Commerce media maturity lags across industries despite $1.3 trillion growth

Commerce media networks across seven major industries remain in early maturity stages despite widespread adoption ambitions, according to a benchmark study released November 19, 2025, that assessed 788 decision-makers responsible for commerce media strategy and execution.

Koddi released its commissioned commerce media benchmark study conducted by Forrester Consulting, evaluating maturity across retail, travel and hospitality, financial services, transportation and logistics, real estate and home services, quick service restaurants, and automotive sectors. The findings show that while 42% of respondents describe their commerce media operations as operationalized or fully advanced, only 13% meet the criteria for "trailblazers" across strategy, technology, measurement and operations.

The research identifies a substantial gap between perceived and actual operational sophistication. Organizations with formalized programs often lack the integration, automation, and measurement capabilities required to operate at scale. Nearly half of respondents (49%) fall into the "nascent" category, running pilots or informal sponsorships without consistent frameworks.

Market potential drives strategic priority

Commerce media is projected to exceed $1.3 trillion by 2030, according to Koddi. The market sits at the intersection of media, data, and commerce, transforming transactional environments like retailer sites, booking platforms, and delivery apps into high-performing digital channels.

Networks are at different points on their paths to scale, ranging from early pilots to enterprise-grade programs. The study provides a playbook helping each industry apply best practices from one another, identify gaps to maturity and accelerate toward scalable commerce media networks.

Forrester conducted the online survey in July 2025, examining respondents from companies with annual revenues ranging from $500 million to more than $5 billion across North America and Europe. Respondents spanned marketing, monetization, operations, and data leadership roles.

The research establishes three maturity segments based on a framework anchored on four pillars: strategy and leadership, platforms and technology, measurement and attribution, and integration and operations. The overall maturity score stands at 2 out of a maximum of 5.

Retail leads but faces integration challenges

Retail emerged as the most mature sector with 22% classified as trailblazers, though most retailers lag in unifying their media ecosystems. Retail media is projected to capture 20% of global advertising revenue by 2030, representing approximately $300 billion according to research tracking the sector's expansion.

Despite strong foundations in data and partnerships, retail networks face automation and scaling challenges. Only 16% have achieved centralized or automated creative management, according to the study. Manual reviews and disjointed tools limit agility and prolong time to market.

Just under half (48%) report disconnected onsite, offsite, and in-store inventory. Sixty-three percent identify measurement as their biggest barrier, with few able to track incrementality or closed-loop attribution across online and offline sales.

Financial services excel in data, struggle with activation

Financial services networks achieved 26% stating they offer full-funnel commerce media, but this largely reflects rigorous data governance rather than complete media readiness. The sector excels at managing sensitive customer data responsibly yet struggles with agile, scalable media execution.

Eighty-seven percent of financial services respondents identify improving targeting and personalization using first-party data as a high or critical priority. Strong compliance and consent frameworks give them a durable advantage in privacy-focused landscapes.

However, regulatory approval and targeting remains a top barrier at 67%. Manual review reliance and long approval cycles stifle creative testing and iteration. Only 19% leverage AI-driven optimization, revealing limited media activation capabilities despite strong data maturity.

Nearly half (45%) are exploring cobranded placements in e-commerce checkout flows and embedded finance opportunities. These partnerships extend reach while preserving strict compliance standards.

Travel holds intent data but faces fragmentation

Travel and hospitality companies capture valuable consumer data from search to booking to loyalty redemption, yet only 8% qualify as trailblazers. Their challenge centers on converting rich intent signals into scalable monetization.

Sixty percent of travel networks activate during the discovery phase, 68% in the booking funnel, and 50% post-booking. This breadth of activation provides end-to-end visibility, creating foundations for omnichannel advertising.

Complex conversion paths remain problematic. Half cite long booking cycles and post-exposure attribution issues, making advertiser ROI difficult to demonstrate. Forty-five percent report disconnected inventory across onsite, in-app, and in-transit environments.

Retail media and connected television are converging as commerce media expands beyond traditional retail environments. Travel companies increasingly partner with payment providers and loyalty programs to improve measurement and targeting capabilities.

Transportation, real estate, QSR, and automotive lag behind

Transportation and logistics networks have real-time data but require unified governance, automation and integration to scale. Only 4% self-reported offering full-funnel commerce media. Fifty-nine percent prioritize first-party data personalization, recognizing the power of location, timing, and behavioral insights.

Real estate and home services have deep audience trust but need unified systems and automated workflows to monetize at scale. Only 15% are classified as trailblazers. Forty-seven percent report difficulty connecting buyer, seller, and service provider data.

Quick service restaurants have world-class transaction and loyalty data but remain in early test-and-learn phases. Only 14% said they offer full-funnel commerce media. Sixty percent of campaigns achieve their highest ROI by focusing on limited-time offers, making QSR media too tactical.

