What's commerce media?

At its simplest, commerce media connects marketers and media owners to first-party data and to each other so that everyone can bring richer experiences to consumers while enabling closed-loop measurement.

To look at it another way, commerce media brings programmatic advertising and retail media together and widens the field to include non-retail businesses—all on the open internet where the control is in the hands of the marketers and the media owners.

A set of purchase and intent data that gives insight into consumer behaviors and journeys and can be used to deliver superior outcomes. It includes:

• Page and product views
• Products added to cart
• Products purchased (online and offline)
• Ad clicks
• Contextual data from publishers such as URLs, contextual categories, and keywords
• Product info like categories, SKUs, prices, descriptions
• Identifiers such as hashed emails, hashed phone numbers, and visitor IDs (such as random IDs stored in first-party cookies)

Why isn’t it “ecommerce media”?

“Ecommerce” has become synonymous with online retail. But “commerce” is bigger than online retail and even retail generally. The Oxford English Dictionary defines “commerce” as “activities that relate to the buying and selling of goods and services”. Commerce media is bigger than retail, too, and works for non-retail businesses like classifieds, travel, and finance.

Here’s an example of how commerce media can work for a travel aggregator that wants to increase European trip bookings:

Commerce doesn’t only happen online.

Our Shopper Story survey shows that physical stores are still as powerful a draw today as they were in 2019: Nearly six in ten consumers look forward to shopping in stores when they have time.² In addition, what starts online might end in a physical location, and vice versa. And increasingly, they both happen at the same time. Our research showed that more than half of consumers make purchases on their phone while inside a store – either from that retailer, or a competitor’s website.³ Commerce media puts the audience first, facilitating the omnichannel journey that works for them—and connecting ad spend to results wherever they happen (online or in-person).

Commerce media’s inventory is on publishers across the open internet, in addition to retailers and marketplaces.

This opens all kinds of acquisition and retention opportunities for all kinds of businesses. Like, say, reaching new customers while they stream content with video ads, influencing them while they read a related article with contextual ads, retargeting them after they’ve visited your site or a retailer partner’s site, and reengaging them after they’ve become a customer.

Commerce media is a new category, and that often comes with some confusion. Some use the term interchangeably with retail media. Others see it as the next evolution of retail media. Still others think it sounds like performance marketing with a different name. Let’s clear things up.

Commerce media takes the retail media model and expands it. It includes a broad network of publishers across the open internet, in addition to retailers. And it enables non-retail and non-endemic advertisers, in addition to retail advertisers, to use commerce data and AI to more effectively engage audiences on those publishers and retailers. It also includes a wide range of formats and channels to meet full-funnel objectives, from video and CTV to contextual and sponsored product ads. Commerce media brings all of this together in one place.

 

	Commerce Media	Retail Media	Performance Marketing	Brand Marketing
Full-funnel	Yes. Can be used for discovery, conversion, and retention	Sometimes. Some retail media providers offer a variety of display formats that allow brands to build awareness, drive point-of-purchase sales, and retarget retailer audiences.	No. Primarily a bottom-funnel tactic focused on driving and optimizing for conversions.	No. Primarily a top-funnel tactic focused on awareness and optimizing for reach and impressions.
First-party commerce data	Yes. Large-scale, first-party commerce data is the backbone of commerce media.	Yes. The scale of the data is smaller than commerce media, as it does not include inputs from other publishers/brand sites.	No. Typically uses third-party cookies and behavioral data and lacks the scale of commerce data that commerce media has. Any first-party data used is highly dependent on 3P cookie matching.	No. Typically uses third-party cookies and demographic and behavioral data.
Variety of formats and channels (video, CTV, display, contextual, sponsored product)	Yes. All of these options are possible with commerce media.	Sometimes. Retail media platforms that offer offsite ads may include some of these formats, but typically not all of them.	No. Sponsored products is not an option here.	No. Sponsored products is not an option here.
Ad space on publishers across the open internet	Yes. Commerce media includes ads on publishers as well as retailers.	Sometimes. Some retail media providers offer offsite ads.	Yes.	Yes.
Works for non-retailer advertisers	Yes. Commerce media works for retail and other businesses, such as classifieds, travel, and finance.	No. Retail media is focused on helping brands that sell products on retailers.	Yes.	Yes.
Connected supply and demand for closed-loop measurement	Yes. Commerce media directly connects marketers and media owners.	Yes. Retailers and their brand advertisers are directly connected through retail media.	No.	No.

 

At the same time, our research shows that more consumers than ever are using options like BOPIS (buy online, pickup in store) and click and collect and that they still highly value the in-person experience of physical stores: Four in 10 don’t like to purchase unless they can see and touch items in a store.⁵

How we can connect with consumers is (still) changing: Growing privacy regulations and the possible phase-out of third-party cookies have marketers and media owners looking for new ways to responsibly reach and monetize audiences.

