Retail Media Networks Evolve into Commerce Intelligence Platforms, Reshaping Digital Advertising Spend – Monday, December 15, 2025

Retail media networks are rapidly evolving into AI-driven 'commerce intelligence' platforms, signaling a major shift away from traditional digital advertising spend. This transformation is enabling retailers to gain deeper insights into consumer behavior and to optimize advertising strategies more effectively.

Who should care: VPs of retail, store operations leaders, eCommerce directors, customer experience teams, and retail technology decision-makers.

What happened?

Retail media networks (RMNs) are experiencing a fundamental transformation by embedding artificial intelligence to become comprehensive 'commerce intelligence' platforms. This evolution is reshaping how retailers engage consumers and allocate advertising budgets. Traditional digital ad spend is increasingly sidelined as RMNs prioritize delivering richer, data-driven insights into consumer behavior and purchasing patterns. By harnessing AI, retailers can now provide highly personalized and targeted advertising solutions that offer a unified view of the entire customer journey. This approach allows for more precise optimization of ad spend while simultaneously enhancing the overall customer experience through tailored marketing initiatives. Beyond advertising, AI-powered commerce intelligence platforms enable retailers to anticipate and predict consumer needs and behaviors, granting them a significant competitive advantage in a crowded marketplace. This shift reflects a broader move toward integrating advanced analytics and machine learning to drive smarter, more effective retail strategies.

Why now?

The timing of this shift is critical as the retail sector faces mounting competitive pressures and an urgent need for more personalized customer interactions. Over the past 18 months, rapid advancements in AI technology have made it feasible to aggregate and analyze vast amounts of consumer data with greater speed and accuracy. This progress coincides with a rising demand for data-driven insights that can enhance customer engagement and refine marketing tactics. Meanwhile, traditional digital advertising methods are showing diminishing returns, prompting retailers to seek innovative, AI-powered solutions to maintain relevance and meet evolving consumer expectations. The convergence of these factors has accelerated the adoption of commerce intelligence platforms as a strategic imperative for retailers aiming to stay ahead.

So what?

This transition carries significant implications for the retail industry. Strategically, AI-driven commerce intelligence empowers retailers to develop a nuanced understanding of consumer behavior, enabling more precise and effective marketing efforts. Operationally, it requires substantial investment in AI technologies and data analytics infrastructure to unlock the full potential of these platforms. Retailers who successfully embrace this change can expect to achieve greater efficiency in advertising spend and foster stronger customer loyalty through highly personalized experiences. Conversely, those who lag risk losing market share to more agile competitors leveraging AI insights.

What this means for you:

• For VPs of retail: Prioritize investments in AI capabilities to deepen consumer insights and refine advertising strategies for better ROI.
• For eCommerce directors: Accelerate the integration of AI-driven tools to deliver personalized customer experiences and boost engagement metrics.
• For customer experience teams: Utilize commerce intelligence to anticipate customer needs and enhance service delivery, driving satisfaction and loyalty.

Quick Hits

• Impact / Risk: The rise of AI-driven commerce intelligence threatens to disrupt traditional advertising models, requiring retailers to adapt quickly or risk falling behind.
• Operational Implication: Significant investment in AI and data analytics is essential for retailers to fully capitalize on commerce intelligence platforms.
• Action This Week: Assess your current digital advertising strategies and explore AI solutions that can deepen consumer insights; update executive teams on the benefits and challenges of adopting commerce intelligence.