US omnichannel retail media ad spending will reach $129.93 billion by 2028, up from $54.85 billion this year, according to an EMarketer forecast.

Data from December 2023 from Skai and the Path to Purchase Institute shows that 81% of advertisers feel retail media is at least “very important” to their strategies.

Retail media websites such as Amazon and Walmart mainly sell products.

“Advertisers are still challenged by how complicated retail media advertising is due to the sheer volume of retail media networks and the lack of standardization over ad formats and measurement,” reported EMarketer.

Instacart is expanding its collaboration with Google Shopping Ads to include YouTube as it seeks to expand its offsite retail media capabilities.

Viewers who click on the advertisement will be taken to an Instacart product page, where they may order the advertised items for same-day delivery, reported EMarketer.

YouTube dominates media consumption: US adults spend an average of 36 minutes per day on the platform, beating Netflix, Hulu, and Facebook, according to an EMarketer forecast, making it an attractive target for advertising.

According to an EMarketer forecast, 87.9% of Gen Zers in the United States use social networks.

This places social media use only behind digital video viewing, but the margin will narrow over the next few years.

“US Gen Zers are most likely to be on YouTube, where 89.3% of the cohort spends time. That’s followed by Instagram (72.5%), TikTok (71.2%), and Snapchat (70.3%),” per EMarketer.

However, according to the report, advertisers should not overlook smaller sites such as Reddit, where Gen Z use is increasing, or Pinterest, where the number of US Gen Z users will equal that of millennials by 2028.

Though virtual reality use among Generation Z lags behind other forms of media, engagement is increasing, and advertisers should monitor the technology as applications become more accessible.

The number of mobile peer-to-peer (P2P) payment users in the United States will expand to nearly three-quarters (74.4%) of all smartphone users by 2028, according to an EMarketer forecast.

EMarketer expects the value of US mobile P2P payments to increase by 14.5% this year, hitting $1.224 trillion.

Gen Z’s adoption of mobile P2P payments in the United States will increase the fastest of any generation between now and 2028, although that growth will drop from 35.8% this year to 6.0% in 2028.

This means that the window of opportunity for marketing to Generation Z is closing, and P2P payment operators should instead focus on targeting Gen Alpha consumers, according to EMarketer’s US Mobile P2P Payments Forecast 2024.

Traditional search – excluding retail media search – will account for the largest percentage of US ad revenue this year, at $90.73 billion, according to an EMarketer March 2024 forecast.

“This year, spending growth on traditional search (8.6%) will trail behind retail media (26.0%), connected TV (CTV) (18.8%), and social (16.0%),” according to EMarketer.

The report noted that by 2026, advertisers will spend more money on social media than traditional search engines.

EMarketer’s March 2024 estimate predicted that Google will receive more than half (50.5%) of all search ad spending this year.

An EMarketer forecast for March 2024 indicates that global ad spend will increase by 9.0% this year.

Its growth is primarily driven by digital ad spend, which is expected to increase 12.2% year on year.

EMarketer’s March 2024 forecast predicts that digital will account for 70.0% of all media ad spend worldwide.

Nearly every country EMarketer tracks will increase digital advertising spending this year except for Argentina.
Global advertising spending will surpass $1 trillion next year.

Brands can no longer rely solely on the feed or Stories to attract users’ attention. According to EMarketers, they are popping up where people spend time, where running a typical ad is not an option, such as a post’s comments area or group chats.

Many users consider comments as crucial as posts when reading through social media. According to a YouGov survey conducted in March 2023, nearly half of US consumers (49%) stated commenting is one of the elements they would most like to see on their ideal social networking site.

According to EMarketer’s July 2023 US Gen Z Social Media poll, more than half (54.2%) of Gen Zers liked or commented on content via social media.

According to a YPulse poll conducted in February 2024, nearly half (45%) of 13 to 39-year-olds have questioned an influencer or normal person where a product in their video came from via a comment. And 75% of those aged 18 to 24 thought the comments section on social media posts provided the greatest recommendations.

Most major social networks, including Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok (the top three social advertising platforms), now allow advertising in search results.

However, when available, social search advertisements are not a stand-alone offering. They are offered as an extension of larger social efforts, according to an article published by EMarketer.

“Savvy advertisers are taking advantage of organic social search,” noted the report.

According to EMarketer, adding paid support to posts that perform well organically is a sensible next step.

A sizable proportion of small-business owners polled in January by Adobe Express said that a variety of TikTok content surpassed traditional search engine results.

According to a Baymard survey conducted in February 2024, nearly half (48%) of US adults abandoned their online shopping cart at checkout due to additional charges (shipping, tax, and fees).

According to EMarketer’s “The Ecommerce Delivery Opportunity” report, retailers can provide value to e-commerce customers by pushing bundles. These pricing models cover shipping expenses or reduce the dimensional packaging weight for best-selling products.

According to a ShipStation survey conducted in November 2023, more than a third (34%) of global consumers regard shipping costs as the most significant element when ordering online, while just 23% consider speed the most crucial.

“Consumers don’t want fast shipping. They want free shipping as fast as possible, and that’s becoming the baseline,” said EMarkerter analyst Blake Droesch.

The second most popular reason shoppers abandoned carts was that the website wanted the user to create an account. The third most common reason for not buying was a lack of trust to insert credit card information on the website.

Beauty and personal care shoppers of all ages in the United States are more inclined to shop in-store. However, Ipsos data from March 2024 shows that younger customers are more inclined to shop online than older ones.

39% of US consumers aged 55 and older purchase beauty products in-store from discount or warehouse retailers. However, younger consumers are less likely to do so. Purchasing things online for in-store pickup or through social media is more likely, reported EMarketer.

A November 2023 poll by EMarkerter found that US beauty shoppers are most likely to discover new items while shopping in-store.

However, when it comes to acquiring new items, US beauty customers prefer to do so online and on apps, according to the report.