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DECEMBER 8, 2025 |
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The commerce media landscape is bracing for a defining year. Pressure is building across retailers and platforms to rethink how shoppers discover, evaluate, and buy products. |
“What stands out to us about 2026 is that the shifts we’re anticipating center around bringing commerce media back to the core mechanics of shopping in retail media,” said our analyst Sarah Marzano during the keynote session at EMARKETER’s Virtual Summit last week. |
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As commerce media players race to integrate media, merchandising, and physical shopping, the goal is to create more coherent experiences and monetizable moments across the buyer journey. |
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Here are the key forces shaping the industry in the coming year. |
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1. Retailers are reorganizing for a new era of retail media |
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Retail media networks (RMNs) have matured quickly, but their internal structures haven’t kept pace. |
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Walmart finalized its Vizio acquisition one year ago, a move that clearly telegraphed its advertising ambitions and positioned it to be a dominant retail media player. |
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Including Vizio, Walmart’s global advertising business grew 53% YoY in Q3.
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The acquisition is expected to provide a 20-basis-point tailwind to the retailer’s net sales this year, as well as an 80-basis-point drag on profits due to integration expenses. |
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Vizio considerably strengthens Walmart’s pitch to advertisers by giving it more opportunities to get in front of engaged audiences and providing more data for better targeting and measurement. |
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