— RESEARCH
Insights for Loyalty Ecosystems
Industry research from BCG, EMARKETER, and leading analysts on the growth of commerce media networks — and why non-retail enterprises with first-party loyalty data are best positioned to capture the next wave.
Commerce Media Trends to Watch in 2026
EMARKETER forecasts that 2026 will be a year of organizational evolution for commerce media, with retailers restructuring internally and financial media networks pushing deeper into shoppable experiences. Agentic AI is emerging as a new monetization surface that could erode the value of traditional sponsored search.
Key Data Points
Sponsored search drives 60%+ of retail media spend but faces disruption from AI agents
In-store digital media represents less than 1% of retail media spend despite 85% of grocery visits happening in stores
Financial media networks have expansive cross-merchant purchase history but lack browsing environments