Ahead of Retail MediaX Europe, Helene Trad, who leads retail media at Kingfisher, spoke with Amanda Vlietstra, managing editor of InternetRetailing, about how the group is building a scalable, customer‑centric retail media proposition across banners including Screwfix and B&Q.
Q: You’ve taken part in this event before. How do you feel about being involved again?
A: It’s always a great opportunity. There are two things I really value. First, it’s a small world, and events like this are a great way to reconnect with old colleagues and clients. Second, it’s valuable to hear what everyone is thinking about and what challenges we’re sharing. It gives you a chance to reflect on what you’re doing internally and compare it with what’s happening in the wider market.
Q: Kingfisher spans very different banners – Screwfix, which is more B2B and trade‑led, and B&Q, which is more about inspiration. How do you build a retail media strategy that works across both?
A: B&Q also runs TradePoint, which is targeted at trade customers and is extremely successful. So even within B&Q, there’s already a split between DIY consumers and trade.
At a group level, our strategy is simple: we enable advertisers – whether first‑party suppliers, marketplace sellers, or non‑endemic partners – to reach the right audience with the right message in a way that enhances, rather than disrupts, the customer experience.
We have fundamentally different shopping missions across our banners: a speed‑ and task‑led, trade‑focused journey at Screwfix versus a more inspiration‑ and project‑led journey at B&Q. That doesn’t mean we take a one‑size‑fits‑all approach.
At group level, we’re building a modular retail media proposition that allows advertisers to plan and measure consistently across markets and banners. This is combined with banner‑specific activation layers. Each banner has its own retail media team, working directly with advertisers to understand their goals and customer missions, and to adapt format, placement, and messaging accordingly. The result is a strong backbone that supports a wide range of advertiser objectives, with activation delivered at banner level to respect distinct customer journeys.
Q: How do you make sure you don’t overwhelm customers with too much retail media?
A: This has always been a core question in retail media. We’re very aware of the risk, and we listen closely to customer feedback. If customers feel that content is overwhelming or irrelevant, that feeds directly into how we govern retail media.
Retail media also isn’t the only thing touching the customer. Internal marketing and loyalty schemes play a big role, so we take a holistic view of everything reaching the customer and are very mindful about overall message volume.
Q: Let’s talk about trade customers, particularly at Screwfix and TradePoint. How does that change targeting and reporting, and what do brands often underestimate?
A: Trade customers behave much more like professional buyers. Their missions are different – they may need something immediately to fix a problem, or they may be buying tools and materials to support their business over years. The core marketing principle remains the same – the right message to the right audience – but the segmentation and understanding required are very different from DIY.
What’s often underestimated is customer lifetime value. In trade, we’re talking about people who use these products for their job over the course of their working lives. Influencing them, introducing new products, or supporting product evolution can have a significant long‑term impact.
Trade customers also influence homeowners. When a tradesperson is working in your home, you see the products and tools being used and often take their recommendations seriously. Their impact goes well beyond their own purchases.
Brands generally understand this, but once you move into broader agency and media discussions, people can revert to thinking purely in B2C terms. Trade audiences often need to be reframed as a distinct and highly valuable segment.
Q: On the other side, you have the inspiration‑driven B&Q customer. How does that affect retail media across the customer journey?
A: Customer journeys are no longer linear, and home improvement is a perfect example. Projects can take weeks or months, with customers moving between digital and store environments.
A typical journey might begin online with browsing and inspiration, then move to store visits to see and assess products, before returning online to refine choices and ultimately purchasing either online, in‑store, or via click & collect.
Retail media needs to support the customer at every stage of that journey. Store remains central, particularly for bigger‑ticket items, where customers want to see and touch products. Our role is to support the project end‑to‑end.
Q: How is AI being integrated into Kingfisher’s retail media business?
A: AI has been part of retail media for a long time. Programmatic advertising was already AI‑driven. At Kingfisher, we use AI across planning, activation, and measurement. We’re still early in our retail media journey, but AI supports workflow management, planning, and audience relevance, allowing teams to focus on adding value through advertiser and customer understanding.
As we move further into self‑serve, AI is also critical for creative review, ensuring brand safety and alignment with our guidelines at scale. I see AI primarily as an enabler that helps retail media businesses scale while staying focused on relevance and effectiveness.
Q: How do suppliers now view retail media? Is it becoming more strategic?
A: It depends on the supplier, banner, and overall business model, so I can’t generalise too much. What retail media does provide is a powerful way for suppliers to communicate effectively, particularly around launches or innovation, by reaching the right shoppers at the right time.
For us, retail media is a shared growth lever. Our shoppers are always at the centre, whether online or in‑store. Retailers and brands share the same goal: presenting relevant products that genuinely help customers with their projects or everyday needs. That’s the lens through which we approach retail media, rather than as an add‑on or negotiation tool.
Helene Trad will be speaking at Retail MediaX Europe on 14 May at Convene, London. Find out more and secure your place here.
