Advertising is the industry that won’t sit still. Over the past three decades, the industry has morphed again and again. Brands once reached people primarily through mass media like TV, print, and radio, gaining precious few consumer insights. The internet changed all that with targeted and interactive campaigns online. More recently, retail media networks (RMNs) helped retailers enter the media business. Leveraging shopper and transaction data, RMNs help brands reach prospective customers through their websites, apps, and even off-site channels.

Commerce media networks (CMNs) are the latest shift poised for tremendous growth. CMNs are advertising ecosystems that have expanded beyond retail. For industries as varied as financial services, travel, and even healthcare, CMNs integrate ads directly into the customer experience across multiple online and offline channels. Many CMNs use first-party data from transactions, customer behaviors, and loyalty programs to deliver targeted ads, boosting relevance and sales. CMNs are also experiencing extraordinary growth, with a CAGR from 2023 to 2027 expected to be more than 21 percent, outpacing display, connected television, and even search. Based on our triangulated market forecast, we project that by 2027, the US commerce media market will reach more than $100 billion (Exhibit 1).

To gain deeper insights into this dynamic market, we surveyed 150 advertisers with decision-making roles at brands and agencies of all sizes across more than ten industries in the United States. We asked questions to assess commerce media penetration, budget trends, operations, and the most important factors driving the decision to use CMNs. In addition to the survey, our analysis draws from conversations we’ve had with people at nearly 100 companies, with about half from advertisers on the demand side and half from CMNs on the supply side.

Our research shows that commerce media continues shifting beyond consumer packaged goods (CPG) into other advertiser categories, and that innovation is spurring competition. Nearly half of advertisers plan to increase their spending in commerce media in areas beyond retail media. They are also diversifying their strategies by focusing more on performance, off-site audiences, and new ad products.

In this article, we dive into our survey results to explore the increasingly complex CMN landscape. We then suggest a multipronged approach for CMNs to meet buyer demand. This includes delivering comprehensive offerings such as product innovation, ad placement, partnerships, self-service options, and operational tools such as yield management and AI.

The growth of commerce media

CMNs have gained momentum in recent years as a key source of new revenue and consumer engagement. According to market research company eMarketer, commerce media has already surpassed connected TV in ad spending and is quickly approaching spending levels for traditional TV. Media networks provide access to rich audience insights and privacy-safe targeting opportunities unavailable through traditional media.

As a result, budgets allocated to CMNs are large and continue to grow. Fifty-five percent of our survey respondents say they will increase their overall CMN budget in the next 12 months (Exhibit 2).

They’ll do so primarily by reallocating their ad spend, with 21 percent shifting their budget from social media, 18 percent from digital display, and 17 percent from search ads. (Exhibit 3).

According to Nielsen, 54 percent of marketers plan to reduce total ad spend in 2025, while 74 percent of marketers say they want retail media networks to play a bigger role in their overall media strategies.

Expanding beyond retail

As media networks have proliferated, the market has become increasingly competitive. As mentioned earlier, nonretail companies are launching media networks as part of a broader trend to expand revenue streams, unlock more value from customer data, and build more direct relationships with advertisers. While established RMNs like Amazon Ads, Walmart Connect, and Kroger Precision Marketing have been around for over five years, newer players from nonretail sectors are beginning to make their mark. For example, in recent years, several new CMNs have been launched by companies such as Uber (with UberMedia), United Airlines (with Kinective Media by United Airlines), DoorDash (with DoorDash Marketing), and PayPal (with PayPal Ads).

As a result, this surge in CMNs provides brands with a wider array of e-commerce advertising options than ever before. Nearly half of the advertisers we surveyed say they will likely increase spending across travel, last-mile, and finance media networks. This expansion of scope extends to the buy side as well, with more advertisers from a broader range of sectors looking to leverage CMNs to reach highly targeted audiences. When broken down by verticals, 60 percent of CPG advertisers and 70 percent of travel advertisers say they will increase their spending (Exhibit 4).

Twenty-five percent of electronics advertisers who responded to our survey report that they plan to reduce their spending with CMNs, while 30 percent intend to cut their overall marketing budgets this year. Similarly, 20 percent of auto advertisers indicate that they will decrease their spending with CMNs, and 25 percent say they will reduce their total marketing expenditure. Additionally, the auto sector is heavily focused on video, with the majority of the budget shifting from TV to digital video.

