2026 Commerce Media Outlook
Learn the key trends, tactics, and technologies driving commerce media success in 2026.
Forecasting the future of commerce media
In this actionable interview series, you’ll discover how top retail media executives are planning to stay ahead of the commerce media curve this year, so you can better align your own strategy to optimize growth, market share, and profitability in 2026 and beyond.
Explore Our Interviews
Nick Hamilton
Leading teams that build the hyper-personalized algorithms fueling Kroger Ad Platform, Nick empowers brands and agencies to maximize their Kroger advertising performance. In this actionable interview, he sits down with Melissa Burdick to discuss how the commerce space is evolving this year, from demystifying AI —which still requires a very human touch—to exploring the increasingly critical role that clean, high-quality data plays in moving the needle.
Watch this interview to learn:
- How to move faster from insight to action
- Why physical storefronts are the biggest opportunity for brand storytelling
- How audience creation is shifting from being product-based to message-driven
Sherry Smith leads Criteo’s retail media business, partnering with more than 200 retailers to drive unified measurement, data collaboration, and proven performance at scale. In this Women in Commerce interview, she joins Melissa Burdick to unpack what’s real—and what’s hype—as brands, agencies, and retailers prepare for 2026, from API-first ecosystems to AI-driven insights and creative innovation.
Watch this interview to learn:
- Why proven performance and unified measurement are becoming non-negotiable
- How API-first strategies and data collaboration will reshape retail media ecosystems
- Where AI is driving real impact across creative, insights, and decision-making
Sherry Smith
Mark leads global teams at Amazon Ads spanning partner strategy, SMB growth, and advertising infrastructure, supporting the evolution of Sponsored Ads, DSP, and AI-driven capabilities that help brands scale performance across Amazon and the open internet.
Watch his interview to learn:
- How Amazon Ads is evolving beyond retail media into a full-funnel platform
- How AI is changing automation, bidding, and creative workflows
- Where brands should focus Sponsored Ads, DSP, and Prime Video investment in 2026
Mark Eamer
Lorry leads a multi-disciplinary team at TikTok that connects product innovation with measurable business impact, building and scaling partnerships across ad measurement, commerce, CRM, marketing tech, channel sales, and generative AI to power advertiser performance and platform growth worldwide.
Watch his interview to learn:
- How TikTok drives off-platform purchases through discovery commerce
- Why creators are critical to building trust with your customers on TikTok
- How AI and automation tools—like Symphony & GMV Max—drive TikTok Shop success
Lorry Destainville
Leading Instacart’s advertising organization—from product and engineering to brand partnerships and commercial strategy—Ali’s team enables 7,500 brands to engage and convert customers at scale across the Instacart Ads ecosystem.
Watch her interview to learn:
- Why retail media offers so much more than just on-platform advertising
- How media and commerce silos and beginning to merge
- The increasing importance of a test-and-learn mentality
Ali Miller
“The walls are coming down in terms of data. For us to truly be able to push retail media forward, there’s got to be a blend. Brands and agencies and retailers working together.”
“AI is helping us build a lot of these things but it’s still clear to the advertiser like “Oh, this is that’s happening. Click accept.”…and that is what we’re seeing that people really like”
“My prediction for 2026 is that we’re going to see commerce and media silos finally come together.”
“[TikTok] creators know how to create engaging content that turns into incremental revenue for brands.”
Empowering the people who power commerce
Pacvue ensures commerce teams are aligned and empowered to deliver greater impact in record time. From marketing and sales to finance and IT, we support the people who operate your business with best-in-class solutions that enable them to drive profitable growth—quarter after quarter.
Last year’s retail media predictions
Inside Retail Media: 1-on-1 with Instacart’s Ali Miller
Instacart’s Ali Miller joins Pacvue’s Melissa Burdick to share winning retail media strategies and insights in this exclusive interview.
Inside Retail Media: 1-on-1 with Roundel’s Brittany Marzette
In our latest “Inside Retail Media” interview, Pacvue’s Melissa Burdick sits down with Brittany Marzette, Sr. Director, Partner Solutions Group at Roundel, to explore how signal sharing, advanced measurement, and AI-driven targeting are reshaping retail media.
Inside Retail Media: 1-on-1 with Cara Pratt, SVP at Kroger
In this exclusive one‑on‑one conversation, Pacvue’s Melissa Burdick sits down with Cara Pratt, SVP of Kroger Precision Marketing at 84.51°, as part of Pacvue’s 2025 Inside Retail Media interview series to explore what advertisers need to know for the year ahead.
Experience the Future of Commerce Media
Discover how Pacvue empowers teams to accelerate omnichannel activation from one mission control.
Awards & Recognitions
