Audience planning has long relied on stable segments, but consumer behavior is becoming more fluid. Signal-based approaches are helping marketers interpret real-time engagement and identify intent as it develops.
Digital shoppers embrace branded AI: Online-first buyers welcome AI, while 70% of store loyalists avoid it, tying comfort to channel habits.
Google protects its lead: By building multimodal AI into Search, it aims to hold onto valuable queries and limit competitor gains.
Early movers stand to pick up early AI volume through app development.
Commerce media is capturing a growing share of advertiser budgets by targeting consumers at a moment traditional channels miss: when they're actively making a purchase. This year, commerce media is expected to reach nearly 21% of digital ad spending and nearly 17.5% of total media spend, according to EMARKETER's April forecast.
Amazon squeezes affiliates: Commission cuts up to 50% and thinner data access rattle publishers already hit by AI search declines.
Discovery tilts toward smaller sellers, tempting retailers to join or risk fading.
By offering cash back beyond fuel, Shell is trying to make its co-brand more like a general purpose card.
To bolster its European presence, Klarna’s tie-up with a major POS provider in the EU secures its buy button’s wide visibility.
AI discovery lags traffic reality: Organic and social dominate web traffic, giving brands time to test AI before users’ search habits change.
Steady Pro demand is offsetting softening DIY demand.
The tool acts as a shopping hub, enabling users to shop across merchants and Google Services, find savings, and check out
Higher fares and fewer flights test demand in a slowing economy.
Fortnite back on iOS worldwide: After its ban slump, global distribution could reignite teen reach and ad demand.
Search as productivity OS: Google turns Search into a coding, agent, and widget hub—keeping users inside its walls, not sending them out.
40% of US adults say "high protein" labels are most likely to drive grocery purchases, beating "all natural" (38%), "low sugar" (35%), and every other claim, according to a December 2025 survey from Zappi.
The home furnishings category generates hundreds of billions of dollars annually, yet the shopping experience remains frustratingly complex for most consumers. Nearly every shopper reports feeling overwhelmed by options, with the average furniture purchase taking weeks and requiring dozens of open browser tabs before a final decision.
Commerce media spending is projected to surpass $80 billion in the US this year, according to EMARKETER’s forecast, but not every network is winning buyers’ trust equally. “Trust is earned campaign by campaign, and even the earned have to keep earning it," said Rob Rubin, head of EMARKETER Advisory, at EMARKETER’s Ad Buyer Strategies Summit. He shared findings from a new survey of 231 senior ad buyers collectively responsible for more than $8 billion in commerce media spend.
War fallout drags retail and factory output below forecasts.