The only constant in commerce is change - and it's speeding up

"The last five years have been marked by pandemic-fuelled growth, rising economic pressures and an explosion of new media networks. But with momentum has come fragility. "Coming out of the pandemic, we were shot out of a rocket ship. E-commerce and retail went through a tremendous change in five years. But we grew past our britches and we didn't get the foundational stuff right. Now we have to step back and make sure we have a foundation to build on,""

"For Cohen, the first priority is fixing the basics. "There are folks in this space spending money who are disillusioned with performance. That's not a long-term proposition. Measurement standards, attribution standards - everyone should be selling things in IAB standard sizes. The industry grew up very fast, but now we need to slow down and do this properly.""

"The second is bridging silos between historically separate disciplines. Shopper marketing and brand marketing used to operate in parallel worlds. "For a while, it was a forced marriage - if you wanted an end-aisle display, you had to spend media dollars with us. Now we need to figure out how to work together. It's not about one dominating the other, but about collaboration.""

Retail and commerce media experienced rapid pandemic-fuelled growth that exposed fragile foundations across the industry. Immediate priorities include fixing basics such as measurement standards, attribution and standardized ad sizes. Collaboration between shopper marketing and brand marketing must replace siloed, transactional relationships and enable joint planning and outcomes. Consistent, agreed measurement and attribution approaches are essential to restore advertiser confidence. The proliferation of new media networks, AI, new platforms and rising economic pressures requires slowing expansion to establish durable standards and infrastructure that support sustainable, long-term retail media performance.

Read at The Drum