IAB Sets Out to Define the Growing World of Commerce Media

As retail media has expanded well beyond retailers, a new term has begun to take prevalence — commerce media. The purpose is the same as retail media, but the scope is much larger, and to help marketers and solution providers navigate this growing opportunity — Emarketer predicts that U.S. commerce media ad spending will exceed $100 billion by 2028 —  the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has set out to define what exactly “commerce media” is as well as what it encompasses.

In its new explainer, Defining Commerce Media and Its Ecosystem, the IAB defines commerce media as “the growing practice of retailers, travel firms, financial institutions, and other companies turning their physical assets, digital properties, first-party data and proximity to customer journeys into integrated media opportunities.”

What Makes Commerce Media Different from Other Kinds of Advertising

As outlined in the IAB report, commerce media is a “structurally distinct” advertising model because these networks are built in commerce-first environments. Most commerce media networks (CMNs) are built on data from transactions, loyalty programs and verified consumer behavior, making them “uniquely positioned to deliver advertising that is inherently addressable, accountable and attributable.”

Because CMNs typically own either the transaction, fulfillment and/or payment of a sale, the data they use for targeting and other advertising offerings is not only first party (read: privacy-safe) but also based on a direct relationship (and therefore deep understanding) of consumers in commercial environments.

Types of Commerce Media

This direct connection to consumers helps to explain why commerce media has become so popular, both among advertisers but also as a revenue-building opportunity for companies. Retail media remains the most mature segment of the commerce media ecosystem, but it now also includes:

• Travel media — Examples include Expedia, Lyft, Uber, (event ticketing platform) Vivid Seats and United Airlines;
• Financial services media — Examples include Chase Bank, Klarna, PayPal and RE/MAX;
• Automotive media — Examples include OEMs, dealerships and auto marketplaces
• Telecom and utility media — Wireless providers, ISPs, energy and gas companies and smart home services; and
• B2B media — Examples include Cut+Dry and Faire as well as other SaaS vendors and B2B marketplaces.

The report also goes into detail on the various types of commerce media activations, different monetization opportunities for businesses and what commerce media networks add to the established digital marketing landscape. Read the full report here.

To learn more about retail media, check out our full guide here.