Iceland Foods expands retail media with Epsilon partnership

Iceland Foods has entered into a partnership with Epsilon to expand its retail media network with new digital advertising formats and an auction-based buying model.

The collaboration will add offsite media, onsite video advertising, and open the network to more types of brands, aiming to increase the reach and flexibility for advertisers targeting Iceland's customer base, which numbers around nine million shoppers each year.

Offsite media and video

This move follows Iceland's work with GIG Retail over the past year, which saw the introduction of onsite display ads and digital screens in stores. With Epsilon, Iceland Foods is now increasing the sophistication and scale of its retail media proposition by enabling brand partners to bid in real time for both onsite and offsite placements, including video advertising formats.

The addition of offsite capabilities means that campaigns can extend beyond Iceland's digital properties, reaching consumers in other digital environments, including online video and display channels. The company also enables richer onsite video placements, allowing brands to connect with shoppers during their purchase journey.

Referencing the IAB Europe's latest 'Attitudes to Retail Media' report, Iceland Foods points out that investment in offsite retail media has grown. In 2025, 46% of buyers allocated over 41% of their digital spend to offsite activity, despite only 30% of retailers currently offering these capabilities. For brands, this expansion opens access to greater flexibility and audience reach.

Auction-based model

The introduction of an auction-based buying model forms a core part of the new strategy. This model allows more brands, including smaller and emerging businesses, to participate in Iceland's retail media network by bidding for advertising inventory in real-time. The intention is to create new opportunities for advertisers and to provide more relevant and dynamic options for engaging with Iceland Foods' audience, which represents an estimated 7% share of the UK online grocery market.

Adam Smith, Head of Retail Media, Iceland Foods, commented: "Our partnership with Epsilon is a big moment for us. It ultimately gives our brand partners more choice, more channels, and the ability to reach our customers in a smarter, more dynamic way. It also means we can now open up our media to more types and sizes of brand advertisers. Today's announcement is our latest commitment to providing a retail media platform that works for all brands and delivers value back to our shoppers."

The new setup seeks to broaden participation in Iceland's retail media ecosystem, making its audience more accessible to a wider range of brands, including those aiming to reach price-sensitive and underrepresented consumers.

Business perspective

Tim Frankcom, President, Europe and APAC at Epsilon, said: "Iceland has a clear ambition to build a modern, inclusive retail media offer and we're proud to support that journey. By adding offsite scale, launching new formats like video, and introducing a flexible auction model, we're helping unlock the full potential of people-based advertising. This gives brands a route to real people, not proxies, with measurable results across every touchpoint."

Iceland's partnership with Epsilon is part of a long-term plan to build a comprehensive retail media proposition. The company said that subsequent phases will include connected TV and wider video activation, providing additional options for brands to interact with verified audiences across various screens and channels.

Iceland Foods operates over 950 stores across the UK, including its The Food Warehouse locations, and runs an online shopping service. The retailer's expanded retail media initiative comes as brands are increasingly seeking to personalise their marketing across multiple platforms and to better target consumers during their shopping journeys.

The Food Warehouse, a division of Iceland Foods, includes over 190 large-format stores, offering value and convenience with a wide selection of grocery and homeware lines. This broad physical footprint, in combination with the new digital capabilities, is expected to add further scope for participating brand advertisers as the retail media offering develops.