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There鈥檚 no stopping the retail media juggernaut. At $45.05 billion in US spending in 2023, it鈥檚 already far ahead of connected TV and closing in on traditional TV.

Sponsored content and outstream video, two of native advertising鈥檚 most popular forms, are no longer found only on social media, which dominated this type of advertising thanks to its audience targeting capabilities. As these capabilities move to CTV and mobile, spending is shifting.

Retail media is moving from its initial state (search and on-site display ads) up the funnel toward social, open web, and connected TV. As retail media networks move into their next era, they should leverage partnerships to explore new channels, said Evan Hovorka, vice president of product and innovation at Albertsons Media Collective.

Total media ad spending in the US will pass the $350 billion mark this year, but growth is slow at just 3.8%, according to our forecast. 鈥淭hat is not great compared to almost anything in recent memory; however, there is a U-shape to this line,鈥� our analyst Ethan Cramer-Flood said during our 鈥淯S Digital Ad Spend Outlook鈥� webinar. Connected TV and retail media will prove to be bright spots, but social media could be a challenge.

It鈥檚 been a year since Netflix launched its 鈥淏asic With Ads鈥� tier, joining an increasingly cluttered landscape of ad-supported streaming platforms. Netflix leveraged a year of solid connected TV (CTV) ad spend growth, cost-conscious consumers, and Hollywood strikes that emphasized the value of a deep existing catalog to grow its ad supported plan to 15 million global monthly active users, according to a company post. Here鈥檚 a look at what鈥檚 new, what鈥檚 working, and what needs more attention at Netflix.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss how advertisers should adjust their plans based on social video time's slowing growth, whether people will spend more social media time on connected TVs, and the ratio between ad spend and time spent on social networks. "In Other News," we talk about whether TikTok can become a more traditional social network and getting paid to watch ads on a new socially conscious social media app. Tune in to the discussion with our analyst Debra Aho Williamson.

Retailers and the tech firms powering some of their RMNs are racing to give ad buyers access to more off-site inventory in formats ranging from CTV to digital out-of-home to in-store. But on-site has plenty of headroom left, as this new data from our forecast shows.

While advertising areas like connected TV and retail media boast strong potential, other channels, like social media and linear TV, are losing some steam. That鈥檚 why it鈥檚 important to explore other ad channels. For example, digital out-of-home advertising has made technological and creative leaps in the past few years, while the women鈥檚 sports ad opportunity is expanding. Here are some areas within digital advertising where you may be missing out on unlocking potential.

This year, we forecast that Walmart鈥檚 digital ad revenue growth will outpace Google, Meta, and even Amazon. This success is driven by updates made to Walmart鈥檚 retail media platform as well as partnerships to help advertisers activate across channels like social and connected TV. 鈥淵ou know [how they say] crawl, walk, run? We鈥檙e getting to that walk/run phase now where our platform is maturing,鈥� said Rich Lehrfeld, senior vice president and general manager at Walmart Connect.

Gen Zers aren鈥檛 watching appointment TV. They鈥檙e not even the biggest cohort of connected TV users. (That distinction goes to millennials.) Instead, Gen Z is watching short digital videos and looking for new ways to interact with friends. Here are five charts on what Gen Z鈥檚 media consumption looks like.

With the rise of digital ad channels like connected TV and retail media, there鈥檚 a lot of emphasis on making every ad and consumer touchpoint shoppable. Ad formats with direct calls to action help drive conversions and increase ROI. But brand equity can get left out of the conversation when we focus on performance marketing in isolation. Every ad should perform and provide some sort of measurable impact, but each ad is also vital for telling a brand鈥檚 story, even at the bottom of the funnel where marketers are more focused on driving conversions.

The transition from linear to connected TVs has increased demand for more robust audience measurement tools, presenting an opportunity to unseat Nielsen as the industry standard. While alternatives have been slow to catch on, the 2025 Upfront season could mark a turning point for Nielsen鈥檚 dominance.

Yeah, I think YouTube occupies a very interesting space in this spectrum, and I think Danny touched on this, just talking about the transition from mobile to CTV. So now YouTube is predominantly a CTV platform, however, that's only when you compare it to how mobile-centric it had been up until maybe three, four years ago.

LinkedIn Connected TV (CTV) and Thought Leader Ads support B2B video. LinkedIn recently introduced LinkedIn CTV ads to help marketers reach decision-makers where they鈥檙e consuming content. LinkedIn enhanced its Thought Leader Ads so advertisers can sponsor content, including posts with videos, further expanding the ways marketers can reach target audiences.

Samsung isn鈥檛 betting solely on phones鈥攊t鈥檚 also pushing out AI features on its best-selling connected TVs (CTVs). On-device surge: By 2028, nine out of 10 smartphones over $250 will be genAI-capable, per Counterpoint Research. On-device genAI is currently limited to premium models for the most part, but Counterpoint expects mid-tier smartphone models to start supporting genAI this year.

CTV time spent is making gains every year. It accounted for just 21.7% of total TV (linear plus CTV) time spent five years ago. By 2026, it will make up 38.0%. The increased ownership of smart TVs in Canada (now higher than 50% of internet users) and cord-cutting have driven CTV viewership up, especially among younger age groups. Digital video time spent is almost on par with TV.

Working with creators beyond social media platforms also means bringing them into other kinds of campaigns by featuring them in places like out-of-home, connected TV, in-store, and traditional media campaigns. Poppi鈥檚 recent Super Bowl commercial did this by featuring creators Alix Earle and Jake Shane.

In a July Advertiser Perceptions survey of marketers who spend at least $250,000 annually on advertising, 37% of respondents said that connected TV and over-the-top video were better at measuring campaign effectiveness than linear TV.

鈥淐ross-device measurement is critical, especially on connected TV (CTV), where attributing impressions to sales is difficult because conversions usually occur on a desktop or mobile device,鈥� said our analyst Evelyn Mitchell-Wolf.

Ad spending is moving to CTV, and marketers want to compare performance on CTV with video ad campaigns on mobile web and mobile in-app delivery. Industry KPIs, Insider Intelligence鈥檚 new benchmarking tool, lets advertisers evaluate the performance of their video ad dollars.

Over 10% of each generation sees healthcare ads through connected TV (CTV). Search engines reign supreme across generations for active medical research鈥攂ut social media platforms are gaining. Over one-quarter of Gen Zers and millennials begin their online research on social media鈥擥en Zers on TikTok and Instagram, and millennials on Facebook and YouTube.

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.

The retailer made big advertising moves, most notably its $2.3 billion acquisition of smart TV manufacturer Vizio. That deal gives Walmart entry into the lucrative world of CTV advertising, which provides a new revenue stream and makes its Walmart Connect retail media network more attractive to advertisers. Other notable advertising updates this year include:.