Retail media: How Kingfisher is redefining the game with data and innovation

Retail media is only truly effective when it’s grounded in a deep understanding of customer behavior. At Kingfisher, it all starts with a simple yet powerful insight: in retail today, we don’t just sell products — we support real-life projects. And to do that well, you first need to understand who’s buying, why, when, and how.

That’s the bet Kingfisher made. By combining data from e-commerce platforms, physical stores, customer service, and even DIY project research online, the Retail Media teams have built a rarely leveraged strategic asset: a detailed understanding of end-to-end customer journeys.

“As a result, we can directly measure the impact of our campaigns on sales, both online and in stores like Castorama and Brico Dépôt,” explains Gwenola Coicaud.

The goal isn’t to profile individuals, but to identify patterns. Is the customer browsing faucets late on a Sunday evening dealing with an urgent fix or casually gathering inspiration? Is the couple comparing power drills also visiting pages about garage storage?

By capturing these micro-signals, Kingfisher can offer advertisers targeting strategies far more relevant than traditional demographics. And it’s not just a theoretical promise: campaigns activated using this insight have delivered up to +200% revenue growth for select brands during defined promotional periods.

This ability to connect fragmented touchpoints, decode intent, and trigger the right actions — online or in-store — is what makes Kingfisher’s approach to retail media truly distinctive. A data-driven process, grounded in patience, but laser-focused on business impact.

Collecting and connecting data is just the starting point. At Kingfisher, the real ambition lies beyond: transforming insight into tangible results for brands.

This is where retail media enters a new phase — more strategic, more operational, and more aligned with core business objectives. Insights aren’t left sitting in dashboards; they’re activated, tested, deployed — and measured. Every campaign becomes a building block for performance. Every customer journey becomes an opportunity for conversion.

What sets Kingfisher’s approach apart is its ability to orchestrate campaigns that mirror real customer behaviors — not just marketing assumptions. A visitor comparing tool ranges can receive a contextual recommendation. A customer researching attic insulation will see the right product spotlighted, at the right time, on the right channel.

And the impact is measurable — from the first digital impression to the final purchase in-store. This closed-loop system validates strategies and enables continuous optimization, benefiting both brands and retailers.

It’s this performance-driven culture, rooted in a deep understanding of consumer behavior, that paves the way for a more structural innovation: making retail media accessible to all brands, through solutions built for real-world challenges.

At Kingfisher, innovation isn’t reserved for flagship projects or major accounts. It serves a clear purpose: making retail media an actionable lever for all brands, regardless of their size or digital maturity.

This ambition led to the creation of a unique model: brand coaches. These dedicated advisors, embedded within the Castorama and Brico Dépôt teams, support manufacturers daily — not just with their media campaigns, but across their entire presence within the retail ecosystem. From product page optimization and visibility management to inventory reporting and performance analysis, the coach becomes a strategic touchpoint that simplifies collaboration and accelerates results.

This initiative has been a game changer for many brands. Some, previously underrepresented in stores or online, gained — for the first time — access to performance insights and clarity around their commercial impact. The result: stronger relationships with retailers, faster learning curves, and measurable business growth.

To structure this approach, Kingfisher applies an agile methodology inspired by the startup world:

• Hack: test fast with limited resources to validate a concept,
• Pack: structure what works — offers, roles, tools,
• Stack: scale and industrialize using the right processes and technologies.

This iterative mindset allows Kingfisher to move fast without compromising on quality. Most importantly, it shows that effective retail media isn’t built solely on tech stacks — it relies on a clear strategy, solid operations, and a shared ambition to create value. For everyone.

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