This FAQ examines why the brand-versus-performance tension is intensifying, what the data reveals about budget shifts, and how marketers can prove brand marketing's value in an era of heightened accountability.

Social platforms want a bigger role in search ad budgets, but user habits lag behind. As search expands beyond traditional engines, these platforms must turn occasional behavior into intent-driven activity to grab ad dollars.

Social media is emerging as a key growth channel for retail media networks (RMNs) as they expand beyond their owned properties.

In today's podcast episode, EMARKETER Vice President & Principal Analyst, Sarah Marzano, examines what's holding in-store back, what it will take to overcome these constraints, and where the most meaningful opportunities lie as retailers work to scale the next stage of retail media.

Though both commerce media spend and measurement capabilities are growing rapidly, the gap between investment and the ability to accurately measure performance continues to widen.

New shoppable placements, unified logins, and strong results tie streaming ads to measurable sales impact.

Both retailers are enhancing attribution capabilities as marketers demand better measurement.

Retailers have prioritized convenience while underestimating in-store behavior, said Placer.ai CMO Ethan Chernofsky at EMARKETER’s Commerce Media Summit.

Physical stores represent retail media's largest untapped growth opportunity, but the industry's ecommerce-first infrastructure is preventing that potential from being realized. "Retail media in the US was never built for physical stores," said our analyst Sarah Marzano at EMARKETER's Commerce Media Trends Summit. "The system we built was designed around ecommerce native signals, ecommerce native formats, and ecommerce native measurement."

Reserved Display pairs first-party data with AI to turn homepage ads into merchandising tools.

An integration with Reddit and Pacvue plugs Reddit into more than 100 networks as the platform’s AI citations and ad sales climb.

In-store is retail media’s biggest missed opportunity. Ecommerce-first design, weak measurement, and internal friction keep budgets small, even as stores drive most sales. Closing the gap demands new standards, aligned incentives, and real infrastructure investment.

Half of brand and agency marketers worldwide say their top Amazon retail media priority is improving ROI and efficiency of existing spend, according to November 2025 data from Skai and Stratably.

Meta is targeting retail media budgets with product set optimization and insights to bring SKU precision and challenge onsite networks.

This FAQ explores the main types of loyalty programs and how retailers can use them to drive lasting customer relationships.

Retail media networks rely heavily on first-party data, but those datasets capture only part of the customer journey. As advertisers push for broader reach and measurement, gaps in that data are becoming harder to overlook.

With US retail media ad spend hitting $60.32 billion in 2025, retailers and advertisers alike are exploring how non-endemic partnerships can expand reach, unlock new revenue streams, and deliver relevant advertising experiences to shoppers.

Dollar General's retail media network DG Media Network is leveraging its massive physical footprint and growing digital capabilities to create a unique offering for advertisers seeking to reach rural and suburban America.

The Milan Cortina Winter Olympic Games will begin on February 6 with an opening ceremony that will also kick off advertisers looking to make the most of the global event.