For years, the commerce media conversation has centered around one theme: Measurement. But that may be changing.

“We are finally moving past just talking about measurement,” said Collin Colburn, vice president, commerce and retail media at the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). “It’s a horse that’s been beaten over the head a little bit too many times.”

• Instead, Colburn says a growing focus is on embedding commerce experiences seamlessly into media, ensuring they enhance rather than disrupt the customer journey.
• “In order for commerce media to work, it has to both blend good consumer experiences with brands that want to get in front of those consumers and retailers and commerce companies that want to monetize their relationship with that consumer," he said. "That’s where the sweet spot is.”

That doesn’t mean measurement efforts are being thrown out the window. Rather, it’s more about identifying where measurement can make the most difference.

• “If we’re gonna focus on measurement, we have to get this incrementality thing right, and we need to really clarify what it is,” said Colburn.
• The IAB is currently finalizing a framework on incrementality, which he said will answer questions like “What are these new approaches I keep hearing about? What are synthetic controls? And can we measure the incrementality [of new to brand]?”

But marketers may need to accept that not everything in commerce media is fully measurable.

“You can’t model all the potential outcomes in marketing,” said Colburn. “You also can’t remove the contamination. Have we forgotten that word of mouth is still the most common way that people find [out about brands?]”

In-store’s next chapter

The IAB is also working on a way for brands, retailers, ad tech platforms, and agencies to align around in-store retail media, said Colburn.

“This is going to give the industry a document that we can all say, 'Yes, we agree on all six of these principles, and now we have to go and do the work to put these into practice.'”

For smaller networks, this could open up significant opportunities.

“These players are going to win share because of smart innovations in the store,” said Colburn. “So making the store a more fun place for consumers to go to through media, making the experience more helpful to the consumer when they’re in the store through media, that’s where they can win.”

• Regional grocers, discounters, and chains with massive footprints have a strong runway.
• “If they do it right, and I think some of them will get it right by folding media into the store, then that’s gonna be a really powerful place to grow the category, because it’s not just gonna be endemic dollars, that unlocks non-endemic dollars too,” he said.

AI’s impact on the shopper journey

While much of the industry buzz around AI centers on ad tech efficiencies, Colburn points to a bigger story: How AI is changing shoppers themselves.

• "I think it's much more interesting about how AI is changing the shopper behavior, and how there's sort of a disintermediation that's happening to a degree between the retailer and the shopper."
• This shift is challenging retailers’ claims of strong customer loyalty.
• “It’ll really be interesting to see if [retailers] are able to share any information about how AI is impacting that shopping journey with those kinds of loyal customers," he said. Because then it puts in a question 'Well, how loyal were those customers?'”

What’s next: Colburn foresees consolidation and expansion in the landscape.

“I think there will be growth with players who really do have the scale, the innovation…the chutzpah to be able to invest in something that’s actually really innovative and different,” he said.

This was originally featured in the Commerce Media Weekly newsletter. For more marketing insights, statistics, and trends, subscribe here.