Nili Klenoff, Executive Vice President of Commerce Media and Innovation at Mastercard, has highlighted the limitations of traditional retail media networks (RMNs) and positioned the company’s newly launched Mastercard Commerce Media network as the solution for advertisers seeking trustworthy, incremental results in an increasingly fragmented landscape.
In commentary reflecting on the rapid evolution of commerce media, Klenoff noted that while RMNs have driven explosive growth— with projections approaching $100 billion in ad spending by 2028—marketers are increasingly demanding proof that investments yield true incremental sales rather than merely claiming credit for organic purchases.
“Advertisers are eager to tap into first-party data and shopper proximity, but many remain frustrated by the lack of standardization in measurement across networks,” she said, citing Forrester research commissioned by Mastercard that identifies improving return on ad spend (ROAS) as the top priority for brands.
Klenoff emphasized a critical gap in the ecosystem: with 83.7% of U.S. retail sales still occurring in physical stores, conventional digital metrics often fail to capture offline impact. Single-retailer RMNs, while valuable, are constrained by their own ecosystems, potentially overlooking broader consumer behavior. Mastercard Commerce Media addresses this by leveraging anonymized, aggregated, and consent-based insights from roughly 160 billion transactions processed in 2024, combined with reach to 500 million enrolled consumers.
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“Mastercard Commerce Media goes beyond attribution to prove true incrementality, directly linking ad exposure to completed transactions—online and offline—through proprietary card-linking technology,” Klenoff explained. Early advertisers across retail, travel, dining, and other categories have achieved up to 22X ROAS, she added.
Looking ahead, Klenoff outlined three guiding principles for the maturing ecosystem: data must be actionable, scale must feel personal through brand-safe, engaged environments like banking apps and airline portals, and measurement must be transparent and trustworthy. She also pointed to growing momentum for intermediary models, with eMarketer forecasting 27.2% growth in intermediary ad spend in 2025—outpacing retail media (18%) and overall commerce media (19.5%).
“Full-scale commerce media that spans industries, geographies, and transaction types will help businesses future-proof their marketing and deliver measurable value on the balance sheet,” Klenoff concluded, underscoring Mastercard’s cross-industry reach as a differentiator in the next wave of commerce media innovation.
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