By: Emma Helsloot
From Barcelona to London, New Zealand and now Sydney, Hannah’s retail media journey has followed a truly global path – shaped as much by life decisions as by career ambition. Now leading analytics and insights at Woolworths’ Cartology and serving as our WRMC Community Connector in Australia, she brings a grounded, people-first perspective to everything she does. In this interview, Hannah shares how data, personal growth, and a bit of sun-seeking shaped her path – and how she sees retail media evolving across the region.
You’ve built an impressive global career. What have been some pivotal moments that shaped your journey into retail media?
The moments that have shaped my career have actually been personal decisions that have ended up in new career directions. This has led me from Barcelona, to London, to New Zealand and now Sydney.
When I finished a Media and Communications degree at University, I planned to move to ‘somewhere in Europe’ and ‘work in a bar’. My mum recommended I use my degree (!) so I followed her advice and soon landed a performance marketing role at Vistaprint in Barcelona. Here I realised, somewhat surprisingly, that I loved using data. This kick started my career in data-driven retail media, but it was really the excitement of a sunny adventure in a new country that drove the decision!
After a couple of years I decided to move back home and applied for a job at dunnhumby (London) where I knew I could put this new found interest into action. dunnhumby offered me amazing foundational knowledge about data science and retail media, as part of the Tesco Media team. Tesco has had an advertising arm for 20+ years and this was an education in ‘best practice’ retail media, within a multi-channel, customer-led business.
The next change came five years later, when again the allure of a beachside location took me to Sydney, where dunnhumby asked me to help set up the Australia-New Zealand business. The career opportunity was amazing, moving from a huge operation to starting a business from scratch and I was equally excited to explore a new part of the world.
The most recent change was again as much personal as professional. I had my son nearly two years ago and was living in Sydney but working in New Zealand – which after a while became unsustainable. This led me to leave dunnhumby and start a job closer to home. I started at Woolworths after maternity leave. Starting a new job after maternity leave was really daunting, and really hard – but I knew it was the right thing to do. I’m now six months in to my new role, I’m loving the job and working a ‘normal time zone’ with less travel, works well for me and my family.
What’s your current role at Woolworths and what excites you most about it?
I lead the analytics, insights and measurement team at Cartology, Woolworths (Australia-New Zealand). Woolworths is the largest grocery retailer in the region and my business unit is fundamental to future growth, which is super exciting. We’re the most mature retail media network in ANZ, with the biggest customer franchise – we have so much opportunity in this space. Because I’ve worked with retailers previously who are further along in their analytics journey, the thing that excites me most is being able to apply that knowledge, with all the exciting advancements in AI, alongside a really smart, supportive team.
Having worked in both the UK and Australia, what key differences do you see in the retail media landscape between these markets — and how do you see Australia evolving?
The UK is more mature, with grocery-players launching in store media initially then branching into online and offnetwork; then came single-channel RMN competition in more recent years. Australia has a similar journey but without the 10 year head start. Some of the key differences I’ve noticed is how UK retailers have had the time to fully embed data and insights into the operating processes, enabling personalisation and advanced reporting. Australia will get there! Both regions are focussed on expanding digital assets, physical and online. Both are facing the same opportunity of engaging Marketing / Brand clients, where the revenue has historically come from Trade budgets. Because Australia is in a rapid growth phase, the competition is high, which drives urgency and positive pressure. Australian RMNs need to evolve quickly to establish their points of difference and proposition, before the market matures and the ‘race to the top’ slows.
The grocery sector has been a major focus for you — how do you see retail media transforming the way grocery retailers connect with shoppers today?
Grocery has such rich shopper data and high-frequency customer touchpoints, across the entire shopping journey. As we all know, journeys aren’t linear, every customer, mission and mindset has its nuances. Being able to engage with customers throughout their journey, in a personalised way isn’t a ‘new’ challenge, but is still highly relevant. In the transformative space, how retailers use AI to save shoppers time and money, will stand them apart. For example, imagine I’m going on a camping trip and I’m figuring out what to buy. Now imagine I use conversational commerce on a grocery website: “I’m going camping, budget $150, please deliver on Friday” – and the retailer knows exactly what to choose, because it knows my profile and understand the brief: quick to make, pescatarian, promotionally-sensitive, family of four etc. Using AI to solve real life pain points of grocery shopping will ensure retailers connect with customers in the future.
As the new WRMC Connector for Australia, what’s your vision for building community and elevating women in the retail media space across the region?
My goal is to help create a network where like-minded women can connect and have judgement-free conversations about all things industry and non-industry. A space where we can say ‘hey I know loads about this, anyone else want to learn?’ ‘Or, I don’t know much about this – does anyone else?’. I’m excited to be a part of a global movement that is growing confidence, skills and networks.
Final usual question from us: which women working in the retail media industry inspire you and why?
Personally I’ve had the opportunity to work with some really inspiring women, including Priya Aggarwall and Keri-Jane Jacka at dunnumby. Both women are really experienced in the retail industry, they’re great collaborators and leaders… but it’s their ability to lift up others and create a trusted, supportive environment, for women especially, is what makes them stand out.
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/women-in-retail-media-collective/
About us: The Women in Retail Media Collective (WRM Collective) is an industry-first network dedicated to empowering women in the retail media sector. By providing resources, thought leadership, and community, WRM Collective creates pathways for women to lead, innovate, and drive change in this booming sector. Founded by two industry leaders, WRM Collective is committed to fostering a more inclusive and equitable retail media landscape. For more information visit www.wrmcollective.com.