Fifteen of Mars UnitedSM Commerce’s most experienced thought leaders from across our many practices examine the trends that will shape the retail industry in 2025 — along with the things we think should, but probably won’t.
To read the full analysis of each prediction, download the full report
by filling out the form below at the bottom of this page.
Amy Andrews | Chief Business Strategy Officer
What Will Happen:
Connected Commerce will become Relationship Commerce.
What Should Happen (but probably won’t):
Long-term planning will catch up to the speed of commerce.
Kandi Arrington | EVP, Customer Development
What Will Happen:
Cross-retailer media planning will expand.
What Should Happen (but probably won’t):
Retailers will help brands plan across the enterprise.
Michael Bond | VP, Ecommerce
What Will Happen:
Ecommerce retailers will move toward the DTC model.
What Should Happen (but probably won’t):
The in-store experience will be properly replicated online.
Bobbi Bowers | Executive Creative Director
What Will Happen:
We’ll witness an even stronger evolution toward “retailer as brand.”
What Should Happen (but probably won’t):
The distinction between “above the line” and “below the line” will cease to exist.
Victoria Cromie | Managing Director, Canada
What Will Happen:
Canada will enjoy a level playing field in retail media offerings.
What Should Happen (but probably won’t):
Measurement practices will align across Canada, too.
Courtney Crossley | VP, Commerce Media
What Will Happen:
Self-service retail media management will become the standard.
What Should Happen (but probably won’t):
Data sharing will follow suit.
Steve DeVore | Chief Creative Officer
What Will Happen:
We’ll see more examples of retail media networks inside the physical store.
What Should Happen (but probably won’t):
Marketers will begin applying DCO to in-store messaging.
Craig Elston | Group SVP, Strategic Planning & Analytics
What Will Happen:
1. Experiential retail will proliferate.
2. Gen Z will become larger than Gen X.
What Should Happen (but probably won’t):
The greenwashing of sustainable and ethical practices will end.
Ethan Goodman | EVP, Global Digital Commerce
What Will Happen:
Brands will take control of retail media management.
What Should Happen (but probably won’t):
Retail media and merchandising will become more aligned.
Kelly Kachnowski | Senior VP, Product Strategy
What Will Happen:
In-store media will become more measurable.
What Should Happen (but probably won’t):
Marketing will shift back toward the shopper experience.
Julia Miller | Group VP, Commerce Media
What Will Happen:
Retail media networks will deepen ties with commerce media partners
to enhance the shopping experience.
What Should Happen (but probably won’t):
TikTok will become part of every brand’s launch toolkit.
Rob Rivenburgh | Global CEO
What Will Happen:
Ideas & Creativity will become focal points for retail media.
What Should Happen (but probably won’t):
Growth in retail media spending will come back down to earth.
Michele Roney | EVP, Retailer CX
What Will Happen:
Retail media networks will realize that they are B2B companies.
What Should Happen (but probably won’t):
The industry will solve in-store measurement.
Prabhpreet Sidhu | VP, Analytics
What Will Happen:
Generative AI and democratized analytics
will fuel hyper-personalized, data-driven commerce strategies.
What Should Happen (but probably won’t):
We’ll gain industry-wide data governance and standardization.
Katrina Smart | VP, Digital Commerce — Europe
What Will Happen:
In-store digitalisation will start to scale.
What Should Happen (but probably won’t):
The European marketplace will standardise.
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