Key takeaways
- U.S. retail media ad spend is on track to reach $71.09 billion in 2026, creating more opportunities for CMNs to grow beyond the on-site inventory they own.
- Off-site social and connected TV (CTV) spend are outpacing on-site growth, proving the market is strong for CMNs that extend their first-party data across channels they don’t own.
- CMNs can extend the value of their shopper relationships beyond owned-and-operated (O&O) inventory by strengthening first-party data, building scalable audiences, expanding off-site activation, and connecting data with media through curation.
Amazon and Walmart command much of the market, but billions in retail media spend remain available to other networks. While the other 277 CMNs operating globally may not compete on scale, the playing field is level for using their data off-site.
The opportunity isn’t tied to any one capability. CMNs need infrastructure that connects first-party data and identity to activation and measurement, so they can extend the value of their shopper relationships beyond the data and inventory they own.
What CMNs need to know about moving off-site
O&O placements still offer stronger margins. On-site ad margins can reach 70-90%, compared with 20-40% off-site. But CMNs can sell only so much media across the properties they own. Moving off-site gives them another way to create media opportunities from their first-party shopper data.
Off-site commerce media uses a CMN’s first-party audience data to reach shoppers beyond the network’s O&O properties. That can include social, programmatic, CTV, and other media environments. Commerce media powered social ad spend is projected to reach $7.76 billion in the U.S. in 2026, with CTV close behind at $6.10 billion. For CMNs, that means the value of their shopper relationships doesn’t have to stop at the edge of their owned inventory.
Off-site media can bring those opportunities closer to the physical point of sale, too. Digital screens in places such as gas stations and convenience stores give CMNs another way to connect with shoppers near moments of purchase. Some of this inventory can be available programmatically, connecting these physical environments with a CMN’s broader off-site media strategy.
The infrastructure question: What off-site actually requires
When CMNs make their data available across the open web, CTV, or social media, their first-party signals need to connect with the identifiers used across those environments. Without that connection, less of a CMN’s audience may be available for off-site activation.
The financial stakes continue to grow. U.S. CTV ad spend is expected to reach roughly $38 billion in 2026, with most of it trading programmatically. A substantial share of open CTV programmatic spend currently goes to inaccurate identity data. Advertisers can improve the efficacy of their CTV campaigns by working with CMNs that have a strong identity infrastructure and relevant data.
Identity resolution helps connect a CMN’s first-party signals to additional addressable identifiers, making more of its audience reachable across environments. A consistent identity layer can then connect that audience to activation across channels and tie campaign exposure back to measurable outcomes.
CMNs don’t need to build that infrastructure themselves. Some may develop identity capabilities in-house, and others can work with a neutral infrastructure partner. A neutral infrastructure layer can connect first-party data, identity, activation, and measurement without competing for the CMN’s media or representing the buyers on the other side. That gives CMNs a consistent foundation across media environments without requiring separate data integrations for each partner.
How CMNs can take first-party data off-site
Early off-site activation has shown how CMNs can take their first-party data beyond O&O properties to help brands reach more shoppers across more media environments. To do that, CMNs need a way to connect their audiences to the platforms and media where brands want to reach them. The approach can vary based on how much technology, campaign execution, and media control the CMN wants to manage directly.
Four operating models have emerged:
The operating model may differ, but the underlying requirement is the same: CMNs need to connect first-party data with addressable identifiers so brands can reach those audiences beyond the CMN’s O&O properties. A segment that can’t match to addressable IDs may have limited off-site reach, and lower match rates can reduce the share of a CMN’s audience that a brand can reach across CTV or the open web.
Expanding beyond O&O: Onboarding and the addressability challenge
CMNs looking to extend the value of their data beyond O&O inventory should focus on two connected areas: strengthening their identity foundation, then onboarding and activating their audiences across more environments.
1. Strengthen your identity foundation
Before CMNs can activate audiences off-site, they need accurate, complete first-party data. Experian’s Offline Identity Resolution helps CMNs resolve first-party data to a consolidated consumer profile, reducing duplication and improving the accuracy of their audience data. Offline Identity Append adds additional information such as name, phone, and address to first-party data, helping CMNs build more complete audience profiles.
Together, these capabilities give CMNs a stronger data foundation for audience creation and activation.
2. Onboard, model, and activate audiences
CMNs may have limited direct integrations with the platforms where brands want to activate their audiences, which can restrict where their first-party data can go off-site. Onboarding connects C
CMN audiences to more activation destinations so advertisers can use those audiences across the open web, connected TV (CTV), social media, and other channels. Experian Onboarding connects first-party data directly to more than 70 programmatic, social, and TV platforms instead of routing through intermediaries. It runs on our identity graph with 4.2 billion active digital IDs refreshed weekly.
For smaller CMNs, audience modeling can help address another challenge: audience size. Modeling can expand a CMN’s existing segments to reach more people with similar characteristics, giving advertisers more scale while staying grounded in the CMN’s first-party data.
