This September, ATS London 2025, hosted by ExchangeWire, brought together senior leaders and innovators from across the global adtech and martech industries. Now in its 15th year, the event offered an in-depth look at the strategies shaping today’s digital landscape — highlighting the latest trends in advertising technology and industry collaboration.
One of the standout sessions featured James Avery, Founder and CEO of Kevel, and Henry Stokes, Head of PayPal Ads UK, in the panel “The Evolution of Retail Media: How Independent Ad Tech Is Powering the Next Generation of Retail Media Networks.” Hosted by ExchangeWire’s Ciarán O’Kane, the conversation explored how retail and commerce media are redefining advertising for years to come.
Here are some key insights and trends from the session that stood out:
Retail and commerce media have quickly become one of the fastest-growing segments in ad tech. But according to Avery, this isn’t entirely new — the momentum comes from a push to bring ads closer to the point of transaction, supported by rich data.
“The big push is to get as close to the transaction as possible,” he explained. “Traditional advertising often means getting someone to click a banner on a publisher’s page. Retail and commerce media put the ad right next to the action — booking travel, grocery search, food delivery — whatever you’re doing.”
Stokes emphasized how first-party data is driving this shift: “With the long-running deprecation of cookies, many retailers realized the significant opportunity in leveraging their logged-in, first-party data to unlock new revenue,” he added.
Companies with unique purchase insights — like grocers with loyalty card data or PayPal with payment data — are in a strong position to deliver more personalized, higher-performing ad experiences.
For established businesses like PayPal, independence when choosing an adtech partner is a key advantage. Stokes explained, “When you’re an established business, you want a partner who is heavily invested in you — dedicated, with custom technology to enable innovation and growth.”
“We make our customers the main character. Our job isn’t selling to agencies or brands—we help PayPal build a world-class network. Independence matters because we’re not trying to be the face of retail media; we’re helping our clients become strong competitors.”
- James Avery, Founder & CEO of Kevel at ATS London 2025
Balancing performance with privacy remains one of the biggest challenges in commerce media today. Stokes summarized PayPal’s guiding principle as “do no harm”:
“You can’t slow checkout, mishandle data, or risk bad press.” he warned.
Kevel helps address this with its server-to-server API solutions, which allows customers to load first-party data and do fine-grained targeting and attribution — without the data ever leaving your system. “Compared to publisher stacks full of trackers,” Avery said, “Businesses can choose a clean, privacy-first approach while still driving revenue.”
For PayPal in particular, whose data includes signals like BNPL usage, credit products, and cross-border payments, privacy compliance isn’t optional. But rather than slowing progress, Stokes highlighted that instead, it has helped guide careful partner selection, robust processes, and strong consent frameworks.
With a network of over 30 million merchants worldwide, PayPal brings a distinctive commerce media offering rooted in its dual role as both a payments provider and a shopping facilitator.
“Our uniqueness lies in being a payments business,” Stokes explained. “We own the payment process and can orchestrate the right audience, the right message, the right offer, and the right way to pay. We’ve shortened the funnel by enabling storefront-in-ad units — two-click purchase with PayPal directly within the ad.”
This seamless integration not only boosts conversions but also allows advertisers to expand reach across third-party platforms, leveraging PayPal’s massive scale.
Expanding beyond endemic advertisers to non-endemic categories presents a major growth opportunity. Avery highlighted Uber as a prime example:
“Retailers are still focused on endemic because it’s harder to justify non-transactional ads onsite,” he explained. “But in commerce media, non-endemic works — Uber started with Eats, then expanded to rides with destination-based and broader offers like credit cards or travel.”
PayPal has seen similar success. Stokes shared, “One of our first advertisers in Germany was Mercedes, targeting high-net-worth audiences, and the acquisition impact was strong.”
As consumer behavior shifts, new ad ecosystems are emerging — from companies like Deliveroo and Uber to smaller players. Avery shared that Kevel’s mission lies in helping “launch a thousand ‘walled gardens’ — not in a restrictive way,” he explained. “But by empowering businesses with unique first-party data to capture their fair share of media.”
The insights from ATS London 2025 made one thing clear: retail and commerce media aren’t passing trends — they’re reshaping advertising. Companies that harness first-party data, prioritize privacy, and choose independent partners will be best positioned to thrive.
Kevel is proud to help lead this transformation, equipping businesses like PayPal with API-based solutions to in-house media operations, reduce dependency on third-party vendors, and build custom ad ecosystems.
Think you’re ready to innovate in retail or commerce media? Get in touch with Kevel today to discover how our solutions can power your next growth chapter.
