Over reliance on Retail Media Networks and regional differences impact success globally
NEW YORK, NY – February 25, 2025 00:01 EST – A new report released today by Winterberry Group, a strategic growth consultancy, reveals that US spending on Connected Commerce is set to exceed $112 billion in 2025.
Driving this investment is the growth of Retail Media Networks (RMNs), which account for 59.9% of all spend in this market. However, the report found that although investment in RMNs—a core part of any connected commerce capability—continues to increase, brand strategies are fragmented and marketers are overly reliant on these platforms. Moreover, retail media maturity levels vary greatly between the US and Europe, creating difficulties for brands running campaigns globally.
Key findings from the report include:
- Increased spending: 90.7% of marketers increased connected commerce spending in 2024, and 92.5% expect to increase spend again in 2025.
- Fragmented strategies hinder growth: Over a third (39.3%) of marketers say their organization lacks a consistent understanding of the consumer journey across retailers, while more than a quarter (28%) agree their organization lacks the ability to integrate and activate digital and offline channels.
- Over-reliance on RMNs: While RMNs are a critical part of the connected commerce ecosystem, their dominance can limit reach to consumers already within a retailer’s ecosystem, reducing opportunities to engage broader audiences.
- Focus on loyalty and engagement: More than half of marketers (54.7%) rank frequency and loyalty as one of their top two connected commerce goals, followed by consideration (47.7%) and acquisition (45.3%). Only 10.7% are prioritizing conquesting, indicating a focus on deepening relationships with existing customers rather than targeting competitors’ audiences.
- Barriers to seamless experiences: The report identifies key challenges brands face in delivering unified shopping experiences, including organizational silos, inconsistent measurement standards, and lack of data transparency.
- Expanding channel diversity: Social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram, along with CTV, provide dynamic, engaging formats that drive brand recall and amplify RMN efforts.
- Geographic differences: In the US, RMNs are maturing quickly, while in Europe and the UK, adoption is slower but accelerating. Conversely, in Europe and the UK, in-store efforts are more connected to digital efforts, in part due to an advantage of simplicity—an environment with fewer retailers allows for direct relationships and opportunities to align without intermediaries or brokers. Regional market maturity impacts how global brands allocate budgets and engage with connected commerce.
“Retail Media Networks (RMNs) operate as media organizations while merchants prioritize sales leading to conflicting objectives. This is just one of many disconnects that can dilute campaign effectiveness and opportunities for synergy.” Said Michael Harrison, Managing Partner at Winterberry Group. “Brands also face inconsistent metrics, formats, and capabilities across platforms, which hinder performance evaluation and budget optimization making it harder for marketers to connect the dots between online and offline channels. To fully realize the next era of commerce, the industry needs unified measurement standards and greater alignment across marketing, trade, and shopper teams to ensure a cohesive customer experience.”
Robert Rivenburgh, CEO of Publicis Commerce, added: “We’re excited to see brands and retailers placing a greater emphasis on connected commerce because we’ve long known it’s the key to success. Marketers must look beyond the media buy and reach shoppers at all touchpoints through the relevant messages and engaging experiences that truly influence their behavior. Doing that requires organizations to align internally across functions, from planning through activation and measurement — empowered by a dedicated commitment from senior leadership. As an industry, we still have a lot of work to do, but this report suggests we’re heading in the right direction.”
A full copy of The Evolution of Connected Commerce report is available for download [here].
