60% of US senior decision-makers trust independent incrementality testing most among marketing measurement solutions, 20 points ahead of media mix modeling (40%) and nearly double in-platform reporting (37%), according to a January survey from Haus.

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.

As discovery, validation, and purchase increasingly happen in the same moment on the same screen, global consumer-packaged goods (CPG) brands are confronting fundamental questions about organizational structure, measurement, and retail readiness.

61% of US retail business decision-makers use media mix modeling to measure incrementality, according to December 2025 data from Feedvisor.

On this episode, we examine the challenges and best practices for measuring impact of commerce media advertising. We discuss discuss moving beyond platform-reported metrics, incrementality testing frameworks, clean room strategies, cross-network measurement and building internal capabilities. Arielle Feger, EMARKETER’s Senior Analyst, Media Content hosts Jack Kneuper, Senior Digital Performance Marketing Manager at Perdue Farms and Matt Barresi, President of Digital Commerce and Capabilities at Kimberly-Clark.

On this episode, we explore how leading brands are implementing successful offsite strategies. Focuses include data partnerships and clean rooms, audience targeting off-platform, measuring offsite incrementality, and balancing scale with signal quality. EMARKETER Senior Analyst, Minda Smiley hosts Jason O’Toole, Head of Connected Commerce & Media at Gildan and Ryan Verklin, Paid Media & Retail Media Senior Lead at Bayer.

As retail media networks use different attribution models, it’s becoming harder for advertisers to compare performance across platforms. Incrementality offers a clearer view of which investments are truly driving growth.

While digital in-store retail media remains a small fraction of total retail media spend, the real challenge is integrating digital formats into physical stores thoughtfully to create a cohesive customer experience rather than a fragmented one.

Retail media has reached a point where measurement is table stakes. But what table stakes actually look like is changing fast. With the launch of its latest measurement tool, Kroger Precision Marketing (KPM) is signaling its priorities for retail media measurement: Speed, incrementality, and clearer decision-making.

Research shows it builds demand first, then converts—rewarding longer flights and post-campaign tracking.

As commerce media ad spend shifts, clear gaps emerge in buyer maturity and execution. From setup friction to system-level optimization, spend levels signal today’s constraints and what it takes to unlock scalable growth.

This FAQ addresses what commerce media is, how it differs from retail media, and where growth opportunities exist for advertisers in 2026.

“The way retail media has historically been built has been about setting up an advertising business on a retailer’s owned and operated digital channels,” said our analyst Sarah Marzano on an episode of The CPG Guys.

PayPal rolled out Transaction Graph Insights & Measurement at CES to gives advertisers and merchants a clearer, cross-merchant view of how people actually shop and purchase—and early results suggest meaningful impact.

"The retail media landscape is only becoming more crowded, but Target's guest insights are often cited as a key differentiator," said our analyst Sarah Marzano during EMARKETER's recent Commerce Media Summit.

Retail media’s early free-for-all is giving way to a more deliberate approach. At last week’s EMARKETER Summit, leaders from Kellanova and Every Man Jack described how marketers are sharpening their focus, rethinking measurement, and preparing for an AI-driven discovery landscape.