Measurement and attribution are the most critical advertising capability or media investment for over half (53%) of retail marketers worldwide, according to November 2023 data from Mediaocean.

Spending in the US affiliate marketing ecosystem will exceed $10 billion for the first time in 2024. But content distribution changes, advertiser focus on first-party data, and shifting consumer behavior will push the channel into a new phase.

“In 2022, retail media hit the first of many milestones when it became the fastest US ad channel to eclipse $30 billion in spending—nearly twice as quickly as it took social media,” our analyst Max Willens said on a recent Meet the Analyst webinar. “That was just the start.”

The creator economy, plus CTV and commerce media more recently, have made affiliate marketing more visible among marketers.

Ad spending on retail media will increase by more than $75 billion by 2028. To take advantage of this opportunity, retailers must understand advertisers' top priorities and be prepared to address their challenges.

While travel media networks aren’t new—Marriott has had one for years—the burgeoning commerce media landscape is ripe for travel and hospitality brands to secure their share of ad dollars.

58% of brands and 51% of agencies would like to see retail media-like offerings from verticals beyond retail, according to Q4 2023 data from Criteo.

Digital ad spend grows in Q2 2024, says Skai: Retail media leads with 21% YoY increase, despite higher CPC and CPM across channels.

The media model popularized by retailers is now being adapted by companies in other verticals. Financial services and travel companies are among those launching commerce media networks in a bid to monetize their first-party data.

“Over the last 12 months, we’ve seen a flurry of [media advertising] activity from outside the retail sector,” our analyst Sarah Marzano said on an episode of the “Behind the Numbers: Reimagining Retail” podcast. Although retail kicked off the commerce media trends, financial services, travel companies, and intermediaries such as Instacart and Uber Eats are monetizing their customer data and setting up ad networks. The rise of commerce media networks is changing the way advertisers approach targeting and how consumers interact with brands. Here are four predictions on these emerging trends.

Retail media networks are facing a little more competition these days as banks, payments providers, airlines, and hotels are starting their own media networks to monetize their first-party data and build out new revenue streams.

On today’s podcast episode, we discuss the differences between commerce media networks and retail media networks, how financial services and payment companies are leveraging media networks, who has been successful in the space so far, and who we expect to launch a media network in the next year. Listen to the conversation with our analyst Sara Lebow as she hosts analysts Sarah Marzano and Maria Elm.

Chase’s newly launched financial media network has opened the floodgates for other financial institutions. While lucrative on paper, securing advertiser and customer buy-in isn’t guaranteed.

What is non-endemic advertising, and what should brands and retailers know about this emerging ad format?

Programmatic advertising will account for 91.3% of US digital display ad spend this year, or a total of $157.35 billion, per our December 2023 forecast. Last week, advertisers at Programmatic I/O discussed where those ad dollars are headed and how programmatic advertising is changing. From ad spend waste to the expansion of retail media, here are three big trends discussed at the event.

In just five years, retail media went from a $1 billion segment to a $30 billion segment. With US omnichannel retail media ad spend poised to reach $59.98 billion this year, per our October 2023 forecast, non-retail industries from health and fitness to restaurants and financial institutions are looking to build out their own media networks.