The emergence of multinetwork advertising strategies

As commerce media rapidly expands into new industries, savvy advertisers are branching out, tapping into a greater number and variety of media networks to capture audiences across multiple touchpoints. This wide-net approach helps brands meet consumers wherever they are in the purchase journey. Our research indicates that 53 percent of advertisers use five or more CMNs, up from 38 percent in 2023 (Exhibit 5).

When choosing one CMN over another, 33 percent of our survey respondents cite performance as their most important consideration, nearly double the 17 percent prioritizing omnichannel buying opportunities, and almost triple the 12 percent seeking access to new audiences (Exhibit 6).

These priorities are reflected in budget allocations. Forty-five percent of respondents said that performance marketing, which focuses on specific and measurable outcomes like conversions or SKU-level sales tied directly to campaigns, is their top objective for CMN spending, a seven-percentage-point increase from two years ago. To stay competitive, CMNs may need to invest in sophisticated tools and platforms that offer clear marketing performance metrics such as return on ad spend, conversion rates, and customer engagement data.

Advertisers are also increasingly expanding their reach by targeting off-site audiences—consumers beyond the confines of a CMN’s owned-and-operated properties—to enhance brand visibility. In the next 12 months, 44 percent of CMN budgets will be allocated to off-site channels, such as display and video advertising, paid social media, and connected TV, compared with 41 percent in the past 12 months.

In addition, advertisers are interested in exploring innovative CMN products that go beyond traditional banner ads or sponsored listings. Seventy-three percent of respondents say they’re interested in spending on entertainment- or content-driven advertising in the next 12 months, 37 percent want to invest in transit-based digital advertising, and 31 percent want to investigate more interactive advertising offerings. However, it’s more difficult to measure success for these newer forms of advertising, raising additional challenges for how CMNs can prove successful ROI.

How CMNs can meet buyer demand

While growing competition presents challenges, it also spurs CMNs to innovate and refine their offerings. To succeed, media networks can focus on data, technology, and audience insights to deliver the personalized, performance-driven advertising solutions that brands now demand. We recommend that CMNs embrace five key strategies to adapt to evolving buyer needs in the new era of commerce media:

1. Refine customer segmentation and go-to-market tactics

Media networks should have clear customer segmentation and prioritization, with diversified offerings to meet the needs of different segments.

Mature CMNs can go beyond traditional go-to-market (GTM) models to drive sales. Very few CMNs use advanced analytics for dynamic segmentation. However, they can borrow a page from companies like Meta, which leverages historical data for account-level forecasting, continually refines GTM models, and integrates advanced analytics into sales operations to inform decisions. This approach has led to greater operational efficiency and better performance.

Similarly, Snapchat is an example of a company that leverages sales “win rooms” to drive cross-functional engagement, address challenges, and execute sales strategy consistently and at scale. These win rooms bring together various teams to collaborate on sales opportunities, ensuring that all aspects of the sales process are aligned and informed. They can indirectly support customer segmentation by ensuring that sales strategies are tailored to meet the needs of different customer groups and by feeding back insights to refine the segmentation further.

2. Innovate ad products and formats

Commerce media networks can invest in innovative ad formats—both digital and physical, such as shoppable video (with in-platform purchasing ability), in-store ads (including digital aisle displays), and interactive display ads to boost engagement and relevance, drive higher ROI, and capture brands that are keen to spend ad dollars on new kinds of ads.

The rapid evolution of dynamic and immersive ads provides advertisers with new avenues to engage consumers in a personalized and interactive way, driving stronger connections with their audiences. For example:

• United Airlines’ in-flight ads leverage traveler data to create personalized and immersive content for passengers during flights. United travelers using the in-flight entertainment system already see advertising during programming, but these ads now include targeted and personalized content that could reflect a passenger’s travel preferences and history.
• Roku’s full-funnel marketing solutions for streaming TV use smart targeting to deliver ads based on viewing behavior, guiding consumers from awareness to purchase. By integrating closed-loop measurement, Roku helps advertisers track and optimize how their ads influence e-commerce or in-store transactions, creating a more precise and data-driven approach to TV advertising.
• Octopus Interactive, a rideshare advertising network owned by T-Mobile, delivers targeted ads to passengers on the go. As part of an Uber–Octopus partnership, screens in a rideshare vehicle display Uber’s JourneyTV personalized rider experience—a live trip map with estimated arrival time, personalized recommendations for restaurants near the trip destination, travel inspiration ideas and local activities to enjoy, as well