2023 Commerce Media Market-Altering Trends

From ChatGPT and Gen Z to retail media offsite, budget migration and more, learn the hottest commerce trends impacting digital advertising.

Trend #1: Omnichannel Becomes Essential

The blurring intersection of online and offline will require retailers and brands to step on the gas toward a fully integrated commerce future. From the impact of ROPO (research online, purchase offline) to the need for better cross-channel attribution, retailers and brands will need to partner closer together to achieve seamless consumer experiences that boost engagement and drive customer loyalty.

Trend #2: Data Monetization Redefined

As retailers and marketers begin to innovate together, retail media networks will compete against Amazon beyond digital by contributing to in-store sales. First-party attributes, as well as the promise of programmatic retail (closed-loop campaigns run outside of retailer environments), make the power of retailer data undeniable in moving forward.

Trend #3: Brand Budget Goldrush

Marketers will shift focus from standard KPIs (ROAS, incrementality) to more decision-oriented, forward-looking metrics (Profitability by SKU, Forecast of Demand) in order to optimize every outcome toward sales. The reorganization of CPG companies (like Unilever), such that marketing teams increasingly report into sales teams, is a key driver of the movement to bring brand and performance closer together.

Trend #4: Agencies Retool to Become Masters of Commerce

In 2023, agencies will go beyond platform reliance and help clients bridge retail and media with bilingual commerce specialists (a.k.a. media and ecommerce experts). Media planning is increasingly complex. Add to that the rise of non-creative stakeholders (commercial and shopper marketing leads), and agencies are deploying teams who know how to navigate the landscape toward quantifiable outcomes.

Trend #5: Massive Media Budget Migration Continues

Driving revenue this year will require shifting funds out of lower performing and/or less measurable channels to ones where positive impact can be directly reported up the chain. Budgets aren’t getting any bigger, so while testing new channels is still possible, every dollar must count. Retail media marks the emergence of the next essential channel for advertising.

Explore the remaining 5 trends in the full report, available here.