Retail media has transformed how brands measure success. As marketers increasingly prioritize performance-driven channels, publishers are being challenged to rethink their role in the commerce journey. This doesn’t mean that publishers are losing importance. Instead, it is a chance to adapt and show their value in a changing media world.
By building on what retail media has taught the industry, publishers have an opportunity to support the full consumer journey—from inspiration to action—without stepping into the role of a retailer.
The Shift in Media Performance Expectations
Over the last decade, digital media has moved from a reach game to a results game. eMarketer is projecting retail media to account for more than 20 percent of total U.S. digital ad spend in 2025, reflecting a broader shift toward platforms that can demonstrate direct impact on sales.
This evolution has challenged traditional publisher models. Where once marketers measured success by pageviews or impressions, today’s teams expect closed-loop attribution. They want to know not just who engaged, but what that engagement led to. Especially when it comes to purchases made at major retailers, where most consumer product sales still take place.
For publishers, this is both a disruption and a prompt: how can content environments become more accountable to outcomes, without compromising their integrity?
The Publisher Playbook: Adapting to Commerce & Retail Media Trends
Adaptation is nothing new for publishers. In fact, it’s central to their history:
- 2000s: As web traffic surged, publishers thrived on search and direct access to readers. Then social media platforms rose, reshaping where and how content was discovered.
- 2010s: Publishers adjusted, building social-first content strategies and expanding direct sales. But as algorithms shifted and influencer marketing grew, scale and predictability became harder to maintain.
- 2020s: The current wave of disruption is less about attention and more about accountability. Between privacy regulation, retail media growth, and generative AI, marketers are prioritizing platforms that offer measurable business impact.
This history shows that publishers have the capacity to evolve. The question now is how to participate in performance-driven marketing while staying true to their role as curators of high-quality content.
Enabling Shopping Without Becoming a Store
One of the most promising opportunities for publishers lies in creating content that doesn’t just inform or entertain, but also facilitates commerce—seamlessly, and on the consumer’s terms.
Rather than building out retail infrastructure, publishers can integrate with commerce platforms that connect content to checkout. This means:
- Maintaining a native experience: Keeping users within the publisher’s environment, while surfacing paths to purchase via trusted retailers
- Strengthening first-party data: Understanding audience behavior at a more granular level, such as which readers are actively shopping for certain products or categories
- Delivering actionable insights: Helping brand partners see how media efforts contribute to conversions, not just exposure
In this way, publishers can remain focused on what they do best—creating compelling content and building engaged communities—while supporting the commerce goals of their advertisers.
Why Brands Need Publishers in the Path to Purchase
Retail media isn’t going away. But its growth doesn’t mean publishers are sidelined. In fact, the opposite is true: brand marketers are looking for ways to complement their retail media investments with environments that offer storytelling, contextual relevance, and audience trust.
What’s been missing is the ability to tie those environments to downstream actions. When publishers can show how their platforms contribute to real-world sales—especially across major retailers—they provide marketers with a new kind of value: performance with context.
This isn’t about displacing retail media. It’s about broadening the ecosystem of influence, and helping marketers activate across the full spectrum of the shopper journey.
Building for the Future
The intersection of media and commerce isn’t just evolving—it’s expanding. For publishers, this means an opportunity to redefine their role in the path to purchase, not by competing with retailers, but by enhancing the journey. By integrating seamless shopping experiences, leveraging first-party insights, and proving impact beyond impressions, publishers can offer brands something uniquely valuable: performance paired with trust and context.
The next era of digital media won’t be ruled by platforms alone. It will belong to those who bridge inspiration and action—while staying true to their audience. With tools like MikMak’s Commerce and Insights APIs, publishers can unlock retail outcomes without sacrificing their editorial identity.
The question isn’t whether publishers belong in the commerce conversation, but how they’ll lead it. Ready to explore what’s possible? See how MikMak can help.