Simply investing in commerce media campaigns is no longer enough, experts warn. Growth now requires deep engagement and careful planning.

“Monetization is expanding across the broader customer journey in-store, in-app, [and through] loyalty programs and service interactions that are coming in,” said Saket Mehta, chief revenue officer for Nift, at EMARKETER’s Commerce Media Trends 2026 summit.

High participation in these networks is taking commerce media into a new phase, where advertisers and commerce media networks have to get creative in order to win incremental growth for brands.

A saturation point for commerce media

Advertisers have to get smarter about how they participate in commerce media. One reason is because there are simply more advertisers in more networks, across the board, analysts say.

• The median number of networks advertisers work with is now six, up from four just a year earlier, according to McKinsey’s November 2025 survey.

And there’s no sign that advertiser investment is slowing. So networks will get more crowded, vying for audience attention.

• In 2026, US commerce media ad spend is expected to grow 20.2% to reach $81.87 billion, EMARKETER forecasts.

“Attention becomes the main constraint because consumers are becoming more desensitized as more platforms are leveraging commerce media,” said Mehta. “They see the same sponsored search and sponsored product ads that are coming in.”

Picking the right moments

If audiences are getting desensitized to sponsored product ads, the solution is to engage shoppers at other times deeper in the customer journey.

“The opportunity is native integration into the product flow, discovery in moments where the customer is already engaged,” said Mehta.

When customers are making a purchase, or signing up for, or logging into, a loyalty program, they are more engaged with a trusted brand or retailer than when they are beginning their journey with a product search.

“It's something you want to habituate, or to congratulate them on doing, and then maintain the trust and continuity,” Mehta said.

Engaging customers in a more meaningful way helps commerce media networks avoid turning off shoppers as they continue to monetize their networks with ad opportunities.

“What separates a [positive] experience that feels additive as a result of monetization, versus disruptive [experiences], or something that erodes that consumer experience?” asked our analyst Sarah Marzano, in the session. “That’s a real risk that commerce platforms have to contend with.”

Placing ads on loyalty sign-in pages and within other customer milestones connects brands to customers at more meaningful moments. These tactics are likely to reassure customers that commerce media networks aren’t just monetizing their attention, but enhancing a customer’s experience.

Watch the full session.

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