What is commerce media? The line between retail media and commerce media is a blurry one. But the distinctions are clear. Retail media is the province of major retailers like Walmart, Target, Amazon, and others whose “walled gardens” keep a tight grip on consumers’ first-party data that’s used to target ads within their respective networks. Commerce media, on the other hand, follows the “open internet” concept by allowing both the store and the product or brands it partners with to show ads across the whole internet, not just their owned-and-operated sites.

How does commerce media work? Commerce media works by using the data and insights of ecommerce platforms to target shoppers with relevant ads across the web. For example, a commerce media platform might use data on a shopper's past purchases, browsing behavior, and interests to show them ads for products that they are likely to be interested in.

Types of commerce media:

There are a variety of different types of commerce media, including:

• Product display ads: These ads are displayed on e-commerce platforms, such as Amazon and Walmart, and are typically linked to specific product pages.
• Sponsored search ads: These ads appear in the search results of e-commerce platforms when shoppers search for specific keywords.
• Native ads: These ads are designed to blend in with the surrounding content on an e-commerce platform.
• Video ads: These ads are played on e-commerce platforms, such as Amazon and YouTube.

How to measure commerce media:

Commerce media can be measured using a variety of KPIs, including:

• Click-through rate (CTR): The percentage of people who see a commerce media ad and click on it.
• Conversion rate (CVR): The percentage of people who click on a commerce media ad and go on to make a purchase.
• Cost per acquisition (CPA): The average amount of money an advertiser pays for a conversion.
• Return on investment (ROI): The amount of money an advertiser makes for every dollar they spend on commerce media.

Why is commerce media important to marketers? Commerce media is important to marketers because it allows them to reach and engage shoppers with relevant ads at the point of purchase. This can help marketers to increase brand awareness, drive traffic to their website, and boost sales.

Job titles that need to know what commerce media is:

• Digital marketing manager
• Paid search specialist
• Social media manager
• Content marketing manager
• Affiliate manager
• Ecommerce manager
• Product manager
• Marketing analyst
• Brand manager

Use commerce media in a sentence: “We use commerce media networks because they give a niche retailer the ability to reach a wide audience on different websites while giving us access to a greater array of data that allows us to make our ads better.”