蘑菇AV

Nascent partnerships from 2023 will start packing a punch in 2024. Companies without an overwhelming market advantage will need to join forces with rivals or complementary partners to keep boosting revenues.

Mobile is driving ecommerce sales growth, with 43.2% of the $1.137 trillion in US ecommerce sales we project for this year. As mcommerce sales rise, retailers are innovating to get a piece of the $491.14 billion pie. Mobile commerce will be especially vital this holiday season. Some 79% of US online shoppers shopped via mobile during the Cyber Five last year, according to Bizrate Insights data cited in a Forrester report.

Second, as it aggressively expands its Amazon Fresh footprint, Amazon will introduce more in-store retail media formats, including in-store digital signage, smoke screen overlays on cooler doors, and experimenting with other surfaces. Third, Lipsman thinks Amazon will bring back its Prime Samples program, which allowed brands to market products via samples before being discontinued in 2019.

Generative AI (genAI) is fundamentally changing how consumers shop online, potentially eliminating the "treasure hunt" experience that drives impulse purchases and changing how marketers push products.

US consumer spending rose just 1.8% YoY in Q1 2025鈥攁 drop from 4.0% in Q4 2024, per the US Commerce Department. 45.6% of consumers say a similar lifestyle makes them trust an influencer鈥檚 opinion, compared to 19.8% who trust those with a high follower count, per a 2025 Grin survey.

Others that are more reliant on D2C brands or cross-border commerce may face increased headwinds. Click here to view our full forecast for US digital ad spending, by tariff scenario.

While holding companies focus on cost-cutting, private investors enable agencies to expand AI capabilities, automate workflows, and explore new revenue models (That is, of course, until they eventually cut costs to flip the business, like when Mountaingate Capital sold Mars United Commerce to Publicis last fall). AI is a key driver of investment.

Zooming out: The deal is part of Publicis' $1.5 billion acquisition spree over the past six months, including Influential, Mars United Commerce, and BR Media. Publicis plans to invest $800-$900 million in additional M&A in 2025, focusing on first-party data, digital media, and AI-driven solutions.

Advertisers should prepare for AI-driven commerce by optimizing for automation, refining customer intent data, and testing agent-compatible workflows.

Creator agency Whalar鈥檚 acquisition of talent management company Sixteenth has opened the door to more disruption, especially as traditional agencies deepen their focus on digital talent. The creator economy will be under a microscope. The power they command, especially in news and politics, will cause contention.

The rise of social shopping has encouraged more brands to find commerce-driven creators, but someone who has a high conversion rate might not be universally valuable, according to Jamie Gutfreund, founder of consultancy Creator Vision. 鈥淵ou might have a creator that is brilliant and maybe they can sell $10 mascara, but there鈥檚 no history of converting at a $500 price point,鈥� she said.

As customers grab the same grocery staples they have for decades, Walmart is betting that gamifying the experience will challenge those habits. The retailer plans to launch Walmart Unlimited, a three-part miniseries that features the entrepreneurs behind its products. Launched last month on Spatial, the game includes full commerce integration that enables in-app purchases.

Interest in shoppable ads is growing among consumers and advertisers. 46% of consumers have made at least one purchase via shoppable commerce, according to an October 2024 survey from 蘑菇AV and Bizrate Insights. 38% of US ad buyers will focus at least somewhat more on shoppable ads in 2025, according to December 2024 data from IAB.

The ecommerce giant is making inroads in health and personal care, but it still faces an uphill battle in food and beverage, a coveted retail category that continues to grow online. This deck covers:. Amazon's US ecommerce sales forecast through 2027. Amazon's fastest- and slowest-growing product categories and the categories driving incremental sales growth.

Consequently, many retailers are finding themselves with an increased supply of ad inventory free from the constraints of their finite, on-site digital real estate. The emergence of commerce media will increase the prevalence and practice of non-endemic advertising.