Scaling smarter: Reinventing commerce media strategy for lasting impact

In an increasingly data-first world, advertising has taken a transformative leap in understanding consumers like never before. As Indian consumers spend more time online, reshaping how they discover and purchase products, advertisers are empowered with a large pool of first-party data with every search, click, and purchase. With so much data at their disposal, retail media networks (RMNs) are playing a central role in aiding advertisers to ensure they reach the right audience and generate sales.

With increased dependence on AI and personalisation, traditional advertising is no longer serving the purpose of helping consumers make informed decisions, while RMNs are seamlessly navigating online buyers from discovery to purchase. The most beneficial aspect for advertisers is that the dependence on RMNs is not limited to endemic brands.

With commerce media’s ability to extend beyond onsite inventory, advertisers can connect with consumers across digital touchpoints, regardless of products or services. According to the Dentsu-e4m Digital Advertising Report 2025, ad spending on e-retail platforms in India reached INR 11,293 crores in 2024, accounting for 22.93% of total digital media spending. Such insights only exemplify how brands are integrating RMNs as part of their strategic marketing plans, using data-driven insights to drive both—performance and brand impact.

However, in this digital frontier, consumers are often bombarded with brands and services, leading to brands getting lost in this dynamic and ever-expanding market space. To ensure advertisers make the best use of RMN strategies, they need to focus on a few key things.

Ensuring conversions

It is only natural that in the online marketplace, every product and service will not receive the visibility advertisers anticipate. One of the key reasons can be the increasing competition among brands across various product and service categories—making it challenging for advertisers to carve out a distinct identity and capture consumer attention.

As RMNs get deployed across environments like—onsite, offsite, and omnichannel, advertisers should ensure they are deploying a unified measurement strategy across RMNs for consistency and transparency. Operating in a unified approach helps advertisers track key performance indicators (KPIs) across devices, ad formats, and platforms. In commerce, media transparency plays a pivotal role beyond ensuring visibility; it empowers advertisers to make decisions backed by data with independent verification, real-time insights and performance optimisation tools.

At present, there is a growing demand for better visibility into ad placements and performance metrics to ensure measurable outcomes. For this, while RMNs continue to scale, establishing robust reporting frameworks and maintaining data integrity will help advertisers run effective campaigns. However, advertisers should be on alert and use viewability and fraud protection tools to safeguard their media investments and funnel them to the right audience.

While the retail advertising space keeps evolving and presenting dynamic challenges and opportunities for advertisers, they should prioritise transparency, suitability, efficiency, and return on investment (ROI) to stay ahead of the curve. By deploying thorough verification and performance metrics in their RMN strategies, brands can scale media effectiveness, mitigate risk, and make the best out of their investments. AI-driven content intelligence, real-time fraud protection, and tailored bidding algorithms help advertisers have more control over their campaigns with accurate measurement and accountability.

— Samir Karpe, country manager, Scibids, DoubleVerify.