E-retail evolves from lower-funnel conversions to storytelling: dentsu-e4m report 

E-retail platform advertising is rapidly emerging as one of the most powerful growth engines of India’s digital advertising ecosystem, signalling a fundamental shift in how brands approach media planning, performance marketing and consumer engagement.

According to the dentsu-e4m Digital Advertising Report 2026, advertising spends on e-retail platforms in India reached ₹17,601 crore by the end of 2025, accounting for 24.58% of total digital media spends. The category recorded a sharp 55.86% year-on-year growth over 2024, positioning e-retail advertising as one of the fastest-growing segments within the country’s digital advertising market.

The surge has been driven by the rapid expansion of marketplace advertising inventories, the growing sophistication of first-party data ecosystems, and rising brand investments in performance-led commerce advertising across categories such as FMCG, electronics, beauty, fashion, BFSI and consumer durables.

The report also noted that commerce and media are set to converge more deeply over the next two years, as retailers evolve beyond transactional platforms into full-funnel advertising ecosystems. E-retail platforms are no longer restricted to lower-funnel conversions; instead, they are increasingly integrating storytelling, discovery, transaction and closed-loop measurement within the same environment.

Unlike traditional digital channels—where video, search, social and shopping typically operate in silos—retail media unifies these touchpoints within closed-loop ecosystems. This enables advertisers to engage consumers seamlessly across awareness, consideration and conversion stages, while measuring downstream business impact with far greater precision.

The report attributed the full-funnel strength of e-retail advertising to three structural pillars. The first is real-time first-party consumer intelligence, generated through shopping behaviour, browsing patterns and content consumption, enabling sharper targeting, contextual relevance and campaign optimisation.

The second pillar is the emergence of integrated media suites, combining owned video and audio streaming inventory, influencer-led social amplification, open internet programmatic access and marketplace commerce touchpoints within a single ecosystem. Retail platforms are increasingly blending content, commerce and media rather than treating them as separate channels.

The third pillar is holistic measurement architecture, where brand health metrics, mid-funnel engagement indicators and conversion data—across both online and offline environments—are stitched together into unified reporting frameworks. This closed-loop measurement capability is allowing advertisers to move beyond vanity metrics and directly link media investments to business outcomes.

As retail platforms continue to scale their media capabilities, the report noted that e-retail advertising is poised to redefine digital planning models in India. Brands are increasingly viewing these platforms not merely as sales channels, but as core media partners operating at the intersection of data, distribution, content and commerce.

With nearly a quarter of India’s digital ad spends already flowing into e-retail platforms, the dentsu–e4m report underscored that retail media is no longer an emerging trend, it is fast becoming a foundational pillar of India’s digital advertising economy.