Next year will bring shifts that redefine how networks operate, how brands show up, and how performance is measured. Here are three predictions for commerce media in 2026.
1. Commerce media as a service accelerates among non-retail networks
As the commerce media landscape grows larger, there are bound to be areas where networks consolidate their efforts. One of these areas will center on the very infrastructure that powers networks.
Commerce media as a service isn’t new; Amazon introduced its Retail Ad Service last year. But in 2026, we may see sophisticated non-retailer networks offer their own services to generate revenues, while smaller players use them to gain scale and credibility to compete.
This could help non-retail players offer more off-site opportunities that many haven’t explored. Only 12% of commerce media decision-makers in North America and Europe say they’ve reached an “advanced” state with true full-funnel capabilities across on-site, off-site, and in-store, according to a November 2025 survey from Koddi and Forrester Consulting.
In 2026, growing networks must keep up with retail media giants like Amazon and Walmart, either by leveraging their tech infrastructure or relying on others’.
2. Experiential retail gets a commerce media makeover
Experiential retail media will gain traction in 2026 as brands seek to blend discovery and performance into a single strategy. By pairing in-person events with first-party data, retailers and brands can create personal moments tied to short- and long-term goals. It’s the natural next step for a channel expanding across formats and touchpoints as a way to make retail media feel more immersive and less transactional.
We’re already seeing signs of this evolution. Dollar General Media Network partnered with Recess, an experiential retail media platform, to bring sampling out of the store and into consumers’ communities. These interactions can then be amplified through coordinated social, email, or off-site messaging, turning a single product experience into a full-funnel campaign.
Plus, demand from brands is high: 70% of US marketers say brands should prioritize community or brand-hosted events, while 66% say experiential retail should be a focus, found October 2025 data from The Harris Poll and the Association of National Advertisers (ANA).
3. AI will strengthen measurement tactics
Measurement has long been a major issue in commerce media. Metrics vary across networks, transparency is often limited, and advertisers haven’t always had clear insight into how their retail partners define success.
But that dynamic is shifting quickly, with AI and machine learning giving networks the ability to build more sophisticated, flexible measurement tools. In addition, as more self-service options roll out, advertisers are getting closer to measuring performance in the ways that matter most to them.
Several networks are already demonstrating this next wave of measurement. Loblaw Advance, the retail media arm of Loblaw Companies, introduced a multitouch attribution solution powered by its data pool, and Sam’s Club Member Access Platform (MAP) debuted an AI-driven measurement tool that gives advertisers a 12-month, multichannel view of campaign performance grounded in membership data.
These address a core industry need: 86% of commerce media decision-makers in North America and Europe say strengthening measurement and attribution to better prove ROI is a high or critical priority over the next year, per Koddi and Forrester Consulting.
As AI-powered tools become more widely adopted, measurement will feel less fragmented and more actionable, helping advertisers understand what worked, why, and how to optimize future campaigns.
This was originally featured in the Commerce Media Weekly newsletter. For more marketing insights, statistics, and trends, subscribe here.