2025 Predictions: Social Feeds and Stores Will Be The Power Duo Transforming Retail Media

SPECIAL EDITION ALERT!

Instead of my standard newsletter every day this week, I will release one trend that marketers and business leaders need to consider as we get closer to 2025.

Marketing is evolving faster than ever—changing more in the last five years than in the previous two decades. As we head into 2025, staying ahead of the curve is essential. That’s why I’m sharing five bold predictions to help marketers and business leaders prepare for what’s next.

Prediction 1: The Death of Search as We Know It—AI and Social Will Redefine Discovery

Prediction 2: Virtual Worlds Are The New Frontier for Marketing and Commerce

Prediction 3: CTV Will Become the Hub for Performance Marketing

Prediction 4: Social Feeds and Stores Will Be The Power Duo Transforming Retail Media

Social commerce is not just a talk track of the future. It's very much here. US retail social commerce sales will pass the $100 billion milestone in 2025, a 22.4% increase from 2024. Additionally, approximately?70%?of Gen Z shoppers are likely to make purchases directly on platforms like TikTok, and this year alone, TikTok?tripled?its US shopping sales, generating more than $100 million on Black Friday. TikTok also drew a 165 percent annual increase in shoppers for the two days between Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

The evolution of social commerce and social partnerships with RMNs is redefining the consumer journey by combining the discoverability of social media with the immediacy of retail media, creating seamless and interactive shopping experiences. Walmart, Amazon, Dollar General, and others have partnered with social platforms to leverage their first-party data, extending their reach to customers on social media and enabling seamless purchases without leaving the platform. However, social isn't only about pushing RMNs forward. Yes, on the one hand, social integrations with retail media networks (RMNs) are expanding their reach, leveraging social media's discovery power to enhance retail-focused advertising and commerce experiences. Social platforms are proving indispensable allies in driving RMN success, offering brands new ways to merge content, discovery, and purchasing into seamless customer journeys.

On the other hand, social platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Pinterest are becoming standalone commerce hubs independent of RMNs. These platforms are not only places for discovery and research—where 67%??of social media users research products before buying—but also direct transaction ecosystems. Innovations like TikTok Shop and search ads have propelled TikTok to the forefront, with one-third of users browsing or buying on TikTok Shop weekly. Similarly, Instagram and Pinterest are doubling down on discovery-to-purchase integrations, solidifying their positions as integral players in the eCommerce ecosystem.

By 2025, the lines between retail media and social commerce will blur further as these platforms drive growth in product discovery, customer engagement, and direct sales. To stay competitive, brands must adopt dual strategies: leveraging RMN integrations for broader reach and harnessing the full potential of social platforms as independent commerce engines.

As consumers increasingly shop where they discover products, brands must double down on their social commerce strategies by investing in platform-specific advertising, enhancing video-driven storytelling, and optimizing their social storefronts for direct transactions. For marketers, this means reallocating budgets toward short-form videos, influencer collaborations, and search features within these platforms to stay competitive. As Gen Z and Millennials drive this shift, social media will evolve into an all-encompassing ecosystem where the lines between entertainment, discovery, and commerce blur. Brands that fail to integrate these trends risk being left behind as consumer behavior moves firmly toward shopping as a social, mobile-first experience.

The evolution of retail media networks (RMNs) is also expanding beyond digital, with physical retail spaces emerging as key drivers of growth. As shoppers increasingly demand seamless and personalized experiences, RMNs are transforming brick-and-mortar stores into dynamic, programmatic environments. Digital signage, audio ads, and smart shelf labels are now commonplace, using real-time data to adjust content based on factors like local weather, time of day, and even inventory levels.

In the past, in-store RMN discussions were few and far between, but now, in-store retail media ad spending is projected to hit $1 billion by 2028. While we all know that in-store environments play an important role in the shopper journey, particularly for impulse and high-consideration purchases, in the past, it was hard to quantify. However, recent innovations in attribution and measurement have addressed concerns, enabling retailers to justify the increased budget allocation. Major RMNs like Walmart and Target now integrate ad impressions and in-store placements with both online and in-store sales data, providing a unified view of performance and enabling brands to optimize campaigns seamlessly across all channels. Outside of holistic measurement, retailers are leveraging even more advanced analytics tools. For example, CVS and Instacart are leveraging technologies such as digital screens, smart carts, and programmatic audio to gather actionable data on shopper behavior, informing campaign effectiveness down to the aisle level. Vibenomics' partnership with CVS allows advertisers to run hyper-local audio campaigns that change based on weather or traffic patterns, with precise measurement of how these ads influence in-store purchases.

As in-store retail media continues to grow, it offers an increasingly attractive ROI for advertisers, and on average, in-store retail media delivers engagement rates that are 183% higher than digital-only campaigns. This performance is a key driver of the reallocation of budgets toward in-store investments. As brands and sellers continue to be able to track and optimize for ROI, expect more brands to be present in stores this year. With retail media networks expected to generate over $60 billion in revenue by 2025, brands investing in in-store media today are likely to reap outsized rewards as the channel matures. By integrating in-store activations into their overall retail media strategies, advertisers can capture and influence more consumers on their purchase journey.

Megan Conahan is a 19-year veteran of the digital marketing industry. Over the last 19 years, she's consulted with Fortune 1000 brands on negotiating the ever-changing demands of the digital marketplace and creating unique solutions to set them apart. Megan is an EVP at Direct Agents, an independent and minority-owned digital marketing agency. If you want to chat about marketing support or just talk shop, please message me or email [email protected]