Commerce

It’s lawn season – and you know what that means. Scott’s Miracle-Gro commercials, of course. Except this time, spots for Scott’s will be brought to you by The Home Depot’s retail media network.

Sales are way up; ROAS is through the roof across search, social and ecommerce. At least, that’s what the ad platforms say.

In today’s newsletter: How the Amazon-TripleLift deal illustrates retail media’s need for standardization; legacy publishing brands persist as investors extract value from their name recognition; and mortgage lenders get caught sharing data with Meta.

In today’s newsletter: Google’s generative search experience launches in the US; kid-focused brands worry Instagram is serving their ads to predators; Fox hypes clean rooms and shoppable TV at the upfronts.

Expedia Group, the online travel agency giant, is here for the retail media revolution.

BuzzFeed took another lap around its AI-related talking points as its advertising business took another lap around the drain.

In today’s newsletter: Companies looking to sell data target the US market; which media companies to bet on at TV upfronts; and generative AI data licensing is the new publisher revenue stream.

Roblox CEO David Baszucki said advertising “will not be material this year” during the company’s Q1 earnings call on Thursday.

This week, the AdExchanger Commerce newsletter caught up with Mark Heitke, Best Buy Ads vet and new VP of strategy at Symbiosys, a retail media tech biz with a new take on search advertising.

Disney Advertising links up with Walmart Connect to let advertisers match Walmart’s and Disney’s first-party data for audience-based bids on Disney+ and Hulu inventory.

Amazon unveiled three new interactive ad units for Prime Video, all of which are shoppable, ahead of its TV upfront debut.

In today’s newsletter: Closing arguments begin in the DOJ vs. Google Search antitrust trial; the sports betting ad bubble might be set to burst; and Etsy struggles to stand out among ecommerce competitors in audience scale and marketing spend.

Criteo split out its retail media segment revenue for the first time during its earnings report on Thursday.

This week, the AdExchanger Commerce Newsletter catches up with Shopify, which, in the past couple of years, quietly became one of the most important players in online advertising, despite rarely being thought of in the category.

In today’s newsletter: Online news revenue is being throttled around the web; Roblox is on a mission to build a $1 billion ad business; and TikTok is circumventing the Apple App Store’s 30% fee by directing users off iOS to purchase TikTok coins.

Roblox’s head of immersive media Ashley McCollum explains how the online gaming giant built its ad platform with demand for programmatic video in mind. And she previews Roblox’s ambitions to grow an ecommerce platform for real-world purchases.

Ibotta’s evolution since it was founded 13 years ago – it went public last week – is emblematic of the industry’s overall transition from third-party data marketplaces to first-party and retail media data.

In today’s newsletter: The marketing data ecosystem is key for fin tech; media buyers acknowledge YouTube as part of their TV strategies; and Threads will launch ads later this year.

American consumers are buying more and more online products directly from Chinese manufacturers. It’s an important change, though many online shoppers are unaware.

In today’s newsletter: The European Data Protection Board outlaws Meta’s “Pay or OK” model; Walmart sharpens its conquesting tools; and Roku seeks more ad supply.

Television commerce, or T-commerce, is similar to shoppable TV: both refer to buying something you see on television. But shoppable TV is far more nascent – and also has different implications on attribution.

US digital ad revenue grew at a slower rate in 2023 compared to 2022, hampered by inflation, climbing interest rates and advertising industry layoffs, according to the IAB/PwC Internet Advertising Revenue Report released Tuesday.

A booze brand and a “headless commerce” platform walk into a meeting with the CFO. That might sound like the setup for a punchline, but it’s just how mar tech works these days.

In today’s newsletter: The FTC finalizes order barring Outlogic from selling location data; even Snap is sending publishers less referral traffic; Chase Bank’s advertising (and ad tech) opportunities.

Enjoy this weekly comic strip from AdExchanger.com that highlights the digital advertising ecosystem … 

In today’s newsletter: The quantum entanglements of Google’s and Reddit’s contracts could come under scrutiny; Meta’s ad revenue growth is healthy, though its ad platform’s a mess; and TikTok’s developing AI-generated creators for advertising.

In today’s newsletter: Shoppable TV needs a better reason to exist; Disney+ will roll out password-sharing bans worldwide this summer; and “Bluey” is a huge hit, but Disney doesn’t make much from it.

TV ad buying platform Cadent acquires AdTheorent, setting its sights on omnichannel. Also in this episode: The less-than-kosher attribution game that retail media networks are playing with brands.

Big streamers aren’t joining the JIC, which could spell trouble for the broadcaster-backed organization; Spotify raises prices again; Chase gets into retail media.

In today’s newsletter: AppLovin raises $144 million and buys video shopping app Flip; Google agrees to disclose that it collects data from Incognito users; and why Trader Joe’s is (and isn’t) the Shein of grocery stores.