For CMNs, stronger identity data and broader activation can make more of an onboarded audience reachable, creating more opportunities for advertisers to build awareness, drive sales, and achieve other desired outcomes.
CMNs can pair onboarding with curation to bring data and inventory together, giving them more control over inventory quality and campaign execution. Experian Curated Deals supports this support this approach by helping marketers, platforms, and publishers create media opportunities that combine data and inventory in one place.
This combination gives CMNs a path from stronger first-party data to larger, more addressable audiences and broader activation opportunities.
A playbook for CMNs still building off-site
Networks developing an off-site strategy should focus on four priorities:
Across each of these priorities, the goal is connection. Experian provides the neutral infrastructure layer that connects a CMN’s first-party data and identity with activation and measurement across the media environments where advertisers want to reach shoppers. This approach helps CMNs expand their options while keeping their data and business relationships at the center.
For CMNs that can’t compete on owned inventory alone, off-site activation creates another path to growth. Stronger first-party data, scalable audiences, broader activation, and curated media opportunities can help CMNs make more of the shopper relationships they already have.
Grow your commerce media network off-site with us
About the author
Doug McLennan
Sr. Director, Product Management
Doug McLennan is the Sr. Director of Product Management at Experian Marketing Services where he oversees audience and activation products. His past work includes managing syndicated audiences at Oracle Data Cloud and building personalized video ad products at an agency. Doug lives in Colorado and skis as much as his family will allow.
FAQs
Off-site commerce media uses a CMN’s first-party audience data to reach shoppers beyond the network’s owned sites and apps. That can include CTV, social, and programmatic.
CMNs are investing in off-site advertising because O&O inventory has a natural limit. Off-site activation gives CMNs more opportunities to offer advertisers greater reach by extending their shopper data across channels, helping brands connect with audiences beyond the CMN’s owned properties.
Identity resolution gives CMNs a foundation for connecting first-party data to the addressable identifiers used across off-site media. Experian builds on that foundation as a neutral infrastructure layer, connecting first-party data and identity to activation and measurement without competing for the CMN’s media. This gives CMNs more flexibility in how and where they reach audiences across CTV, social, and programmatic channels.
Audience onboarding connects addressable audience segments to advertising platforms for activation. For CMNs with limited direct platform integrations, Experian Onboarding connects their first-party audiences to more programmatic, social, and TV platforms, giving brands more ways to reach those audiences through off-site campaigns.
A consistent identity foundation and regular audience refreshes can help CMNs maintain addressability as identifiers and household signals change. Experian is the neutral infrastructure layer that connects first-party data and identity to activation and measurement, helping CMNs extend their audiences across off-site channels while keeping their data and business relationships at the center.
CMNs can measure off-site campaigns by connecting media exposure across environments such as CTV and programmatic display to subsequent outcomes. Experian’s consistent identity foundation connects activation to measurement, helping CMNs tie ad exposure to actions such as online purchases, store visits, or other measurable actions and understand what’s driving campaign performance.
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In our Ask the Expert Series, we interview leaders from our partner organizations who are helping lead their brands to new heights in adtech. Today’s interview is with Georgia Campbell, Head of Strategic Partnerships at Kontext. What types of audiences does Kontext provide, and what are some top use cases for these insights in marketing strategies? Kontext leverages its 1st-party, deterministic shopping data to generate real-time online audiences. What sets Kontext apart is our ability to see the entire consumer journey, from shopping interest to intent and purchases, at a SKU-level. This comprehensive visibility allows us to create purchase-based audiences across various consumer verticals, such as frequent online shoppers, consumers shopping for beauty, segments using Mastercard, or Black Friday enthusiasts. Our data engine, built on a foundation of approximately 100 million consumer profiles and over 10 billion full-funnel, real-time shopping events, enables the creation of precise audience segments. This real-time 1st-party shopper data is invaluable for partners aiming to understand and engage with consumers more effectively. Whether a brand wants to activate past shoppers in a specific category or reach new audiences with a propensity to buy, Kontext provides the insights needed to make informed decisions. Some examples of audience types include these (and hundreds more): In-Market Shoppers: Consumers showing high intent to purchase specific categories, like skincare or electronics, based on recent online behavior. Past Purchasers: Shoppers who have made verified purchases within specific time frames, such as beauty products in the last 18 months. Frequent Shoppers: High-frequency buyers identified through repeated purchasing behaviors. Seasonal Shoppers: Consumers active during key shopping seasons, like Black Friday, Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, etc Premium Buyers: Shoppers who used a premium CC (eg. Amex) and a higher AOV (average order value) Beauty Buyers: an audience that has indicated intent to purchase beauty products (deterministic past purchasers also avail) By using Kontext data, brands can identify the right audiences across multiple verticals, such as retail, CPG, health & wellness, auto, business, energy & utility, financial, and travel. Additionally, our collaboration with Experian