Somewhere in your media plan, there’s probably a line called “retail media.” It’s small, a bit experimental and about to get a lot of company.
US commerce media ad spend is set to climb from $83.71 billion this year to $142.07 billion in 2030, which would make it almost a quarter of all digital ad spend. IAB’s 2026 outlook points the same way, with commerce media expected to outgrow the ad market as a whole.
So what is commerce media, exactly? Commerce media takes the idea of selling ads against shopper data and carries it beyond the retailer’s website. In fact, delivery, travel and financial networks are already seeing real growth outside retail media. For advertisers, that means more places to reach people at the moment they’re ready to spend.
Here’s our take: checkout is quietly turning into a media channel. Below, we look at how it works, who’s selling it and why brands keep shifting their budgets to it.
How commerce media works
Think about the last thing you bought online. You searched, compared a few options, maybe left a tab open for a day before you finally hit “buy.” The store saw every bit of that. Commerce media is what happens when a business decides that a journey to checkout is worth something to advertisers.
The idea is simple. A company that already sells to people lets brands advertise to its customers, using what it knows about them. That company could be a retailer, a marketplace, a food delivery app, an airline, even a bank. What changes from one network to the next is the data. IAB points out that retail media runs on purchase history and SKU-level detail, while travel media gets its edge from booking intent and loyalty programs.
For advertisers, this means access to first-party data, and displaying their ads when people are in a buying frame of mind. There’s a third reason, too, and it’s about proving results. More on that below.
The four main formats
IAB sorts the formats into four main formats. Sponsored products are the workhorse, sitting in search results next to the product a shopper was looking for. On-site display covers bigger brand moments across the network’s pages and apps. Off-site takes the same audience data out to the open web. Lastly, in-store screens carry the idea into physical stores.
Tip: Before you sign anything, ask a network three things. What data do you own? Where will my ads actually run? How will you show me the sales?
Commerce Media vs. Retail Media: What’s the Difference?
Short answer: retail media is one kind of commerce media. Commerce media is the bigger umbrella.
Retail media is the version most advertisers already know. A retailer sells ad space on its own site and app, backed by what shoppers buy there. It’s also the biggest slice by far. IAB expects retail media to bring in about $74 billion in 2026, compared with roughly $3 billion for travel media and under $1 billion each for automotive, telecom and B2B.
Commerce media keeps the same mechanics and widens the cast with different verticals bringing its own kind of signal.
| Retail media | Commerce media | |
|---|---|---|
| Who sells the ads | Retailers | Retailers, travel, finance, delivery, marketplaces |
| Core signal | Purchase history | Purchases, bookings, payments, orders |
| What it’s good for | Product-level sales | Reaching people at many points in the buying journey |
For advertisers, the practical upshot is a wider map. The same person can be reached in a retailer’s app on Monday, on a booking site on Wednesday and in a delivery app on Friday, each time with a different piece of context.
Beyond Retail: Who Else Is Selling Ads Now
Retail media earned its reputation first, but it no longer has the stage to itself. Platforms like Expedia, Uber, DoorDash, Marriott, Chase and Klarna are all building ad businesses. Advertisers are paying attention. In a late-2024 survey by Skai and the Path to Purchase Institute, 58% said they were interested in non-retail networks.
The logic is easy to follow. If a company runs any kind of commerce, it knows something useful about its customers, and brands will pay to reach them with that context. What changes is the view each network offers.
Travel
A booking is a rich signal. Travel networks can offer destination intent and trip timing, which helps when you want to reach someone about to land in Lisbon. United’s Kinective Media, for example, uses passenger data and itineraries to serve brands in ways meant to fit the journey.
Financial services
A bank sees a customer’s whole spending history, not just what they buy in one store. That cross-merchant purchase data is the appeal of networks like Chase Media Solutions and PayPal. For a brand, it’s a way to understand shoppers across stores.
Delivery and rideshare
Apps like Uber and DoorDash are privy to user’s daily routines from dinner to their commute home. Uber’s own research suggests these platforms influence behavior beyond the order itself, including visits to physical stores.
Hospitality and other newcomers
Hotel groups like Marriott have joined in, and the list keeps growing. The real estate player RE/MAX describes itself as the first in its vertical to launch a commerce media network.
