller catalogues selling online grocery
Amazon Ads: Sellers and vendors already trading on Amazon

Budgets and minimum tests

These networks quote against a brief rather than a published price list, so use the written quotation as the basis for planning. Ask for the billing unit, campaign window and VAT position in one document, then keep those figures side by side using the method in retail media costs before you add them up.

Budget and test checks

Get written quotation with billing unit
Confirm campaign window and VAT position
Check invoice typedelivered, monthly, up-front
Review cancellation clause before committing
Size test to decision, not network minimum
Narrow scope if minimum exceeds budget

Check how each network invoices: delivered activity, a monthly minimum, or an up-front commitment. The cancellation clause matters as much as the rate, because a quarterly commitment is a budget decision rather than a media one.

Size the test to the decision, not to the network minimum. If the minimum sits above your budget, narrow the scope to one category, one surface and one measurement window. A small test that finishes beats a large one you stop early.

Use the ONS retail industry release for wider context on sales volumes and the internet share of retail, not to decide which network fits your brand or to validate a campaign result.

A shortlisting sequence you can run in a week

Keep the exercise as an evidence file rather than a scorecard, using the approach in reviewing retail media suppliers to separate claims from evidence. Run these steps during the week:

Set the category, target shopper, campaign objective and decision the test must inform.
Check which of the five networks stocks the product and can reach the relevant shoppers.
Ask each shortlisted network for a brief covering available surfaces, audience data, targeting, reporting, the sales definition, attribution window, buying route and written quote terms.
Check the retailer's privacy notice against the proposed data use, and review any consent or labelling requirements.
Compare only measures with matching definitions and attribution windows; record gaps rather than treating unlike results as equivalent.
Select a feasible test scope, note why other networks were excluded, and assign an owner for reviewing the evidence.

One-week shortlisting sequence

Define shopper group and decision
Request written quotes on identical events
Ask how each network defines a sale
Check data terms and privacy notice
Score quotes, mark unknowns as unknown
Pick one network and surface, set stop rule

Data, consent and ad labelling

Shopper data used for targeting needs a lawful basis. The ICO's UK GDPR guidance sets out how consent, legitimate interests and contractual necessity differ. The retailer's privacy notice also has to cover the use you are buying, so read it against the campaign brief.

Sponsored placements must be recognisable as advertising. The CAP code, published by the ASA, requires marketing communications to be obviously identifiable, so review the rendered placement on the live page rather than the mock-up in the deck.

In-store screens raise a second question: who controls any audience measurement attached to the screen, and does the shop-floor notice mention it? Get the answer in writing before the install date.

Common questions

Which network suits a small UK brand?

Start with the network that already stocks your products, so listings and shopper data line up. If you sell on Amazon, consider Amazon Ads, but check its written minimum, buying route and support against the other relevant networks rather than assuming it is the lowest-commitment option.

How long should a first retail media test run?

Set the window from your own repurchase data rather than a default. The test should cover at least one full purchase cycle for the category.

Can I compare Amazon Ads with Tesco Media directly?

Only on metrics defined the same way. If one network reports attributed sales over a different window from the other, the totals are not comparable.

Do I need an agency to buy these networks?

Amazon Ads is self-serve by default, and other networks vary. Managed routes usually carry a fee or a minimum, so decide by who will run the reporting.