Building a retail-media powered business in an emerging market cover art

Building a retail-media powered business in an emerging market

Building a retail-media powered business in an emerging market

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 Colin Lewis is joined by Ines Catao, Retail Media Director at Worten, for an in-depth conversation about building a marketplace-powered retail media business in an emerging market. Ines explains how Worten—Portugal’s leading electronics retailer with over 35% market share and 200+ stores—transformed its online marketplace into a high-growth advertising platform, achieving 300% monetisation growth and 800% ROAS in just seven months. The discussion covers the strategic shift from traditional retail to a media business, the power of marketplace democratisation for SMBs, and how Worten is bridging online and in-store retail media as it scales into 2026 and beyond.Key Discussions in This Episode Introduction to Worten and Ines’s Background (00:01–01:12) Ines introduces Worten as Portugal’s leading electronics retailer with over 35% market share, 200+ stores, and a strong online presence. She shares her own journey from seven years at Google in advertising across Europe to joining Worten two years ago to build the retail media business.The Portuguese Market Context (02:11–05:44) Portugal’s 10 million population, strong culture of in-store retail, and rapid mobile adoption (80% of consumers discover brands on phones) create a unique opportunity. E-commerce is growing rapidly, but Worten is ahead of competitors with over 20% of sales online, compared to just 8% for other major Portuguese retailers.The Marketplace Journey and Seller Growth (06:28–09:45) Worten partnered with Mirakl to launch its marketplace, now featuring over 3,000 sellers from 50+ countries. The “win-win-win” strategy benefits sellers (easy onboarding and shipping), consumers (increased choice), and Worten (new revenue streams and traffic). Sellers recently gained access to Worten’s first advertising offerings on the marketplace.Democratizing Access Through Marketplaces (09:45–11:18) The marketplace model democratizes access to the Portuguese market for SMBs and international sellers, enabling small businesses to compete and scale. This aligns with broader European opportunities to help companies succeed in the online world.The SMB Advantage in Retail Media (11:18–14:58) Unlike large brand budgets constrained by rigid allocation structures, SMB sellers can flexibly allocate and adjust their retail media spending based on real performance. This agility makes SMB budgets more effective and appealing to retailers building media businesses. Colin and Ines discuss how this flexibility in creative, capability, and budget reallocation creates competitive advantages.Segmented Retail Media Strategy (14:58–18:27) Worten structures its retail media into two distinct offerings: a full-funnel brand proposition (awareness, brand consideration, market share) competing with TV, Google, and Meta, and a performance-focused seller offering (consideration and conversion) designed for rapid ROI. This segmentation ensures Worten differentiates itself from traditional advertising channels and meets each customer segment’s unique needs.The Importance of Differentiation (15:26–17:18) To stand out against established advertising players, Worten emphasizes what makes retail media unique: direct consumer insights, the ability to test products in-store and online, direct access to Gen Z, and opportunities to experiment with packaging and positioning. Big brands love innovation, and Worten’s differentiated offering gives them a reason to invest.Strategic Transformation and Change Management (19:23–21:55) Two years ago, Worten made a pivotal strategic decision to professionalize retail media as a true marketing channel. This required top-down leadership support, cross-team collaboration, aligned KPIs, and educating the organization that this represented a significant shift after 20+ years of traditional retail operations. Success came through communication, alignment, and crediting teams across the business.Building Buy-In Through Influence and Results (21:55–25:54) Change wasn’t easy initially—there were roadblocks and closed doors. However, Ines emphasizes education, persuasion, and demonstrating impact. After 9–12 months of persistent effort, the organization saw the untapped potential and began cheering for retail media. The key was showing concrete results for the business, brands, and customers while staying true to Worten’s mission of customer satisfaction.Marketplace Ads: Rapid Adoption and Growth Metrics (28:37–31:00) When Worten introduced its ads program powered by Mirakl technology, adoption exploded. From fewer than 30 sellers, the program grew to over 350 sellers in just seven months. Monetization revenue jumped 300%, and sellers experienced a 40-percentage-point boost in their ability to generate sales within the marketplace—a clear win-win outcome.ROAS Performance and the Role of E-Commerce Excellence (31:33–34:13) Worten achieves over 800% ROAS on its marketplace retail media. This exceptional ...
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