Commerce Media's Day Two: The Agentic Shelf and the Measurement Reckoning

Retail media is now a $100 billion industry. Collin Colburn, VP of Commerce and Retail Media at the IAB, says we’ve entered commerce media's "day two" –  the era where operational integration, interoperable measurement, and the arrival of the agentic shelf matter more than launching another network.  We unpack why brands started calling retail media a tax, why Collin says we should blow attribution up, and whether an ad-supported agent can stay trustworthy. Welcome to Day Two Key takeaways: Optimization and integration replace growth-at-all-costs expansion. Brands call retail media a “tax,” sensing the industry's referee is now incrementality. Agent-referred shoppers convert higher and return less.  In-store media's ceiling is customer experience, not inventory: frequency caps beat non-endemic dollars. [14:05] "Agentic commerce isn't changing what consumers buy or want to buy today. It's changing their pathway to purchase." — Collin Colburn [19:35] “The coming reckoning is in the measurement space.” –– Collin Colburn [20:45] "Attribution was built for: an ad is served, it's clicked on or seen, the customer goes to the website, and they purchase. That model does not work well in this new era." — Collin Colburn [25:15] "AI feels objective to me for the most part… it's like your omnipotent friend that you never had. And when ads get introduced, it begs the question of, am I still gonna trust that agent?" — Collin Colburn In-Show Mentions: Commerce Media Has Hit “Day Two.” Now What?  EMarketer: IAB’s Collin Colburn on the Future of Commerce Media More about IAB Associated Links: VISIONS Summit, Nov 3 at MoMA Check out Future Commerce on YouTube Check out Future Commerce Plus for exclusive content and save on merch and print Subscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more about what we are witnessing in the commerce world Listen to our other episodes of Future Commerce Have any questions or comments about the show? Let us know on futurecommerce.com, or reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. We love hearing from our listeners! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.