allows further refinement of these audiences through layered data from specialty categories like demographics, lifestyle & interests, mobile location, and TV viewing habits. How is Kontext’s data sourced, and what differentiates it from other data providers? Kontext’s data is unique because it is deterministic, 1st-party, and collected as transactions occur. We capture the entire path-to-purchase, down to the SKU-level product detail, across 100 million consumer profiles and more than 10 billion real-time shopping events. Our proprietary technology, embedded in widgets across our 5 million premium online destinations, tracks the full consumer journey—from reading an article of interest to clicking on our dynamic commerce modules, adding items to cart, and completing purchases. This real-time data collection ensures there is no lag between digital events and their connection to consumer profiles. Unlike other providers, we do not aggregate data from multiple platforms; instead, we focus on building our models and insights based on authentic online consumer behavior. Our data stands out due to its: Deterministic Nature: We capture 1st-party data as transactions occur (all in real time) Full-Funnel Coverage: We capture consumer journeys from awareness to purchase, providing a complete view of consumer behavior. Real-Time Insights: Our data engine processes events in real-time, enabling timely and relevant marketing actions. How does Kontext ensure the accuracy and reliability of its audience data? Kontext ensures accuracy and reliability through our unique technology and direct data sourcing. By not aggregating data from other platforms, we maintain control over the quality and integrity of our insights. Our continuous investment in refining our models around online consumer behavior further enhances the precision of our audience data. What types of brands or verticals might resonate the most with Kontext audiences for activation? Any brand looking to understand and activate online shopping behavior – informed by 1st-party transaction data – will resonate with Kontext audiences. Essentially, any vertical that benefits from understanding real-time shopping behaviors, such as retail, health & wellness, auto, and financial services, will find our data invaluable. We have particularly strong insights in beauty, hair care, health & wellness, and values-based online shopping habits, as well as the food & beverage space. Retail & Consumer Goods: Leveraging shopping behavior data for targeted campaigns. Health & Wellness: Identifying consumers with specific health and wellness interests. Automotive: Targeting potential buyers of electric vehicles or eco-friendly products. Financial Services: Engaging high-value shoppers with premium credit card usage. And many more How does Kontext’s data help advertisers navigate the challenges posed by the deprecation of third-party cookies? As third-party cookies become less reliable, Kontext’s 1st-party data becomes invaluable. Our deterministic data engine, which does not rely on cookies, offers: Direct Consumer Insights: Accurate and consented data directly from consumer interactions. Privacy Compliance: Our data collection methods are fully compliant with privacy regulations, ensuring secure usage. Cross-Device Coverage: We use verified digital identifiers, allowing seamless unification and targeting across multiple devices. What measures does Kontext take to maintain data privacy and compliance, and how does this benefit advertisers? Data privacy and compliance are fundamental to Kontext. We meet or exceed all privacy compliance and security standards, ensuring that our data sourcing and usage are transparent and comply with regulations (CCPA, CPRA, VCDPA, etc). Kontext prioritizes data privacy and compliance through: Consented Data Collection: All data is collected with explicit consumer consent. Robust Security Protocols: Data is encrypted and secured with industry-leading practices. Compliance with Regulations: We adhere to global privacy laws, including GDPR and CCPA. User Control: Consumers have the ability to opt-out and manage their data preferences. Can you share success stories / use-cases where advertisers significantly improved their campaigns using Kontext’s data? To give you a sense of how Kontext data can be applied, here are two use-cases: Beauty Brand Campaign: An agency hoping to activate an audience of beauty purchasers for a Major Beauty Brand could utilize Kontext’s custom audience of high-value beauty product purchasers. By targeting those consumers who had bought similar products in the last 12 months and had an average cart size of over $50, the campaign would significantly increase performance and ROAS. Electric Vehicle Launch: For a major auto manufacturer’s EV launch, Kontext could be used to identify eco-friendly consumers who had not yet purchased an EV but had shown interest in sustainable products. This precise targeting could lead to higher engagement and conversion rates for the campaign. Thanks for the interview. Any recommendations for our readers if they want to learn more? For those interested in learning more about Kontext, reach out for a personalized consultation. Contact us About our expert Georgia Campbell, Head of Strategic Partnerships, Kontext In her current role as Head of Strategic Partnerships at Kontext, Georgia plays a pivotal role in shaping the company’s strategic direction within the data space. With a deep-seated expertise in leveraging data to drive impact for companies, Georgia has been forging key partnerships that enhance the effectiveness and reach of Kontext’s offerings. Georgia comes from a background in emerging technology, where she has been focused on cultivating partnerships and employing data-driven approaches to spearhead market expansion efforts. She started her career in finance, managing investments across equity, debt, and alternative assets at Brown Advisory. In this Q&A, Georgia shares her insights on Kontext’s Onboarding partnership with Experian, offering perspective on how Kontext’s unique insights can unlock new opportunities for advertisers and brands alike. Latest posts
Experian’s solution for commerce media networks connects first-party shopper data with trusted identity, audience, activation, and measurement capabilities.