Retail media networks catapulted into the advertising spotlight a few years ago, a trend driven in part by the promises of rich first-party data from retailers’ shopping data and loyalty companies.
Your airline is an ad platform now – and so is your bank. Commerce media networks are one of the most interesting areas of growth in advertising, and at Cannes Lions, plenty of them were onsite to talk about it.
In the ever-tightening world of advertising budgets, one metric has risen from buzzword to business imperative: incrementality. As brands scrutinize every dollar spent, they’re demanding more than just clicks and conversions - they want to know whether their retail media investments are actually driving net new outcomes.
Retail media has rapidly evolved from a growing opportunity to a cornerstone of digital advertising, and is on track to reach nearly $166 billion globally in 2025.
Retail media networks have become a dominant force in digital advertising, giving brands direct access to highly engaged shoppers at the moment of purchase. Historically, RMNs’ growth has been fueled in large part by endemic advertisers, but a new wave is emerging: non-endemic advertisers, or advertisers whose products aren’t for sale at that retailer.
Off-site channels are reshaping retail media, allowing retailers to re-engage shoppers across streaming, web, audio, and digital screens. With over 1 in 5 U.S. retail media dollars shifting off-site, brands are leveraging first-party data to expand reach and maximize impact.