Retail and commerce media industry growth

The retail and commerce media sector is experiencing significant expansion, with projections suggesting the category could eventually account for more than one in every four dollars spent on digital advertising. Industry reports indicate year-over-year growth exceeding 30 percent.

As the sector grows, the industry is shifting focus toward overcoming measurement and integration challenges. Early concerns centered on the difficulty of proving incrementality—determining if advertising generates new business that would not have occurred otherwise—and the lack of standardized measurement across fragmented platforms. While research suggests that 75 percent of consumer packaged goods retail media campaigns drive impact beyond the initial retailer, fewer than 20 percent of marketers currently measure these effects holistically.

To address these hurdles, companies are developing omnichannel strategies to bridge the gap between online and offline data. New ecosystems are emerging that utilize transactional, geolocation, and behavioral data to reach consumers beyond digital storefronts. These strategies aim to connect commerce audience data with offsite channels such as social media, connected TV, and search engines to target individuals based on actual purchasing habits.