蘑菇AV

As advertisers navigate Google鈥檚 recent search changes that favor its emerging AI models, retail media strategies could offer them heightened visibility and control.

Nearly two-thirds of digital advertising spending in 2025 will be delivered on mobile devices. Tariffs may dampen spending growth but shouldn鈥檛 reduce mobile鈥檚 share of the digital advertising pie.

AI is upending every aspect of marketing, from neuro-contextual ads that read emotions to autonomous shopping agents that make purchasing decisions. As tech giants consolidate control of the sector, six pivotal trends are reshaping advertising, search, and commerce.

The news: Reddit published a report Thursday highlighting its increasing relevance for advertisers as social media users gain trust in the platform for purchase decisions. Reddit routinely delivers promising ad results. Adding Reddit to ad campaigns leads to $6.94 higher incremental ROAS across channels. Our take: Despite lingering brand hesitancy to adopt Reddit as a core advertising channel, the platform is increasingly becoming a reliable source that promises high returns鈥攎aking it a key part of an effective campaign for advertisers who know how to navigate it.

AI is transforming B2B content marketing, but trust and differentiation remain critical. Buyers seek authenticity from peers, influencers, and industry experts. Marketers must balance AI, human expertise, and bold strategies to drive engagement and growth in 2025.

Puma might also consider expanding the campaign into different digital channels鈥攕uch as growing its search engine marketing efforts, investing in display advertising, and focusing on mobile advertising鈥攖o reach customers at as many touchpoints as possible.

Retail media will reach $60.81 billion in 2025鈥攁dding more new dollars than Meta and Alphabet combined鈥攁nd brands now rank incrementality as a top KPI. In this interview, Tinuiti鈥檚 Elizabeth Marsten lays out how to prove incremental sales, pick smarter tools, and keep measurement future-ready.

For advertisers, the increasing fragmentation within the search landscape can be quite frustrating and challenging. 鈥淏ut for consumers it feels like ease and convenience," said our analyst Sarah Marzano on a recent episode of "Behind the Numbers." "We're able to conduct product searches wherever we're spending time and go on a journey that's tailored to the mindset we're in."

Google鈥檚 AI Overviews lead to fewer clicks on healthcare search results: An industry that heavily relies on search must optimize for visibility in AI Overviews while closely monitoring how AI changes consumer search behaviors.

Over a third (34.5%) of US B2B enterprise marketers believe there will be greater pressure to prove every dollar鈥檚 ROI in real-time in the coming year, according to a March 2025 survey from 蘑菇AV and StackAdapt.

For publishers, genAI is changing everything from search referrals to the way they produce content.

While AI advancements have sparked litigation between publishers and tech giants鈥擳he New York Times鈥� lawsuit against OpenAI for copyright infringement being the most prominent鈥攕ome publishers are embracing AI partnerships as an essential revenue driver amid shaky search traffic.

Only 40% of US retail media networks (RMNs) offer self-service sales data, according to Q2 data from Mars United Commerce.

YouTube is the top recipient of AI chatbot referral traffic, receiving over three times as much traffic than Facebook or Wikipedia, according to May 2025 data from Similarweb.

Digital ad giants beat Q1 expectations, but tariffs, regulation, and slowing growth signal choppy waters ahead. This report breaks down which platforms are thriving, which are stalling, and what鈥檚 next for search, social, streaming, and retail media.

The number of retail media networks (RMNs) worldwide offering competitive conquesting (the ability to target campaigns to competitors鈥� shoppers) has risen from 10 in Q2 2024 to 15 in Q2 2025, a 50% increase, according to data from Mars United Commerce.

Amid dizzying policy unpredictability and a grab bag of unpleasant economic possibilities, precise ad spend forecasting is challenging. A scenarios-based approach can help clarify potential outcomes.

Key stat: The number of retail media networks (RMNs) worldwide offering competitive conquesting (the ability to target campaigns to competitors鈥� shoppers) has risen from 10 in Q2 2024 to 15 in Q2 2025, a 50% increase, according to data from Mars United Commerce.

40.6% of US adults have researched a product or company after encountering an ad for it in-store, according to March 2025 data from Placer.ai and 蘑菇AV.

The news: Macy鈥檚 Media Network, the department store鈥檚 retail media arm, will test a partnership with Amazon Retail Ad Service鈥攖he ecommerce giant鈥檚 ad tech product for other retailers. The pilot will launch in early Q4, just ahead of the holiday season. Our take: Macy鈥檚 is the first major retailer to test Amazon鈥檚 ad product since its January debut, making this a high-profile proving ground. The pilot will show whether Amazon can drive incremental ad spend for retailers, and crucially, whether other chains are comfortable sharing data with a direct competitor. The results will have ripple effects across the ad tech ecosystem. If the partnership proves effective, Amazon Retail Ad Service could emerge as a meaningful threat to intermediaries like Criteo and Publicis, which have built strong businesses helping brands navigate retail media. It would also open another lucrative revenue stream for Amazon鈥檚 already fast-growing ad arm, strengthening its position at the center of digital commerce.

After beauty's social return on ad spend (ROAS) dipped to $1.90 in Q4 2024, the category saw a marked jump up to $3.50 in Q1 2025, according to a March report from Cart.com.

Marketers are embracing AI for creative work: Most, though, still ignore its power to drive efficiency and automation.

While a plurality of consumers in the western hemisphere start their product searches on search engines, social media platforms are significant search launching pads for consumers in Argentina (17.8%), Brazil (16.8%), and Mexico (18.0%), according to November 2024 data from ESW and 蘑菇AV.