Retail Media Impact Brief

News

Whitepapers

Africa rewrites retail media lagging brands lose ground

Africa rewrites retail media lagging brands lose ground

Megan du Toit Headshot

Ingrid von Stein

Strategic Communications Lead, dentsu Africa

ABOUT

Africa’s Retail Media Leapfrog: A dentsu Africa Impact Brief highlights a structural shift in African retail. Skipping legacy e-commerce stages, the continent has embraced mobile-first, WhatsApp-powered, marketplace-driven commerce, creating a new battleground for brands. Global playbooks are no longer enough. Success now depends on identity-driven strategies, real-time consumer visibility, and data-backed decision-making. Powered by COPO and Merkury, dentsu provides marketers with the insights, accountability, and commercial clarity required to thrive in this dynamic market. The brief offers actionable guidance for brands ready to scale, adapt, and remain relevant in Africa’s rapidly evolving retail landscape.

Dentsu Africa has released a new Impact Brief with a message the industry can no longer ignore. Africa is not catching up. Africa is overtaking.

Brands that continue to rely on global playbooks are bleeding opportunity in the world’s fastest evolving retail market.

The brief, Africa’s Retail Media Leapfrog: A dentsu Africa Impact Brief, shows how the continent has skipped legacy ecommerce stages entirely and built a mobile first, WhatsApp powered, marketplace driven commerce economy. While global markets debate cookie loss, African consumers have already moved on, and they are not coming back.

This is not a trend. It is a structural shift. A shift that is already reshaping where people discover, buy and stay loyal. A shift most brands are still not prepared to compete in.

The brief explains why identity not impressions is now the battleground and how dentsu’s COPO powered by Merkury gives marketers the visibility, accountability, and commercial clarity the continent demands.

Marketers who want to grow in Africa must understand the new architecture of influence, attention and commerce and rebuild their strategies accordingly. The brands that adapt will scale. The brands that do not will continue to lose relevance, share, and advantage.

This Impact Brief is the map. Whether you win or fall behind depends on whether you read it.

Download the full brief here.

Share

Share

Share

WE DON'T JUST UNDERSTAND AFRICA. WE ARE AFRICA.

WE DON'T JUST UNDERSTAND AFRICA. WE ARE AFRICA.

No one knows its people, cultures, and possibilities better.

No one knows its people, cultures, and possibilities better.

READY TO TO STAND OUT?
DROP US A MESSAGE.

CONNECT WITH US

Ready to grow?

LET'S TALK

Born in Japan. Raised in Africa.

Born in Japan.

Raised in Africa.

Born in Japan. Raised in Africa.