Almost all Australian retailers are thinking about launching owned media businesses, according to Omnicom-owned Resolution Digital – and not just within FMCG. The question is who will be next? Bunnings or will Wesfarmers go the whole hog, and will it spawn a raft of specialist retailer media agencies?

The CMO of Winning Group, a near $1 billion privately-owned Australian online retailer whose brands include Appliances Online, says the supermarkets have much to learn when it comes to selling media across their platforms. "We have a way to maximise profits for the business that I think some of the big guys don't yet understand," says former Woolworths exec, Sven Lindell. "We're selling a marketing program, not pixels on a page."

Mi3 has produced a 28-page report on retailer media and the ramifications of a predicted surge in growth for Australia's brands, agencies and publishers. The next wave of market entrants is imminent – and it goes way beyond FMCG. "It will be the money you plan first. It will take more money from the market", according to one consultant. The question is where from. 

As yoghurt companies go, Chobani is big, roaring from nowhere to a 20 per cent market share in less than a decade. For the last couple of years, it has been investing heavily in retail media via Woolworth's Cartology unit. General Manager of Growth, Olivia Dickinson, says there are four reasons why – and she thinks the retailer media companies are only just getting started.

Retail media is shaking up the pecking order and traditional publishers are being pushed further down the line. It may be the networks, not Google, are the ones to ultimately cede dollar share to the retailers.