Retail media was the fastest-growing ad channel we tracked in the US in 2024. While that growth will slow slightly (from 20.4% to 20.2%) in 2025, it’s still primed for innovation—and challenges. Here’s what our analysts and podcast guests had to say about retail media, with insights into what it means for 2025.

GenAI and social are set to heavily influence the UK commerce and advertising landscape in 2025, while thrifty consumer behaviors persist and video viewing shifts to mostly digital.

As competition intensifies and consumers continue to seek value, retailers will need to double down on how to differentiate themselves and offer shoppers what they want, wherever they are.

Walmart’s ad revenues grow 28% in Q3: Flipkart drives 50% international growth, while Walmart Connect expands with more marketplace sellers.

Marketers are interested in exploring upper-funnel tactics while continuing to invest in lower-funnel strategies, requiring retail media networks (RMNs) to provide a combination of ad formats for a full-funnel effect. In addition, marketers want access to high-quality data for better targeting and personalization, and look to RMNs for enhanced measurement and optimization techniques.

The phrase “retail apocalypse” once dominated industry conversation, Ethan Chernofsky, senior vice president of marketing at Placer.ai said during the EMARKETER Summit on November 1.

The US ad industry is at a crossroads. Which path it takes will depend heavily on which candidate is elected.

US travel media network (TMN) ad spend will reach $2.13 billion this year and increase to $2.96 billion in 2026, per our September 2024 forecast.

To stand out in a crowded commerce market, Lyft Media is thinking about partnerships and measurement differently. While its current partnerships help Lyft Media navigate “traditional ecosystem of measurement,” the network is also thinking about what the next phase of measurement will be, said Shane Dwyer, head of sales at Lyft Media and Lyft Business.

The ad agency ecosystem is vast, complex, and ever-changing. It now faces changes brought on by AI and clients’ shifting preferences over how and where to spend their advertising dollars.

2024 has been a disruptive year for generative AI (genAI), which transformed from a buzzword into a practical part of marketing workflows, and commerce media as more platforms launch. Meanwhile, advertisers are still figuring out the lifespan of third-party cookies. And connected TV (CTV) advertising got a big boost from Prime Video.

Programmatic has effectively become the defining mechanism for delivering ads. This benchmark guide unpacks how programmatic advertising is shaping spend in key channels.

While ad spend allocated to in-store retail media has yet to take off, consumers are ready and willing to engage with digital in-store formats, according to a new survey by EMARKETER in collaboration with Placer.ai.

The retail media landscape is evolving rapidly, requiring brands, networks, and tech partners to optimize and enhance their ad solutions and capabilities. Here are three recent announcements.

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.

As the path to purchase becomes more fragmented, brands must be everywhere the customer is—and retail media partnerships are stepping up. “There really isn't [one] common flow, and so you really have to make sure you're present in any place the consumer is thinking about your brand's products,” Eric Tarnowski, senior vice president, connected commerce at Kenvue, said during Advertising Week New York. “Every conversion point is a brand-building opportunity.”

On today's podcast episode, we discuss whether search, social, connected TV, or retail media has been driving growth the most this year, how much non-cyclical ad growth has been fueling this year's numbers, and what to expect from ad spend in 2025. Tune in to the discussion with host Marcus Johnson and our analyst Ross Benes.

Last month, Dollar General launched an in-store audio network, enhancing its in-store and online ad solutions.

Walmart is unlikely to put Vizio data behind closed doors: A renewed measurement deal with Comscore could assuage concerns about signal loss.