Tesco Media and Insight Platform, now Tesco Media: Tesco's retail media network explained

Tesco sees most of its own sales. More than 24 million UK households hold a Clubcard, in a country of just over 28 million households, and Clubcard covers 84% of sales by value (dunnhumby, accessed 9 November 2026). Few retailers anywhere can tie so much revenue to a known household. For a brand, that means a closed-loop report covers most of what shoppers actually bought, not a loyal minority.

The data science behind it is older than retail media. dunnhumby built Clubcard analysis for Tesco long before networks existed. Tesco Media still says its network is powered by that partnership (Digiday, 2 December 2025). Yet the selling tools are now mixed. In October 2025 Tesco presented Sphere as its self-serve platform. A year later it announced Ad Manager, built on Kevel, starting with sponsored products and adding display and video next (dunnhumby, 9 October 2026). Buyers should ask which tool covers which format during the transition.

The store estate is the third difference. Tesco Media sells more than 3,800 digital screens, including 2,800 in small Tesco Express shops (Retail Gazette, 12 October 2026). Barrows technology now lets one campaign change by store, time of day, stock, weather and local events. Costa tested it in Express stores in January 2026 and reported a 47% uplift among customers new to the product (company claim, dunnhumby, 9 October 2026). A coffee brand can show one message at 8am and another at lunchtime in the same shop.

Tesco Media also sells beyond the UK. dunnhumby publishes Tesco Media pages for Czechia, where Clubcard reaches more than 2.9 million households, and for Hungary (dunnhumby, Tesco Media Czechia). This profile covers the UK offer.

Onsite. Sponsored products on Tesco.com and the app, shoppable display, and premium video. The app's grocery homepage carries a video slot where Tesco says more than 65% of shoppers begin; a shorter format runs while customers browse aisles (Retail Gazette, 9 April 2026). Shoppable video in search and shoppable display in Favourites were entering tests in October 2026.

In-store. Store screens, store wraps at up to 50 locations, and ads on Scan as you Shop handsets, including geo-targeted messages by aisle (Retail Gazette, 11 October 2024). Approved creator content can now run on screens, the site and the app. The in-store retail media guide explains how screen campaigns are priced and tested.

Offsite. Tesco Media works with UK broadcasters, Meta, Pinterest and The Trade Desk to use Clubcard insight outside Tesco (Digiday).

Audiences come from Clubcard purchases, sold in tiers, plus Tesco Media's "Moving Mindsets" research on how people shop. An AI tool in development will suggest audiences from a campaign goal and cut segment building to under a minute (company claim, dunnhumby, 9 October 2026). Kevel's release says customer information stays under Tesco's own security and privacy standards.

UK rules frame this data use. The Information Commission, which replaced the Information Commissioner's Office on 30 September 2026, enforces UK GDPR (Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (Commencement No. 9) Regulations 2026). In November 2024 the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) reviewed loyalty pricing at five grocers, including Tesco (Grocery Gazette, 27 November 2024). It found no evidence of consumer-law concerns in how supermarkets collect and use data when people join a scheme (Grocery Gazette, 27 November 2024).

Clubcard sales give closed-loop results, and store formats are tested with A/B designs (Digiday). In October 2026 Tesco Media said it would extend incrementality measurement to display, video, sponsored products, Scan as you Shop and Meta within six months, covering about 93% of its spend. It also built a multichannel geo-lift test. We found no IAB Europe certification or independent audit for Tesco Media.

1. Talk to the Tesco Media client team or your agency. WPP's GroupM signed a strategic partnership with Tesco in June 2024 (Retail Gazette, 28 June 2024).
2. Start with sponsored products in Ad Manager if you want self-serve control.
3. Add video or store screens for launches, using Clubcard audiences.
4. Extend offsite through Meta, Pinterest, broadcasters or The Trade Desk.
5. Agree measurement before launch. Ask whether your formats fall inside the incrementality rollout and which test design applies.

It suits:

• FMCG brands with wide Tesco distribution;
• advertisers that want UK-wide store reach, including convenience stores;
• brands that need sales measurement covering most of a retailer's sales.

It suits less:

• brands with little Tesco distribution;
• buyers who need audited, certified metrics today;
• advertisers outside grocery and household categories with few Clubcard signals.

• Tesco Media revenue. Tesco does not disclose it. A 2023 press report put the loyalty-data income of Tesco and Sainsbury's at around £300 million a year, in pounds sterling (Retail Gazette, 13 December 2023). Neither company confirmed that figure in the sources we read.
• The exact launch date and the date the name changed to Tesco Media.
• Whether Sphere remains in use after the Ad Manager launch.
• Minimum spend and rate cards.

1. dunnhumby, "Tesco Media" (accessed 9 November 2026). https://www.dunnhumby.com/tesco-media/
2. dunnhumby, "Need anything from Tesco Media? New capabilities help brands turn customer understanding into growth" (9 October 2026). https://www.dunnhumby.com/news/tesco-media-new-capabilities-turn-customer-understanding-into-growth/
3. dunnhumby, "Tesco Media Upfront 2025: Brands discover how Tesco is redefining retail media" (9 October 2025). https://www.dunnhumby.com/news/tesco-media-upfront-redefining-retail-media/
4. Kevel, "Tesco Media expands advertising capabilities through new technology partnership with Kevel" (release dated 12 October 2026, page updated 14 October 2026). https://www.kevel.com/blog/tesco-media-expands-advertising-capabilities-through-new-technology-partnership-with-kevel
5. Digiday, "U.K. retailer Tesco wants advertisers to see it as equal to any traditional media partner" (2 December 2025). https://digiday.com/marketing/u-k-retailer-tesco-wants-advertisers-to-see-it-as-equal-to-any-traditional-media-partner/
6. Retail Gazette, "Tesco to bring influencer content into stores in retail media shake-up" (12 October 2026). https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2026/10/tesco-to-bring-influencer-content-into-stores-in-retail-media-shake-up/
7. Retail Gazette, "Tesco Media brings video ads to the digital shelf in retail media push" (9 April 2026). https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2026/04/tesco-media-brings-video-ads-to-the-digital-shelf-in-retail-media-push/
8. Retail Gazette, "Tesco to launch location-based self-scanner adverts in stores" (11 October 2024). https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2024/10/tesco-ads-location/
9. Retail Gazette, "Tesco hires former Amazon and Pinterest execs to grow retail media offer" (1 May 2024). https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2024/05/tesco-retail-media-hires/
10. Retail Gazette, "Tesco signs 'landmark' retail media partnership" (28 June 2024). https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2024/06/tesco-retail-media/