Automotive networks are rich in data but limited by fragmented execution. Only 3% qualify as trailblazers. More than half (51%) cite inconsistent or unavailable dealer data as a key obstacle, while 55% report no closed-loop measurement from exposure to sale.

Automation and integration separate leaders

Networks that centralize and automate campaign management accelerate time to market and unlock efficiency. However, most still rely on manual creative approvals and have disconnected tech stacks and uncoordinated workflows.

Only 12% can seamlessly activate and measure campaigns across onsite, offsite, and in-store environments, exposing the operational and data silos that limit omnichannel maturity. This represents a critical gap as programmatic infrastructure advances across retail media networks.

Eighty-seven percent of respondents identify improving targeting and personalization using first-party data as a critical or high priority. Eighty-six percent cite strengthening measurement and attribution to prove ROI to advertisers, signaling a clear shift toward accountability.

Advanced organizations scale quickly by forging strategic partnerships to unlock incremental endemic and non-endemic demand. Financial brands partner with checkout providers while travel brands collaborate with loyalty ecosystems.

Data and activation maturity rarely align

Industries are mismatched in their sophistication of data versus media. Financial services organizations excel in data compliance yet struggle with agile, scalable media execution. Travel companies activate broadly across discovery, booking, and loyalty phases yet struggle to unify data and prove ROI.

Nicholas Ward, president and co-founder of Koddi, stated in the announcement: "One of the most important insights in this study is how differently each vertical is maturing. Retail leads in media sophistication, while financial services lead in data. Both can offer insights that the rest of the industry can learn from."

The study examined how IAB Europe's standardization efforts address fragmentation challenges limiting sector growth. Unlike established digital advertising categories with mature measurement frameworks, commerce media has operated without fundamental industry standards.

Infrastructure holds back progress

Forty-two percent of respondents describe their programs as operationalized or advanced, revealing a wide "confidence-to-capability" gap. Legacy infrastructure, lack of automation, and messy measurement remain constraints.

Investment priorities focus on measurable outcomes and data-driven execution. Eighty-five percent cite driving incremental product sales as a critical or high priority, while 84% prioritize generating incremental media revenue, showing that growth depends on advertising efficacy.

Major platforms are adapting to meet commerce media demand. The Trade Desk enabled programmatic retail media buying through integration with Koddi's platform in October 2025, eliminating the need for separate campaign management across multiple networks.

Measurement as currency represents a fundamental shift. Strengthening measurement and attribution drives 86% of priority rankings, demonstrating networks' recognition that proving business impact determines their competitive positioning.

The research indicates every vertical faces the same maturity mandate: integrate, automate, and ensure accountability. Despite different starting points, all networks must unify data, automate execution, and prove impact through closed-loop measurement to advance.

Timeline

• November 19, 2025 - Koddi releases Forrester commerce media benchmark study showing only 13% of networks are trailblazers
• October 2025 - The Trade Desk enables programmatic retail media buying through Koddi partnership
• October 2025 - Mastercard launches commerce media network with $100 billion market potential
• October 2025 - IAB Europe updates retail and commerce media landscape map
• September 2025 - Topsort partners with Skai to expand global retail media reach
• September 2025 - Retail media projected to capture 20% of global ad revenue by 2030
• July 2025 - Pentaleap and Teads enable RTB for sponsored products across retail networks
• July 2025 - Forrester conducts commerce media maturity survey of 788 decision-makers

Summary

Who: Koddi commissioned Forrester Consulting to evaluate commerce media maturity across industries. The study surveyed 788 senior decision-makers from organizations with annual revenues ranging from $500 million to more than $5 billion, representing retail, financial services, travel and hospitality, transportation and logistics, real estate and home services, quick service restaurants, and automotive sectors.

What: A commerce media benchmark study revealing that only 13% of networks meet trailblazer criteria across strategy, technology, measurement and operations, despite 42% describing their operations as operationalized or advanced. The research identifies three maturity segments: nascent (49%), emerging (38%), and trailblazers (13%).

When: Forrester conducted the online survey in July 2025, with Koddi releasing the findings on November 19, 2025. The study examines commerce media's current state as the market approaches projected $1.3 trillion value by 2030.

Where: The research spans North America (United States and Canada) and Europe (United Kingdom, France, and Germany), examining commerce media maturity across seven major industry verticals with varying levels of operational sophistication and market readiness.

Why: The benchmark matters because commerce media networks sit at different points on their paths to scale, ranging from early pilots to enterprise-grade programs. The study provides a playbook helping each industry apply best practices, identify gaps to maturity and accelerate toward scalable commerce media networks. The findings reveal that most organizations recognize commerce media's potential to link ad spend directly to measurable outcomes, but few have built the infrastructure, automation, and measurement disciplines required to scale effectively.