EMARKETER's Unofficial Monthly Retailer Awards recognize brands that stood out in September across three categories: most impactful campaign, best in-real-life initiative, and greatest under-the-radar move.

Commerce media has spent years riding a wave of new advertising dollars. But soon, the industry will need to prepare for a future in which growth comes at someone else's expense. According to EMARKETER's forecast, annual incremental commerce media ad spending will peak at approximately $17 billion in 2027 before declining through 2030. The money isn't drying up. But the pool of new spending that has helped fuel commerce media's expansion is approaching its peak, while more new players are lining up for a piece of it. “The opportunity to simply compete for new spend is getting smaller, and meanwhile, the pressure to generate and create new demands is increasing,” said our analyst Sarah Marzano during a "The Next Era of Commerce Media" presentation held during Advertising Week New York. For commerce media networks, the next opportunity lies in budgets that already have a home. Social media, paid search, and connected TV (CTV) command substantial portions of advertisers' media plans, and winning a share of that spending will require more than offering another way to buy ads on those channels.