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Our newsletter team has already made a number of advertising and retail predictions, but now it鈥檚 time to combine the two. Retail media is still on the rise in the US (growing by a projected 28.6% this year), but competition is getting fierce. From commerce opportunities to consolidation, here鈥檚 what we expect to see from retail media in 2024.

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.

The Fresh Market has created an entire retail media network to experiment with shoppable video, partnering with Firework on shoppable live commerce. 5. Retail media networks need to prove their worth. The top two barriers to retail media鈥檚 growth are poor return on investment (ROI) and the inability to prove incrementality, per a survey from Skai and BWG Strategy.

Livestreaming commerce is still outperforming everything else. China鈥檚 version of livestream commerce has taken the world by storm since 2020. Although growth is now slowing, sales will still increase by a standout 35.0% this year.

Subscriptions for nongaming in particular are a growing portion of in-app purchases (IAPs), while some apps with large user bases are looking to create their own payments and commerce ecosystems. Privacy restrictions on iOS and Android continue to tighten. So far, advertisers have adapted.

Agentic AI could transform payments and commerce, creating more seamless and hyperpersonalized experiences for consumers and businesses to better meet changing customer demands.

There鈥檚 an increasing number of online marketplaces dedicated to secondhand luxury retail (including The RealReal and Depop), but brands like Balenciaga and Rolex are getting in the game too. Traditional secondhand retailers are also taking advantage of growing resale adoption, moving their services online to reach even more consumers.

Amazon reportedly made the offer via a letter to Vice President JD Vance and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick鈥攖hough the Times reported that various people involved in the talks aren鈥檛 taking Amazon鈥檚 bid seriously. The bid 鈥渋s proof of TikTok鈥檚 prowess in ecommerce and the changing nature of how consumers shop and buy,鈥� per 蘑菇AV vice president of content Jasmine Enberg.

Sellers spent 14% of their Prime Day revenues on Amazon ads, according to data from Momentum Commerce. Behind the stats: Prime Day has become more than a retail event for Amazon. The multiday discount period pressures Amazon merchants to spend heavily on advertising, making it a pillar of Amazon鈥檚 ad business, which will generate $34 billion in the US this year. The pressure to participate is rising.

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.

Half of US digital media professionals say that social media holds the most potential for innovation and opportunity in the next 12 months, per a September 2023 survey by YouGov cited by Integral Ad Science.

Methodology: Data is from the April 2025 TrustRadius report titled "Bridging the Trust Gap: B2B Tech Buying in the Age of AI." 2,058 B2B technology buyers and 490 B2B technology vendors worldwide were surveyed online during January 2025.

With intimate access to customers鈥� spending behavior, Chase has an inside advantage within the crowded commerce media landscape. Editor鈥檚 note: This story has been updated to more accurately reflect how Chase Media Solutions uses consumer data.

It is that layering, starting with that strong entertainment and creator content foundation, with very seamless commerce integration. (07:09):.

Their behavior blurs the lines between social and commerce. 蘑菇AV 70% of US Gen Zers discover products on TikTok, Canaves explained, citing 蘑菇AV鈥檚 Path to Purchase survey. Some 42.5% of US Gen Zers said TikTok was the most useful platform for product research.

With the majority of retail sales still taking place offline, marketers are rethinking the in-store experience, attempting to combine the reach of physical retail with the engagement of digital channels via in-store retail media.

Publicis Groupe made seven deals, including Mars United Commerce. Stagwell Global also thrived, leading in volume with 10 acquisitions. Management consultancies only made 12 acquisitions in 2024, down from 2023. Outside of Publicis, several Big 6 holding companies saw slower activity in 2024. IPG made two deals, acquiring Intelligence Node in the US and Xiklab Digital in the Philippines.

ByteDance isn鈥檛 just focusing on video, though, and is rolling out a number of lifestyle, commerce, and delivery features to create a super app comparable to Gojek or WeChat. Rather than compete directly with ByteDance鈥檚 large market control, Kuaishou is instead focusing on strengthening relationships with existing consumers, and targeting more 鈥渁dult鈥� sectors like home ownership and job hunting.

Beyond the chart:. 64% of business executives worldwide say their biggest concerns related to tariffs are the increased costs, according to an April 2025 survey from the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). 30% of CFOs worldwide plan to pass 91% to 100% of tariff costs along to their customers, according to March 2025 data from Garner. However, nearly as many (29%) plan to pass on less than 10%.

In January, Walmart partnered with Unity to integrate commerce APIs into games and apps, allowing users to purchase physical goods within the virtual world. Zoom out: The metaverse鈥檚 growth will be fueled by a combination of social gaming, digital twin services, remote collaboration applications, and advancements in augmented and virtual reality hardware鈥嬧��.

Convenience matters, but today's cost-conscious consumers demand quality too. This shift forces marketers to rethink convenience's role in purchase decisions. Both online and physical retailers prioritize seamless experiences, but with different challenges. Brick-and-mortar stores struggle to deliver convenience, while ecommerce faces growing price sensitivity. Here are five key stats that reveal how consumers view convenience in 2025.

Goldsmith, who scouted talent for mid-level and executive roles at the Commerce Media Brand Summit conference in Atlanta earlier this month, cited a 鈥渧ery strong鈥� pent-up need for critical retail media and ad tech roles after some stagnation in 2023 and 2024.

In March, Publicis announced a deal to pick up Lotame, citing the urgent need to connect AI, media, and commerce. In April, WPP acquired InfoSum for $150 million to absorb its privacy-safe data collaboration tech. All four hold stakes in Mediaocean, a campaign management platform. Key stat: 49% of CMOs worldwide are enriching their first-party date with identity solutions, per Merkle.

Mars United Commerce. Morgan Stanley. Pentaleap. Skai.