Consumers have their environmental impact top of mind and it’s informing how they shop. Nearly 70% of consumers seek out brands that follow sustainable business practices, according to research from Amazon Ads.

With the rise of digital ad channels like connected TV and retail media, there’s a lot of emphasis on making every ad and consumer touchpoint shoppable. Ad formats with direct calls to action help drive conversions and increase ROI. But brand equity can get left out of the conversation when we focus on performance marketing in isolation. Every ad should perform and provide some sort of measurable impact, but each ad is also vital for telling a brand’s story, even at the bottom of the funnel where marketers are more focused on driving conversions.

Amazon is projected to take the lion’s share of US holiday season retail ecommerce sales this year, beating out its closest competitor, Walmart, by over $80 billion, according to our June 2023 forecast.

As Cyber Monday rages on, let’s take a look at what’s already happened over the course of the Cyber Five weekend and what it means for both retail media networks and advertisers alike.

Brands that engage in non-endemic advertising by purchasing ad inventory from a retailer that does not sell its goods or services are well positioned to take advantage of the partner platform’s first-party data, audience segmentation, and overall reach.

Mobile apps are vital for commerce. In fact, among US smartphone users, 65.8% will use retail apps in 2024, putting the category behind only maps/navigation apps (72.8%) and weather apps (71.1%) in terms of adoption, according to our July 2023 forecasts.

How does social media influence Gen Z’s customer journey?

In 2024, retail media ad spend will grow 28.6%, coming to just under $60 billion, per our forecast. To reach that potential, retail media networks (RMNs) need to identify what attracts advertisers and set them up for success. Here’s how three consumer packaged goods (CPG) leaders are thinking about retail media.

US retail media ad spend will more than double between 2023 and 2027, reaching a total of $109.40 billion, according to our forecast.

Many advertisers see retail media solely as a performance marketing channel. But 7-Eleven’s retail media network, Gulp Media, is aiming higher up the funnel.

Tech is awash with hype cycles, but experts agree that generative AI has firmly established its staying power. Our “Attention! Trends and Predictions for 2024” summit shed light on the promise of generative AI, revealing three key growth areas: revolutionizing retail with conversational search, streamlining innovation with low-code automation, and pioneering inclusivity within AI development.

Ninety-one percent of US advertisers plan to maintain or increase their investment in retail data in the next few years, according to data from The Trade Desk Intelligence.

The retail media landscape is vast—and growing. Brands can’t work with every retail media network (RMN), but they should find the right ones for their objectives. That starts with asking the right questions.

How do consumers discover, evaluate, and purchase new brands and products?

This year was challenging for retailers as inflation kept prices high and consumers cut back on spending. But there were a few bright spots, as some in-store shopping rebounded and retail media boomed. Here’s some advice for retailers on how to use in-store experiences and retail media to their advantage.

Retailers, advertisers, and customers are at odds when it comes to retail search experiences. Retailers are looking to expand ad revenues. Advertisers need the ability to drive product sales by expanding visibility through keyword use and placements. And consumers don’t want the hassle of sifting through sponsored items that aren’t relevant to them.

With the holiday shopping season starting earlier than ever, marketers must gather consumer feedback and insights while campaigns are still in flight. Learn why embracing cross-platform campaign measurement in real time is key for success.