蘑菇AV

The relatively new shopping channel鈥檚 popularity has surged in countries like Colombia and Mexico, per Wunderman Thompson, as consumers seek out more interactive and personalized digital experiences from brands. Why it matters: Live shopping will be key to reaching new audiences, engaging shoppers, and driving online sales.

It now overshadows US rivals YouTube, Instagram, and Snap in that arena鈥攁 testament to TikTok鈥檚 dominance as the leading platform for social video and commerce. TikTok鈥檚 return to US app stores drove a 91% decline in downloads for RedNote, the rival Chinese social app that became the most downloaded free app on US app stores last month.

Gen Z is a driving force behind this behavioral shift, as they continue to seek connection in smaller circles online. The platforms are catering to those behaviors. New, compelling features could shift even more activity away from the main feeds, especially as concerns about toxic content and mental health rise this year. Instagram launched Notes, Broadcast Channels, and 鈥淐lose Friends鈥� features.

Key stat: After being inspired by something they saw on TV, almost three-fourths of US viewers (71.5%) either searched online to consider purchasing it, purchased it, or both, according to an August 2024 survey from Shopsense AI and 蘑菇AV.

鈥淚f any social app can make live commerce and in-app checkout happen in the US, it鈥檚 probably TikTok,鈥� said our analyst Jasmine Enberg. Where the platform may have more luck is with visual search, which TikTok is testing in non-US markets.

鈥淚t鈥檚 about making sure when that person is influenced by a recommendation from a creator and goes online to buy something, you have your retail media ad there and capture that demand.鈥�. Challenging the creator marketing silo. Some 94% of marketers are using influencer content outside of influencers鈥� organic posts, according to Linqia鈥檚 鈥�2025 State of Influencer Marketing鈥� report.

The year started with a flurry of commerce media news, from Meijer Media expanding into off-site channels to Microsoft鈥檚 new ad capabilities.

The biggest opportunity gap for CPG ad buyers is access to in-store purchase data, while general merchandise ad buyers are more concerned about ad costs. 91.2% of food and beverage purchases occur in-store, compared with 83.8% of US commerce at large. Improving in-store attribution could be a major ad spend unlock for RMNs that sell to CPG companies.

Note: This data is being featured as part of our special coverage of AI in Commerce. Methodology: Data is from a February 2025 YouGov analysis as cited in company blog. 1,203 US adults ages 18+ were surveyed online during December 23, 2024-January 1, 2025.

The trend toward CTV will be especially pronounced as retail media turns into commerce media. Retailers far outrank financial service, travel, and ride-sharing platforms in terms of traffic, according to Comscore. As these non-retail industries invest in ad networks, they鈥檒l need partnerships with other industries like CTV to provide inventory that will actually reach consumers.

However, Roku鈥檚 own commerce partnerships could help address this challenge.

Chinese retailers may cut ad spending under new tariffs: US tariff crackdown could impact Temu and Shein's ad investments, reshaping the digital ad market.