What’s next: networks working together
EMARKETER expects more partnerships between industries, such as a financial network teaming up with a retailer, to give advertisers a fuller picture of the customer. If that happens, planning a campaign across several networks could get simpler.
Tip: Start where your category already lives. EMARKETER suggests that travel advertisers test airline and hotel networks first, and that financial services brands look at PayPal and Chase. Once you see results, widen our net.
Note: Measurement standards are still developing outside retail, and attribution across travel, finance and retail touchpoints isn’t simple yet. Treat early tests as a chance to learn what works for your brand.
Why Brands Are Putting Money Into Commerce Media
1. Data that doesn’t lean on cookies
Networks collect first-party data from their own customers. That makes targeted, personalized and measurable advertising possible, and it offers a compliant route as third-party cookies decline. For teams rebuilding their targeting playbook, that’s a welcome foundation.
2. Results you can trace
Closed-loop measurement is what many marketers value most. When one network sees both the ad and the purchase, reporting can go beyond clicks and impressions to what happened at checkout. It also makes the budget conversation with finance a lot more comfortable.
3. A role beyond the last click
Commerce media started as a performance channel, and while it still delivers there, the goals are widening. The share of commerce media spend going to brand building rose from 29% in 2024 to 34% in 2026. This coincides with how shoppers behave. In fact, IAB research found that 73% of consumers discover new brands through retail media.
4. Momentum, and more choice
IAB’s outlook has commerce media growing about 12% in 2026, nearly 30% faster than the ad market overall. Buyers are also widening their lists. According to McKinsey survey data cited by EMARKETER, the share of advertisers working with nine or more networks jumped from 8% in 2023 to 33% in 2025. That’s a big move in two years, and it suggests advertisers like having options.
Our take: Commerce media works best when it’s planned around the shopper. Ask yourself where your customer makes the decision, whether that’s a product page, a booking screen or a delivery app, and start there. The campaign goal then decides the format: sponsored products for sales, off-site or non-retail networks for new audiences.
What to Keep in Mind Before You Dive In
Commerce media is still young, and the industry is busy polishing it. Three practical points are worth knowing before running your first campaign.
Count results the same way
Networks can define a conversion differently. One may credit a sale that happens within a few days of an ad view, while another looks back much longer. Before launch, ask each partner what counts as a conversion and how long the window is, so the numbers can sit side by side.
Same shopper, several networks
The flip side of a wider map is overlap. The same shopper can meet your brand in several networks within a week, so frequency is worth watching. A simple view of total reach across networks helps you spot repeats early.
Creative that fits each placement
A sponsored listing needs a sharp product image, a clear title and a price. A banner in a banking app has very little time to land one idea. A store screen works best with big visuals and very few words. Briefing your design team on each placement up front saves a round of revisions.
How to Get Started
You don’t need a big budget or a long list of partners to begin. A focused first test teaches you more than a broad launch. To illustrate this point, let’s picture a running-shoe brand planning its first test.
Start with one clear goal
Our brand picks one aim: sell more of a new model of running shoes. Not awareness, not new customers, just that. This singular goal keeps the setup simple and the results easy to read.
Choose one or two networks
The brand starts with one sportswear retailer’s sponsored products, where shoppers are already comparing shoes. Before signing, it asks what data drives the targeting and how results are reported.
Plan your creative
It prepares three product images and two headlines for the listings, plus a simple banner for the retailer’s category page. Small differences often show what shoppers respond to.
Agree on measurement up front
The team writes down what counts as success — in this case, sales of that model — and how it will compare them with its search ads. Putting it on paper first saves long discussions later.
Test, learn, then widen
After a few weeks, the team notes what worked, adjusts the creative and only then considers a second network or an off-site format.
The Bottom Line
Commerce media started with retailers selling ad space next to products. It has grown into something much broader. Any business that knows what people buy, book or order can now help a brand reach them at a useful moment.
For advertisers, that means more ways to connect with customers, backed by data and results you can follow. The checkout has become a media channel, and the shopper’s moment of decision is now a place a brand can show up.
The space will continue to change, and that’s part of what makes it interesting. Brands that start learning now, even with one small test, will be well placed for whatever comes next.
At MGID, we work with advertisers on native and programmatic campaigns, and we’re always happy to talk through how different channels can work together in a media plan.
