Agencies that don’t make AI skills a core part of employee training risk being sidelined in the age of AI.
In 2026, commerce will thread itself even more tightly into the platforms consumers already use, whether they're watching TV, scrolling TikTok, or browsing a retailer’s site. Streamers will hunt for new revenues beyond subscriptions and ads, fashion shoppers will polarize toward luxury or low-cost, and TikTok Shop will transition from experiment to expectation. Meanwhile, creators will embed more directly into retail environments as brands seek safer, more strategic partnerships.
Next year will bring shifts that redefine how networks operate, how brands show up, and how performance is measured. Here are three predictions for commerce media in 2026.
28% of retail commerce media decision-makers in North America and Europe say they review and approve creatives manually but lack automation or dynamic capabilities, according to November 2025 data from Koddi and Forrester Consulting.
Deepfake scandal clouds enterprise rollout, raising flags on brand safety and buyer trust.
Reddit is leans into AI automation with its new Max campaigns. The new offering promises to cut CPAs and lift conversions, giving marketers efficiency relief as social CPMs rise sharply.
AI is moving from novelty to necessity in wellness tech with skin scans, therapy booths, and more.
Netflix’s 2026 ad plans revolve around WBD: The mega-merger would give the burgeoning ad business a major boost for years to come.
Disney will fully fold Hulu content into Disney+ by 2026, transforming Disney+ into a broader streaming portal spanning family programming, general entertainment, news, and sports. Hulu’s brand will remain intact inside the app, but its slowing revenue trajectory—expected to reach nearly $12 billion by 2027—has accelerated the logic for consolidation. The strategy becomes more important as Netflix pursues its takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, potentially creating the most powerful premium-content library in streaming. Disney must keep viewers inside its ecosystem longer, reduce churn, and strengthen its ad-supported tiers. Success depends on balancing Hulu’s adult content with Disney+’s family identity while expanding perceived value.
Asia-Pacific ad growth will remain steady in 2026 as momentum shifts to digital, retail media, and CTV. Rising demand for premium video contrasts with uneven expansion across fast-growing and mature markets.
Our analysts (or “bakers”) will compete in a Great British Bake Off–style episode, discussing how new standards will unlock agentic ad buying and selling, and how (and why) YouTube will benefit most from the surge in video podcasts. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, along with Senior Analyst Ross Benes and Principal Analyst Yory Wurmser. Listen everywhere, and watch on YouTube and Spotify.
At CES, Amazon is repositioning Amazon Ads as a full advertising ecosystem rather than a commerce-adjacent channel, emphasizing unified reach across TV, streaming, live sports, audio, and programmatic partners.
SoftBank and Alphabet acquire AI infrastructure in anticipation of a compute crunch that could limit access for businesses.
Chick-fil-A launches biggest-ever campaign amid QSR headwinds: The chicken chain is celebrating its 80th birthday with LTOs, merch, and a healthy dose of nostalgia.
Saks Global's high-risk bet on Neiman Marcus has backfired, saddling it with considerable debt, limiting its ability to compete and sending it spiraling toward bankruptcy.
News about delayed tariffs, activist pressure on retailers, and a failed JC Penney deal closed out 2025.
Voice assistants evolve into AI-first interfaces—blending conversation, context, and control across ecosystems.
Half of US adults say AI videos will push them away—raising risks for brands appearing near low-quality content.
T-Mobile’s orbit ambitions bring SMS to dead zones, expanding ad reach to highways, oceans, and rural users.
Many of the trends that dictated travel spending in 2025 will remain in play in 2026, including market bifurcation, AI influence, and anti-US sentiment.