CVS Media Exchange’s Parbinder Dhariwal on the next phase of the retail media revolution

Parbinder Dhariwal, VP and GM of CVS’ retail-media network CVS Media Exchange, has no doubt that the “retail-media revolution is in full swing.”

And the numbers would seem to back him up: GroupM estimated in a June midyear forecast that retail media would be the fastest-growing digital channel of 2024, projecting an increase of 17.5% in ad revenue.

The next phase of this so-called revolution, according to Dhariwal, will be about utilizing emerging technology like generative artificial intelligence to enhance retail media’s capabilities. But through it all, he stresses that retail -media networks must put the consumer first.

“What is most important to us under that capacity is to meet the needs of the consumer,” Dhariwal tells The Current Podcast. “If we can’t understand the consumer, we can’t meet their needs. If we can’t service the consumer and understand the in-store environment and how we can create a level of discoverability in the in-store environment, or how we can create that discoverability in digital environments, that’s when we start to lose our gravitas.”

Dhariwal also discusses CVS’ self-service advertising offering, the future of DEI initiatives in retail media, and why brands should embrace the opportunity that only retail media can bring.