• by Laurie Sullivan , Yesterday

Businesses are turning to commerce media to generate new revenue streams, enhance customer experience, and ensure privacy-compliant advertising. They are leveraging websites, stores, and first-party data. Many are launching commerce media networks (CMNs) to diversify strategies.

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) released a report Tuesday defining commerce media and exploring its growing role. The report delves into forecasts and distinctions from traditional advertising, detailing the evolution across industries, and discusses the importance of first-party data and customer trust in unlocking new media opportunities.

IAB forecasts that in 2026, retail media -- which gains its targeting strength from purchase history and SKU-level data -- will generate about $74.06 billion in ad spend. This media focuses on sponsored products, on-site display, in-store signage, and off-site ads.

Travel media, which finds its strength in data retaliated to booking intent and loyalty programs, is forecast to generate $2.96 billion in ad spend.

Financial services gains its targeting strength from transactional and credit-score data. The IAB estimates this sector will generate $1.5 billion in advertising next year. Automotive, telecom and utilities, and B2B media are forecast to generate less than $1 billion each.

What makes commerce media unique is the ability to integrate ads across physical and digital customer journeys, leveraging millions of consented customer relationships through the use of first-party data for targeted, personalized, and measurable ads.

CMNs handle transactions, fulfillment, and payments, providing advertisers with accurate data like purchase history and financial behavior to minimize ad waste. As third-party cookies decline and regulations tighten, commerce media offers a compliant solution.

A more significant part of the report details how commerce media is changing the ways brands plan and allocate media budgets. It is mostly being done in retail media, but also increasingly through broader brand and performance strategies.

This shift is breaking down silos between media, marketing, and sales teams -- prompting organizations to reimagine go-to-market frameworks with commerce at the core.

The IAB also acknowledges challenges such as fragmentation, lack of standardization, and rising costs within the commerce media landscape. The industry, however, is expected to continue innovating and finding new channels and tools to meet advertisers' needs.

Experts predict further growth and evolution of commerce media in the coming years, impacting various industries and creating new opportunities for brands and advertisers.