Anyone leading commerce strategy at a consumer-facing brand already knows that the industry is in a state of flux. They can see the volatility in their quarterly reports and the shifting dynamics of retail media.
What is less evident is where to find the next "pocket of demand." During MikMak’s recent Commerce Growth Summit, MikMak Founder and CEO Rachel Tipograph noted that the industry is currently at a "precipice moment." As consumer attention fragments and data privacy continues to evolve, the strategies that built the billion-dollar brands of the last decade will not be the ones they need to continue growing into the future.
The patterns emerging in early 2026 provide a clear playbook for how brands must evolve their planning, activation, and optimization to capture incremental growth. Based on discussions with brand leaders during the summit, four shifts are emerging that will shape commerce media strategy this year.
