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Commerce media networks are expanding beyond retail into new verticals like travel and financial services, creating opportunities for targeted advertising using first-party purchase data. The key to growth will be achieving a delicate balance, and engaging鈥攔ather than alienating鈥攃onsumers.

The retail media landscape is evolving rapidly, requiring brands, networks, and tech partners to optimize and enhance their ad solutions and capabilities. Here are three recent announcements.

T-Mobile sees a $600 million opportunity in Digital OOH: The mobile provider will acquire Vistar Media in a deal hinting at the format鈥檚 future.

In just five years, retail media went from a $1 billion segment to a $30 billion segment. With US omnichannel retail media ad spend poised to reach $59.98 billion this year, per our October 2023 forecast, non-retail industries from health and fitness to restaurants and financial institutions are looking to build out their own media networks.

Video streaming services, podcasts, video games, and retail media networks all sell inventory upfront. Click here to view the full forecast for upfront TV ad spending. Digital upfront spending is set to eclipse linear TV. We forecast that more money will be allocated upfront to digital video than to primetime linear TV for the first time this year.

To take on retail media giants like Amazon and Walmart Connect, smaller networks need to constantly show what sets them apart and step up their media game.

Creator-driven content is becoming crucial for retail media networks' advertising offerings. The focus has shifted toward technologies that can scale creator relationships while maintaining performance. Strategic implications: Creator monetization is driving deal activity. Platforms enabling sustainable creator income streams are attracting investment.

Retail media is the fastest-growing ad channel we track in the US, driven by new innovations, inventory growth, and new players launching media networks. Here鈥檚 a look at some of the biggest retail media moves from the first six months of 2024.

Customer data collection, the dawn of retail media, and AI-assisted shopping has upended a retail industry already in the midst of a big-box transformation at the tail end of the 20th century. And then there is one of the biggest elephants in the room: Amazon. Here are some of the most impactful changes that marketing leaders have seen over the last 25 years.

Retail media ad spending in the US will reach almost $55 billion in 2024, as advertisers鈥� focus on off-site spending intensifies.

Physical stores are a massive untapped opportunity for advertisers, and as retail media evolves, more networks are beginning to explore in-store media formats. Here are three recent examples.

2025 will bring significant change to the retail industry: Several of the main trends dominating retail鈥攇enAI, RMNs, and China鈥檚 ecommerce disrupters鈥攚ill look very different this time next year.

Retail marketplace ecommerce sales are growing faster than overall online sales in the US, and a new crop of players with roots in China, like Temu and TikTok Shop, is disrupting the space. Our exclusive research shows how US consumers are shopping across online marketplaces and how their habits are evolving. 鈥�. This deck will:鈥�.

Walmart dominated the US retail landscape in 2024: The mass merchant鈥檚 ability to offer savings and convenience won over shoppers, and its growing ecommerce and advertising businesses are helping it make inroads against Amazon.

This month鈥檚 ad platforms update is all about analytics, with Google, TikTok, and Microsoft announcing improved reporting tools. Plus, Amazon announced on-site and off-site retail media innovations. And we saw some interesting ad network updates from Lyft and Intuit. Here鈥檚 a breakdown of what鈥檚 new.

On today鈥檚 podcast episode, we discuss what makes Sam鈥檚 Club stand out against Costco and BJ鈥檚, why its retail media offering is unique, and where it might be falling short. Listen to the conversation with our Senior Analyst Sara Lebow as she hosts Principal Analyst Sarah Marzano and Senior Analyst Zak Stambor.

鈥淥ver the last 12 months, we鈥檝e seen a flurry of [media advertising] activity from outside the retail sector,鈥� our analyst Sarah Marzano said on an episode of the 鈥淏ehind the Numbers: Reimagining 搁别迟补颈濒鈥� podcast. Although retail kicked off the commerce media trends, financial services, travel companies, and intermediaries such as Instacart and Uber Eats are monetizing their customer data and setting up ad networks. The rise of commerce media networks is changing the way advertisers approach targeting and how consumers interact with brands. Here are four predictions on these emerging trends.

Today鈥檚 podcast episode of The Banking & Payments Show explores the future role ATMs will play in retail media. Host Rob Rubin is also joined by Stuart Mackinnon, COO of NCR Atleos, to discuss why ATM networks continue to grow despite the surge in options for cashless purchasing. We also discuss how advertisers on the Chase Media Solutions platform can use purchase history data to target ads on Chase鈥檚 digital platforms. Listen today!

What鈥檚 next for retail media? The rapidly expanding ad channel is facing growing pains as the majority of RMNs struggle to keep pace with Amazon and Walmart.

Halfway through the current decade, retail media has bled into the wider concept of commerce media, which will be a $68.69 billion industry in the US this year, per our December 2024 forecast.

The digital ad channel is hugely dominant in the UK, so there is increasingly less room for growth. But in the broader digital category, retail media is the main driver.

While its current offering processes transactions through ACH and typically takes three days to finalize, the new version will use Fiserv's NOW network, which uses both the RTP Network and FedNow. But consumers lack the proper incentives to make the switch.

The trend: Major chains like Claire鈥檚, Kroger, and At Home are shuttering locations in response to mounting cost pressures, shifting consumer behaviors, and overextended store networks. Our take: Retail鈥檚 physical footprint is undergoing a recalibration. Store closures aren鈥檛 just about poor performance鈥攖hey鈥檙e a reflection of deeper structural shifts: Tariffs are reshaping sourcing, pricing, and profitability. Consumers are moving toward value and digital-first channels. Legacy formats鈥攍ike mall stores鈥攁re losing relevance. Retailers that can鈥檛 adapt to these changes quickly are finding themselves on increasingly shaky ground.