Brands eagerly jump on the retail media network bandwagon: As access to customer data becomes a priority for brands, retailers see an opportunity to diversify their revenue streams.

On today's episode, we discuss Amazon's role in the trend of retail media advertising and some of the new advertising features we can expect to see from the online shopping giant. We then talk about Walmart's readiness to take on Amazon and whether America's internet is turning into a QVC-like shopping channel. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer principal analyst at Insider Intelligence Andrew Lipsman.

Retail media advertising had a banner year in 2021—one that will be hard to top. Although growth is expected to taper this year, there are several reasons why retailers looking to build their own media networks should take notice.

The real prize for retailers is in brand budgets, and recent advancements by Amazon, Walmart, and others into display, video, and connected TV (CTV) suggest retail media is ready to move up the funnel. CTV advertising will be the killer use case for retail media that finally unlocks brand dollars.

By 2024, we expect US digital ad spend to be about $65 billion higher than what we expected before the pandemic. The biggest drivers behind these larger-than-expected increases are retail media networks and connected TV.

We expect retail media advertising to be one of the fastest-growing segments of digital advertising in the US at over 31%. But this is just one of the five key trends that we predict will most shape the retail landscape in the year ahead.

Retail media advertising is the next big trend in digital advertising, driven by the surge in ecommerce spending and brands’ desire to target consumers close to the point of purchase.

They also fill out the Amazon digital media player product line, so they are important—if relatively unheralded—cogs in the company’s digital media strategy. The 5-Year Outlook. The overall tablet market has plateaued. We expect the number of tablet users in the US to increase by just under a million between 2021 and 2025.

Instacart delays IPO plans to focus on broadening services: The company believes it may generate as much as $10 billion to $20 billion in annual revenues from its retail media network in the coming years.

Amazon is the clear winner with a 2.3 percentage-point increase in market share this year; the only other retailer in the top 15 to gain sizable market share will be Walmart. Etsy is expected to post the strongest sales growth, followed very closely by Walmart, Chewy, and Amazon.

Walmart tries SMS shopping again, this time backed by AI and customer data: It will use the same conversational commerce tech that helped make its voice-assisted shopping successful.

US advertisers increased their investments on digital media by almost 15% last year despite a pandemic and recession, looking for flexibility and accountability.

But that’s changed as more high-quality content publishers—such as traditional publisher brands under Meredith Corporation, Hearst Corporation, and Condé Nast, and digital media publishers like BuzzFeed and Vox Media—have entered the space. Influencers have also been active in the affiliate channel in recent years.

How Walmart Sourced Creator Partners for Its Shopping Livestream. When Walmart and TikTok teamed up for their 1-hour livestream shopping experience in December 2020, one challenge was finding the right set of creators to support the effort. The retailer’s strategy involved working with creators with large followings as well as those who were on the rise.

It ran a test of shoppable livestreaming with Walmart in December 2020. The hourlong event brought together 10 TikTok creators, who showed off Walmart fashions in a variety-show format. When TikTok viewers saw something they liked during the show, they could tap on the product, add it to a cart, and check out. TikTok may be a powerful purchase driver for Gen Z. The research by 5WPR backs this up.

In December, Walmart partnered with 10 TikTok creators who appeared on a livestream to talk about their favorite fashion items that were available through the retailer. This practice is still very new for businesses in the West. But Walmart was pleased with the outcome of the livestream, including the reach it gained.

Walmart’s strong retail media business may help it compete with Amazon: Soaring revenues and more advertisers than ever bode well for the big-box retailer’s future.

One of the unique qualities of retail media advertising is the ability to use closed-loop attribution, tying ad engagements to sales. This is possible because the same company is running the ad and selling the product advertised. Brands often look to Amazon and Walmart.com because those sites facilitate closed-loop attribution—and with the ongoing disruptions to digital identity, this tool will likely provide even greater advantages to those who use it.

In this year’s “Key Digital Trends” report, we examine changes coming to the digital media and technology landscape in 2021—including legislation, privacy, entertainment, social media, and more—and why they matter to marketers.

On today's episode, we discuss what the most interesting areas of Amazon's business are, what longer videos mean for TikTok, why marketers should focus on Clubhouse and/or podcasts, why one company is bringing TV ads to console games, where Walmart beats Amazon, when we can expect to enjoy space tourism, and more. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer director of forecasting Cindy Liu, forecasting analyst Peter Vahle and analyst at Insider Intelligence Blake Droesch.