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.
Connecting signals
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. It lies in better understanding the context of that interaction and what it can reveal about the business.
This also changes the conversation around results. There is still a tendency to look at each channel separately: how much a campaign generated in ecommerce, how much an initiative drove to the store, how many clicks an ad received. The problem is that consumers do not experience the journey this way. If someone discovers a product on one channel, researches it on another and makes a purchase later, which of these moments was responsible for the decision? The answer does not always lie in a single touchpoint.
That is why measuring Commerce Media increasingly requires the ability to connect exposure, behaviour and sales, while also recognising the limitations of models that attribute the entire result to a single interaction. This is, in fact, one of the central discussions in the sector’s current measurement guidelines.
The importance of integration
Integration, therefore, is not just a technological issue. It changes the quality of decisions. A campaign may show that a particular product has more potential than expected. A change in search behaviour may signal an opportunity within a category. Purchase behaviour may indicate that an audience that initially appeared less relevant responds well to a particular offer. When this information is no longer siloed across teams or channels, media begins to generate intelligence for commerce.
This is where artificial intelligence moves beyond being merely a promise of efficiency. The better structured and connected the data is, the greater the ability to identify patterns, automate analysis and support decisions at scale.
Technology can help identify opportunities, optimise campaigns and personalise experiences, but it does not replace the quality of the information it receives. AI without context can accelerate a bad decision. Connected data can help make it better.
What comes next?
The next stage of Commerce Media, therefore, will not necessarily be about having more formats, more ads or more inventory. It will be about knowing what to do with the information generated by each interaction.
For brands, this means having greater clarity about where and when to invest. For the organisations that operate consumer touchpoints, it means going beyond audience monetisation and turning consumer knowledge into a competitive advantage. For everyone involved, it means bringing media closer to a question that should be at the centre of any strategy: what does this interaction teach us about the business?
Commerce Media began as an opportunity to monetise media spaces within retail environments. But it can become something much bigger. When media data connects with behavioural and transaction data, the organisations involved are not simply selling advertising. They are building an infrastructure capable of connecting investment, behaviour and results.
And perhaps that is precisely where the true future of Commerce Media lies: less about how many ads we can serve and more about how many better decisions we can make based on them.
About the Author
João Werner is the CEO of VTEX Ads Platform, a Commerce Media platform that helps companies connect media investments to measurable business outcomes. With extensive experience in technology and the sector, he leads VTEX Ads’ innovation strategy, helping thousands of brands enhance their sales through integrated and scalable digital media solutions. João established his pioneering role in the market as co-founder of Percycle, the first company focused on Retail Media in Brazil (acquired by Linx in 2017), where he led the development of performance solutions for e-commerce. Recognised for his strategic vision and focus on results, João is a reference in the global digital advertising and ecommerce ecosystem.
