The first era of retail media was about proving that retailer data and inventory could become a meaningful advertising business.

The commerce media era expanded that model beyond traditional retailers, bringing travel, transportation, financial services, restaurants, marketplaces, and other consumer platforms into the market.

The next era will be defined by collaboration.

Most commerce media networks cannot win by trying to recreate Amazon or Walmart on their own. Their data may be valuable, but it is often incomplete. Their inventory may be differentiated, but it may not be large enough. Their measurement may be strong within their own ecosystem, but weak once the consumer completes a purchase somewhere else.

The networks that win will be the ones that combine complementary data, inventory, audiences, experiences, and measurement to create something no individual network can offer alone.

The premise is simple: The future is not one commerce media network with every capability. It is multiple networks working together.