Before It Was Cool: What 16 Years at dunnhumby Teaches Us About AI's Retail Media Revolution

Grant Steadman, who spent nearly 16 years at dunnhumby building retail media infrastructure for Tesco’s Clubcard and Kroger’s loyalty programs before AI had a name for it, argues that AI is not just another tech upgrade but a fundamental reset of how customers shop and who owns the intelligence layer. In the Unlocking Retail Media podcast episode hosted by Kevel CEO James Avery, Steadman traces the arc from early loyalty data and personalization engines to what he calls agentic commerce — a new channel distinct from traditional retail media. He contends that retailers must act now to own the customer intelligence layer before AI intermediaries displace them from their own data relationships.