Prioritizing first-party data strategies is now a must for retailers and publishers: Because of the point above, marketers are focused on gathering and growing first-party data. Publishers preparing for declining CPMs from the loss of third-party cookies are expanding their first-party data strategies. Retailers are also exploring more ways to monetize their valuable first-party assets. Connecting marketers with these media owners is a win-win for all parties.

“The opportunity for us in the post-third-party cookie ecosystem is that we are the owners of our data. We are the only ones who know and understand our users, who have a repeat relationship based on the first-party cookie.”

Trade marketing is shifting to digital: Brand dollars are following their consumers online. 92% of EU⁷ and 76% of US brand advertisers⁸ say their growth depends on retail media advertising.

Consumers are turning to the open internet more than ever: Consumers don’t just shop on Amazon or search on Google. Our research shows that more shoppers are now starting their product search on retail and brand websites, which are surpassing online marketplaces and search engines as the leading first touchpoint.

New Head of Commerce roles emerging in agencies: People in these roles are spearheading a 360° approach to commerce, overseeing everything from search and display, to shopper marketing and retail media. Their goals are to break down silos and take an audience-based approach rather than a channel by channel or retailer by retailer approach.

Data management and addressability solutions are in flux, with different fixes arising for how to make privacy-safe data interoperable. There’s a lot to navigate, and marketers and media owners are eager for safe solutions for addressable advertising that will still drive results. They also want more streamlined ways to do it, using fewer platforms.

“All of this is really hard for marketers to get their head around – how to use first-party data, how to find new audiences, how to get around the deprecation of third-party cookies. And so they’re looking to technology providers like ad tech companies to help them out.”

The commerce media space is quickly advancing to deliver on these needs by making it easier for marketers and media owners to work together efficiently.

The goal is to connect them in an open marketplace via a single interface. In this marketplace, data can be shared to link identity, create and scale addressable audiences, and activate them through a variety of channels and formats. Measurement and optimization will be possible across channels and retailers all from one place, for a truly holistic view.

“Companies who enable publishers and advertisers to safeguard consumer rights while connecting first-party data on both the buy and sell side are going to define the next chapter of personalized advertising.”

Each player gets what they need to succeed, from data to technology to connections, creating a self-sustaining system and a virtuous circle where all mutually benefit:

Streamline and close the loop

Commerce media solves the fragmentation challenge, enabling marketers and media owners to simplify growth and use less tech, rather than more.

By directly connecting marketers and media owners, commerce media makes it easy to track the impact of digital campaigns on KPIs (such as sales, leads, visits), both online and offline. This ability to connect media spend to actual purchase data provides the accountable advertising that marketers are keen to shift their budgets to.

Put consumers first

Consumers want their data rights respected. But this doesn’t mean that consumers are no longer interested in relevant experiences. Commerce media powers both responsible and relevant advertising. Because of its audience-first approach, commerce media is built to serve consumers’ needs and evolve as they evolve.

Consumers also want to be able to access a variety of content, products, and services. Through commerce media, marketers and media owners power the advertising that supports diversity and choice on the open internet.

Get control, transparency, and balance

As the walls of the walled gardens grow ever higher, options that preserve marketers’ access to and control over first-party data are critical. Commerce media is on the open internet, where all players have the freedom to access and keep their data, use any partners they wish, dictate pricing, and maintain control over the consumer experience. It’s a way to reduce dependence on walled gardens and build a more balanced strategy that meets consumers in all the places they spend their time—and where there are no walls blocking the view of the customer journey.

“Building, establishing and maintaining a relationship with customers—not just for a single conversion but throughout their lifetime with a brand—is increasing in importance for every contemporary marketer I’ve worked with. When a brand understands the customer and every part of their journey and owns the data attached to that, walled gardens will not exist as they do now.”¹¹

Commerce Media Benefits

Marketers	Media Owners	Consumers
Achieve scalable addressability, with audiences and personalization powered by first-party data.	Earn more ad revenue by monetizing owned first-party data and audiences.	See ads only for things they've actively shown an interest in, and only from advertisers that they have consented to.
Reduce waste and increase engagement and conversion by focusing on in-market audiences and leveraging deep commerce insights.	Drive repeat visitors and increase sales by using commerce data to personalize content for users.	Enjoy more relevant site experiences and ads.
Reduce the number of platforms being used.	Increase the addressability of inventory by connecting first-party data across the ecosystem.	Continue to enjoy the diversity of content and choice that the open internet provides.
Reach consumers on the open internet, where they spend 66% of their time, and where marketers have full control and transparency.	Get a direct connection to marketers seeking addressable audiences, and maintain control of data access, pricing, and the site experience.

“In the future, I’d like to be able to say that the open internet is alive and kicking and vibrant. And that consumers love it because of Criteo’s contribution to it. Where new businesses can come and thrive and where innovation can be at the center, and where advertising can pay for more and more experiences to come to the open internet. A truly vibrant environment for all – that's our promise.”