Walmart has expanded its Scintilla Digital Landscapes platform with new capabilities that give suppliers a clearer, data-rich view of how customers move from discovery to purchase.

While many Amazon Big Deal Days shoppers sought savings on essentials, nearly one in three participated “just for fun,” per a new CivicScience survey. About 41% planned purchases in advance, while 38% made impulse buys, showing a mix of deliberate and spontaneous shopping. Despite signs the event may have underperformed, it still offered strategic value by driving engagement, boosting retail media investment, and generating incremental sales. Retailers can build on this momentum by personalizing offers, sustaining engagement post-event, and using campaign data to refine future promotions and deepen shopper loyalty.

Albertsons Media Collective, Evan Hovorka, retail media, RMN, commerce media, omnichannel marketing, contextual advertising, data collaboration, clean rooms, LiveRamp Habu, The Trade Desk, Meta, Pinterest, DV360, performance marketing, campaign continuity, retail media standardization, creative innovation, measurement transparency, non-endemic brands, PayPal, digital out-of-home, CTV, shopper experience, brand storytelling, in-store media, performance optimization, KPI-driven campaigns, grocery retail, media maturity, Ad Week New York

At Philadelphia’s 1682 conference, Coca-Cola’s Benny Lee and Hershey’s Andy Hunt shared how two of the world’s oldest CPG brands are transforming retail through creativity, data, and AI. Coca-Cola is evolving from selling beverages to designing experiences—using AI to power global design systems and create immersive in-store storytelling through products like Y3000. Hershey’s is closing the gap between physical and digital by embedding data into every stage of retail, from aisle feedback to retail media KPIs. Both executives envision the store of the future as dynamic, data-driven, and human-led—where AI supports storytelling, not automation.

Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days failed to spark early holiday shopping, with only 23% of consumers buying holiday items and just 7% picking up Halloween goods, according to a Numerator survey. Most shoppers used the event for everyday essentials, apparel, and beauty products rather than seasonal purchases. Despite 59% planning future holiday buys on Amazon, many were cautious due to inflation and economic concerns. With weaker engagement and no sales statement from Amazon, this year’s event likely underperformed expectations, highlighting a shift toward more deliberate, budget-conscious consumer behavior ahead of the holidays.

AppLovin’s launch of Axon marks its transformation from mobile gaming to full-scale AI ad platform — and one of ad tech’s boldest pivots yet. The new Axon Ads Manager promises real-time AI bidding, Shopify integrations, and transparent attribution as the company positions itself as a performance-driven alternative to Meta and Google. The rollout comes as the SEC investigates AppLovin’s data practices, spotlighting the tension between AI-powered innovation and compliance. Marketers see opportunity — regulators see risk.

The growth of commerce media investments promises to connect brands with customers for longer stretches of the customer journey, especially when shoppers are close to purchasing. Though much of this extended digital journey leaves out the physical store, this strategy is changing.

In five years, Instacart’s retail media network (RMN) has transformed from a simple performance engine into a full-funnel, end-to-end marketing ecosystem.

For years, the commerce media conversation has centered around one theme: Measurement. But that may be changing. “We are finally moving past just talking about measurement,” said Collin Colburn, vice president, commerce and retail media at the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). “It’s a horse that’s been beaten over the head a little bit too many times.”

Kroger Precision Marketing (KPM) has introduced a new suite of off-site capabilities, aiming to help small- to mid-sized brands navigate the complexities of programmatic channels.

In-store retail media has the “reach, quality, rent, safety, and cultural relevance that marketers traditionally want,” said Andrew Lipsman, founder and chief analyst, media, ads, and commerce at Colosseum Strategy, during IAB’s Connected Commerce Summit.

Retail media has rapidly evolved from a nascent idea into a core pillar of digital advertising. “If retail media was a baby, it would be like crawling or maybe walking… you still need to get the fundamentals right,” said Arthur Sylvestre, vice president, digital commerce at Danone North America at EMARKETER’s Future of Digital Summit event.

Last week’s Amazon-Netflix partnership represents a convergence between commerce media and streaming TV that promises to blur the lines between brand-building and performance marketing while raising fundamental questions about which budgets, which teams, and which strategies will control advertising's future.

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

The digital ad market is shifting fast. In court, Google admitted the “open web is already in rapid decline,” contradicting its public claims, as AI Overviews erode publisher traffic. The Trade Desk’s stock plunged 12% after Netflix’s Amazon DSP deal, with Morgan Stanley citing CTV headwinds and higher fees. Meanwhile, Reddit is positioning itself as a publisher ally, rolling out Reddit Pro to help offset traffic losses from search. Together, these moves underscore a fractured open web ecosystem: Google under pressure, The Trade Desk undercut by Amazon, and Reddit stepping up as publishers seek new discovery sources.

Tariffs and inflation are reshaping retail, pushing shoppers toward value and convenience. Off-price chains gained ground, while housing-linked retailers sought new growth paths in a slowing market.

"In the space of what amounts to less than two years, we've seen commerce media evolve from an emerging idea to an industry pillar," said our analyst Sarah Marzano during a recent EMARKETER webinar.

In-store retail media is Europe’s next big ad opportunity. But as retailers digitize stores, standardization and measurement challenges are dragging advertiser adoption.

US ad spend with financial media will reach over $600 millions this year, according to EMARKETER forecasts, but still represent a small fraction of the commerce media landscape. "This is a really nascent space. There aren't many players that make up this cohort of financial media networks (FMNs), and they represent a really diverse array of types of financial companies," said our analyst Sarah Marzano during a recent episode of "Behind the Numbers."