The Marketer’s Lens: What Marketers Think about Commerce Media
We surveyed marketing professionals to get opinions from those dealing with three hot topics: Commerce Media, Creative AI, and Media Measurement. This is the first installment in a content series written by our agency experts that outlines the survey’s key findings. Here, the focus is specifically on Commerce Media.
The other installments will be available soon; watch this space.
Though the survey respondents were primarily based in the U.S., the findings will likely apply to other markets; please contact us if you want further information about our range of services and products.
Key Commerce Media Takeaways:
- 48% of respondents stated they are already running Commerce Media campaigns, and 65% of those who run campaigns said they have done so for over a year.
- 74% of those surveyed said they have a commerce media-specific budget line (versus budget being tested from other channels).
- 84% plan to increase commerce media investment in the next 12 months.
The findings from our Commerce Media survey are a testament to the growing importance of this channel for marketers. It’s clear that brands are recognizing the potential of Commerce Media to drive sales, build brand awareness, and reach new customers. We’re excited to see how Commerce Media continues to evolve and shape the marketing landscape in the future
Jasvinder Singh Bindra, Commerce Media Director, M&C Saatchi Performance.
Digging deeper into the data
Challenges of Commerce Media Management
Respondants said that the top three most challenging aspects of managing Commerce Media campaigns were:
- Strategic planning (20%)
- Budget constraints (17%)
- Day-to-day operations (16%)
“The survey responses reflect challenges brought about by Commerce Media’s relative newness and complexity, which is understandable. We see many questions from clients struggling to integrate Commerce Media as a channel or specific retail media platforms into their broader marketing strategies and planning while simultaneously managing day-to-day operations, highlighting the need for specialized expertise
Jasvinder Singh Bindra, Commerce Media Director, M&C Saatchi Performance
Interestingly, 85% of respondents said they were planning on increasing the Commerce Media budget, and 84% said they planned on starting to run Commerce Media campaigns in the next 12 months.
These numbers demonstrate the strong momentum behind Commerce Media, with both existing and new advertisers planning significant investments, indicating a robust growth trajectory for the channel. However, advertisers also face significant challenges in maximizing retail media channels, cutting through the complexity, and making the most of the incremental budgets being made available.
There is an ever growing enthusiasm to test Commerce Media campaigns
Businesses are betting big on Commerce Media
Businesses believe that spending on Commerce Media will reap the rewards. 71% of respondents stated that the Commerce Media budget was incremental, and only 28% said it was derived from other channels.
According to the survey answers, a wide range of channels had their budgets reduced to make way for Commerce Media spend. Print, OOH, research, social media, direct mail, display, and radio all had budgets reduced in favor of CommerceMedia spend.
To reflect the change, businesses are staffing up accordingly, with 44% stating they were running campaigns in-house, 33% using a specialist Commerce Media agency, and only 10% relying on a generalist media agency to run Commerce campaigns.
“This survey reveals a significant ‘betting big’ on Commerce Media. The substantial increase in dedicated budgets, coupled with the shift away from traditional channels, shows a strong belief that Commerce Media is a primary driver of future marketing success.” Bobbie Gersbach, Global Planning Director, M&C Saatchi Performance
However, challenges remain
Despite the enthusiasm for Commerce Media, challenges remain.
Strategic planning (20%), budget constraints (17%), and day-to-day operations (16%) were the top most challenging aspects of running media campaigns, with complexity (11%) and channel mix planning (11) also being challenged.
Product-specific challenges mainly focus on creative, for example, content optimization (27%), content creation (23%), and content compliance (20%). Measurement is also a concern, with 17% of respondents saying measuring performance is challenging.
In Summary
The findings confirm a powerful trend that Commerce Media is no longer a niche tactic. It’s a core component of modern marketing, driving sales and brand awareness with increasing investment and adoption. However, there are struggles in the speed of change and complexity of the landscape plus the essential overlap with creative that has to be aligned to ensure brands see success on Commerce Media channels.
Contact us to learn how we ensure that our clients succeed with Commerce Media or other Performance Media Planning and Buying.
Related Reading
Blog: Mastering Commerce Media, Strategies for Success
Blog: The Power of TikTok Shop for Social Commerce
Source: A survey was conducted of 240 marketing professionals via Pollfish between December 2024 and January 2025. Slight female skew (57%) 55% of respondents said they were responsible for marketing strategy and planning or selecting marketing technologies and tools. The top states were California (13%), followed by Texas, New York, New Jersey, Illinois & Florida (7% each) 69% employed full-time, 18% self-employed, 9% employed part-time
