Commerce

Why retail partnerships are so popular; advertisers aren’t satisfied with OpenAI’s ad measurement; and how US tax dollars ended up going toward pro-Trump ads.

“When I talk to advertisers, they want a level of insight and transparency that helps them still have important levels of control,” says Paula Despins, VP of measurement for Amazon Ads, Amazon Marketing Cloud and ads trust.

Amazon Ads has overhauled its DSP and the sponsored product and search-based ad console for on-platform ads, the company announced at its unBoxed event in San Francisco on Tuesday.

The agentification of Amazon Ads is underway. At its unBoxed ads industry event in San Francisco on Tuesday, Amazon announced a major ad tech overhaul, with its DSP turning into a default agentic chatbot experience.

Advertisers can now buy YouTube Shorts ads alongside open web inventory; Meta just wants to be wanted; and Meta’s Muse shows the danger of blindly trusting AI agents.

Upfluence guides brands through the process of finding and executing creator partnerships using its agentic system, Jaice.

Why AI commoditizes publisher content; credit cards are incorporating brand deals at the expense of exclusivity; and McDonald’s launches a media network.

Ad-free might not be free anymore; Amazon isn’t the only company hiding its transaction data; and the Paramount WBD merger continues.

Given how much the market has changed since the Google trial began, and the wiggle room in the ruling itself, publishers aren’t expecting much relief from the court’s behavioral remedies.

Indie agency KWG says sell-side curation can target more high-performing inventory with better match rates and lower data fees than buy-side curation.

Adapting other channels’ strategies might be what gaming platforms need to do to get advertisers comfortable spending more. Leaning into gaming’s differentiators will come later, after bigger budgets arrive.

It’s the end of an IPO era for ad tech; Business Insider looks for solutions to its cratering traffic; and Amazon and Walmart’s AI chatbots face criticism.

Walmart-owned Sam’s Club has a new AI-powered pitch for brands: Target the next purchase, not the last one.

Google tests out a “pay per value” AI licensing scheme; Netflix, Amazon and YouTube join forces; and Apple may soon launch integrations with third-party LLMs.

While Eric Seufert’s “everything is an ad network” mantra keeps being proven correct, a new truism is also taking shape: “Wherever an advertising business emerges, the measurement challenge follows.”

Two Big Tech moments capped the summer: The FTC sued Amazon over its kinda-sorta second-price auctions, alleging deceptive practices. And Judge Brinkema declared that Google will not have to spin off its ad server.

McGrath left Prebid in June following five years as board chairman after stepping down as SVP of product management at Magnite. But now, overseeing Prebid will be his full-time job.

Shunned by streamers, cable news builds its own app bundles; Grindr pays $35 million to settle a UK lawsuit over selling data to advertisers; and LG TVs can be hacked to record audio.

AI needs a babysitter: Google was outbid on Spirit Airlines’ data; and AI-generated food makes for terrible ads.

Buy-side experts said it’s another example of a Big Tech platform taking advantage of the lack of transparency built into programmatic ad auctions. And they’re not optimistic change is coming.

This week, the Commerce Media Newsletter catches up with a startup from outside the world of data-driven advertising, but with an interesting position when it comes to ecommerce advertising. That’s Clearco, a Canadian fin tech company founded in 2015.

AI is creating new problems for advertisers; Amazon Prime’s new privacy feature irks customers; and the Trump administration sides with OpenAI in the copyright lawsuit brought forth by the NYT.

The FTC sues Amazon, alleging ad auction manipulation; some agencies are hyping that their ads are made by humans; and more people are paying for ad-free streaming.

The second wave of retail media platforms are all about winning incremental new dollars. Plus: A peek into Validity’s “State of CRM Data Report 2026.”

Simon Property Group, the largest shopping mall operator in the world, is taking its biggest step yet into the world of data-driven advertising. On Thursday, the company launched Simon Media Network, its version of a retail media network.

TTD is introducing agentic AI workflow improvements and automated audience building, which are quickly becoming table stakes for programmatic platforms.

The potential for ads in robotaxis; Crocs is back to seeing year-over-year growth; and ad-free streaming tiers continue to grow more expensive.

What’s with the myriad of retail media networks?; YouTube offers creators millions to refuse deals with Netflix; and political advertisers get a free pass.

“We’re deemed a new bucket, so a testing category,” AppLovin CEO told investors regarding its nascent consumer and ecommerce ads business. “And to graduate up takes time. This stuff compounds over quarters and years.”

Cuisinart’s marketing team has been eager to take advantage of generative AI-based creative.