Retailers face big hurdles in 2025. From competing with Amazon's advertising empire to figuring out generative AI (genAI) technology to keeping shoppers on apps, these challenges are forcing retailers to adapt quickly. Here's what these problems look like today—and how they could potentially be resolved.

Nielsen ends panel-only ratings as big data becomes the norm: Recent MRC accreditation sets the stage for a new era of measurement.

The marketing funnel isn’t dead—it’s evolving. Today’s consumers rely on communities and authentic partnerships to guide decisions. To stay ahead, marketers must rethink measurement and focus on building lasting connections that drive advocacy and loyalty.

Nielsen earns a big measurement accreditation: Its Big Data + Panel product will help it remain on top in 2025 Upfronts.

Kantar Media is sold for $1 billion as measurement heats up: Private equity sees a big opportunity in the rapidly changing landscape.

Marketers are under pressure to deliver seamless customer experiences across fragmented channels while addressing data deprecation and personalization demands. Strategies like mobile-first approaches and AI-driven personalization are opening new opportunities.

The National Retail Federation (NRF)’s Big Show is happening in New York City this weekend, and will offer an opportunity for retail media networks (RMNs) to pitch themselves to advertisers. Even though retail media is huge—exceeding $62 billion in US ad spend this year per our forecast, most of those ad dollars will go to the biggest RMNs. The remaining players are vying over the same $8.58 billion that isn't scooped up by Amazon, Walmart, or Target.

Customer data collection, the dawn of retail media, and AI-assisted shopping has upended a retail industry already in the midst of a big-box transformation at the tail end of the 20th century. And then there is one of the biggest elephants in the room: Amazon. Here are some of the most impactful changes that marketing leaders have seen over the last 25 years.

In 2025, retailers must prioritize data-driven measurement, seamless online-to-store experiences, and programmatic out-of-home (OOH) advertising. Seeking heightened measurement has nearly half of marketers emphasizing attribution, making actionable insights crucial. Meanwhile, bridging digital and physical shopping and leveraging real-time OOH campaigns can help retailers stay competitive. Here are three areas retailers should prioritize in 2025, according to industry experts.

For brands, working with influencers was once an experimental addition to their media plans, but growth in influencer marketing spend is now outpacing its digital and social counterparts, per our forecast. While influencer partnerships still account for a significantly smaller part of the media mix, their growth is a sign that the industry is maturing—and more legacy advertisers want in.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss the main challenges around extracting more value from first-party data, what happens when you create standardization, and the importance of measurement as we head into 2025. Tune in to the discussion with Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, Senior Analyst Max Willens, and Vice President of Product at LiveRamp Matthew Karasick.

Marketers face major barriers in measuring campaign success. Privacy regulations are mounting, Google has given consumers the choice to opt out of third-party cookies, and an expanding array of digital channels make tracking the customer journey difficult.

Marketers are tuning their targeting strategies for a 2025 where cookies remain in limbo, media mix modeling (MMM) usage expands, and experimentation with AI continues.

“Measurement is the fuel that powers smart decision-making,” our analyst Evelyn Mitchell-Wolf said during a recent webinar. As advertisers navigate the rise of walled gardens and the challenges of the open web, leveraging a multi-layered measurement stack becomes essential for building successful campaigns.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is helping transform connected TV (CTV) into a performance marketing channel, giving paid search and social media a run for their money. CTV ad spend will reach $32.57 billion in the US next year, and AI is helping to boost its potential for advertisers. Here are three ways AI is doing that.

Why Nielsen’s first-party data approval matters: Its deal with Amazon could lead the streamer to dominate NFL advertising and rights in coming years.

Nielsen’s dominance begins to crack: A survey shows advertisers gaining confidence in the measurement firm’s biggest competitors.

As marketers attempt to piece together a full, nuanced picture of how their paid media affects outcomes, old-fashioned measurement tactics are coming back into vogue, and new players are rising to prominence.

Influencer marketing is a core part of many brands’ strategies. Sponsored content spend on social media will total $8.14 billion in 2024, nearing the $10 billion mark by 2026, according to EMARKETER’s March 2024 forecast.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss the most important measurement considerations for marketers, how brands are able to stand out on TikTok, and how to best determine the true impact of media buys. Tune in to the discussion with Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, Vice President and Principal Analyst Jasmine Enberg, and Aashish Takkala, Product Marketing, Media Measurement at TikTok.