João Werner, CEO of VTEX Ads Platform explores the evolution of Commerce Media.

The greatest risk for Commerce Media is becoming just another place to advertise. The industry has come a long way since the first sponsored products appeared at the top of search results. Today, Commerce Media can connect brands with consumers at different moments throughout the journey and, most importantly, turn shopping interactions into actionable business intelligence.

The challenge now is to make these two things happen in an integrated way. After all, consumers do not shop in a straight line. They research, compare, talk, visit a store, check their phones, change their minds, come back days later and, at some point, make a purchase. Often, they do not even realise they have moved across different channels and touchpoints within the same journey.

For the companies behind those channels, however, these interactions should not be treated as isolated touchpoints. Each one generates signals about what consumers are looking for, considering and buying.

The true potential of Commerce Media lies precisely in connecting these signals. It is an important shift in perspective. Instead of thinking only about which advertising spaces can be sold, the organisations that operate these touchpoints start thinking about which data can help brands make better decisions while also improving the shopping experience.

First-party data plays a central role in this transformation. Browsing information, purchase history and behaviour across owned channels make it possible to build audiences based on real consumer relationships. But the value of this data is not simply in finding someone to target with an ad.

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