蘑菇AV

Travel companies leveraging first-party data to power proprietary ad networks are establishing a presence in the commerce media landscape. Advertisers can enhance their digital strategies by incorporating travel into the commerce media mix.

Retail and commerce media were huge topics at last year鈥檚 Cannes Lions festival, and this year, the festival is doubling down on the channel by introducing a new retail media sub-category in the Media Lions and Creative Commerce Lions awards. However, 鈥渢he tone is definitely shifting鈥� as the industry matures鈥攁nd faces the threat of tariff-related impacts, according to our analyst, Sarah Marzano.

This sponsored video by CVS Media Exchange (CMX) will explore retail media collaborations.

Brands will find enhanced opportunities to target customers as Amazon鈥檚 retail media network (RMN) expands its offerings into social channels and connected TV (CTV) with shoppable ads. TV and social media were the top channels in which beauty ads drew audience attention, per an April 2024 CivicScience survey. The beauty path to purchase is becoming more complex.

Wonder acquires a media company, Unilever dedicates more spend to influencers, and Ulta launches a third-party marketplace. Here are the eight most interesting retailers and brands from last month, as ranked on our 鈥淏ehind the Numbers鈥� podcast.

To keep pace in a complex landscape and meet increasing demands from advertisers, commerce media players need to invest in fresh channels, tools, and innovation.

As marketers attempt to piece together a full, nuanced picture of how their paid media affects outcomes, old-fashioned measurement tactics are coming back into vogue, and new players are rising to prominence.

US retail media ad spending will increase 88.5% from 2024 to 2028, reaching $97.9 billion, according to a November 2024 蘑菇AV forecast.

Social media networks, which accounted for over half of the programmatic display market in 2020, have mostly held their own. But everyone else is losing share. Click here to view our full forecast for US programmatic retail media digital display ad spending. It鈥檚 worth noting that, by dollar volume, programmatic ad spending is growing across all media categories.

On this special edition podcast, we explore how top brands master commerce media鈥攃hoosing the right networks, weaving in existing channels, and optimizing for maximum impact. 蘑菇AV鈥檚 Sarah鈥疢arzano hosts InfoSum鈥檚 Senior Vice President, Sales, North America, Marc鈥疌estaro and Kettle鈥�&鈥疐ire鈥檚 Senior Director, Media and Omnichannel, Niccol貌鈥疓loazzo in this live panel from 蘑菇AV鈥檚 May 9th virtual summit, Commerce鈥疢edia鈥疶rends鈥�2025. Listen everywhere you find podcasts, or watch on YouTube and Spotify.

Retail has come off its lengthy run of outperforming overall US ad spending growth. While growth will dip below the average for all industries in 2024, the pace is set to pick up again in 2025 and 2026.

Like Best Buy, Target, and virtually every other retailer at this point, Ulta sees its forthcoming marketplace as an opportunity to expand its assortment without having to bulk up inventory鈥攁s well as a chance to beef up ad revenues for its retail media network. It plans to improve the guest experience with deeper personalization, enhancements to its app and website, and better stores.

Amazon鈥檚 new Retail Ad Service, announced last week, is certainly the biggest retail media news of the year so far. In offering its ad-tech to power other retailers' media networks (RMNs), Amazon could disrupt how retail media operates for retailers, advertisers, vendors, and consumers alike.

Small and mid-size retail media networks (RMNs) are experiencing growing pains. In our early-2025 outlook, we said that the pervasive dominance of Amazon and Walmart鈥攚hich collectively control almost 85% of retail media ad spending鈥攚ould put immense pressure on smaller networks still finding their footing. That dynamic has intensified.

The change is not an ad move, but it shows how non-endemic links could be a potential growth engine for retail media networks. Amazon has been experimenting with new growth engines for its ad business, recently making its Retail Ads Service available to other retail media networks (RMNs). Now it鈥檚 expanding its non-endemic ads business.

The economy is still under pressure, but investment in digital advertising will continue apace. Retail will continue to lead the ranking for total spend. Travel will lead in terms of growth, followed closely by CPG and retail.

Retail media networks linking store-level inventory data with consumer profiles for real-time ad adjustments. Publicis is deploying AI models within client-owned data environments to assist with privacy compliance. It is also developing a probabilistic data workbench, increasing transparency in AI-driven projections.

The news: Instacart defied the gloomy retail landscape with an upbeat forecast for Q2, after reporting its best order growth in over two years. Orders rose 14% YoY to 83.2 million, handily beating the consensus estimate for 81.1 million. Advertising and other revenues also climbed 14%, outpacing total revenue growth of 9%, a trend the company credited to growing interest from brands big and small.

Walmart鈥檚 ad business fuels operating income growth: Retail media revenues jumped 29% driven by marketplace expansion.

The challenge of cross-platform measurement is particularly prevalent with the rise of retail media networks (RMNs). Most US advertisers (55%) say a lack of standardization across retail media platforms is the biggest RMN-related challenge, according to a January 2024 Association of National Advertisers (ANA) study.