Top Trends to Watch in 2025

9 Pivotal Shifts in AI, Regulation, and Advertising That Will Change the Business Landscape

Report by Sky Canaves, Maria Elm, Jasmine Enberg, Bill Fisher, Rajiv Leventhal, Sarah Marzano, Evelyn Mitchell-Wolf, Carina Perkins, and Max Willens  | UPDATED: Nov 15, 2024
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Executive Summary
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Table of Contents
Executive Summary
1. GenAI will unlock the potential of predictive AI to supercharge business growth
2. Governments will push to curb digital ad giants’ power and protect kids
3. China’s ecommerce disruptors will get disrupted
4. The triumvirate of retail media, social, and AI will undercut traditional search
5. FMN launches will surge as FIs chase ad dollars
6. Mounting pressure will squeeze the long tail of RMNs
7. RMNs will wade into unfamiliar waters to satisfy advertiser demands for incrementality
8. Streamers and YouTube will take pages from each other’s playbooks
9. D2C will become a viable distribution channel for healthcare and pharma companies
Sources
Media Gallery
About This Report
From the rise of sophisticated AI-driven tools to new policies reshaping data privacy and competition, 2025 promises to be a year of relentless change. Companies that adapt will thrive, while others risk being left behind in a swiftly moving market.
Topics
Retail Sales
Technology
Digital Advertising
Worldwide
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
1. GenAI will unlock the potential of predictive AI to supercharge business growth
2. Governments will push to curb digital ad giants’ power and protect kids
3. China’s ecommerce disruptors will get disrupted
4. The triumvirate of retail media, social, and AI will undercut traditional search
5. FMN launches will surge as FIs chase ad dollars
6. Mounting pressure will squeeze the long tail of RMNs
7. RMNs will wade into unfamiliar waters to satisfy advertiser demands for incrementality
8. Streamers and YouTube will take pages from each other’s playbooks
9. D2C will become a viable distribution channel for healthcare and pharma companies
Sources
Media Gallery

Executive Summary

As 2025 begins to take shape, the business landscape is poised for notable change. The AI revolution continues, driving efficiency and innovation across sectors. Retail media is emerging as a dominant channel, transforming how brands connect with consumers. And regulation is tightening in areas like data privacy, child protection, and antitrust. In this dynamic, competitive environment, companies that adapt swiftly will be positioned to thrive in the new year.

This report covers the top nine trends to watch in 2025.

Here’s what’s in the full report

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Table of Contents

  1. Executive Summary
  2. 1. GenAI will unlock the potential of predictive AI to supercharge business growth
  3. 2. Governments will push to curb digital ad giants’ power and protect kids
  4. 3. China’s ecommerce disruptors will get disrupted
  1. 4. The triumvirate of retail media, social, and AI will undercut traditional search
  2. 5. FMN launches will surge as FIs chase ad dollars
  3. 6. Mounting pressure will squeeze the long tail of RMNs
  4. 7. RMNs will wade into unfamiliar waters to satisfy advertiser demands for incrementality
  1. 8. Streamers and YouTube will take pages from each other’s playbooks
  2. 9. D2C will become a viable distribution channel for healthcare and pharma companies
  3. Sources
  4. Media Gallery

Charts in This Report

Regulators Will Pay Close Attention to the Largest and Most Influential Platforms (top 10 companies, ranked by billions of net digital ad revenues worldwide, 2025)Retail Media Search Ad Spending Growth Accelerates While Traditional Market Stalls
Dozens of Retail Media Networks Are Fighting Over a Small Slice of the Pie (% of US retail media digital ad spending, by company, 2025)More Retail Media Advertisers Are Dedicating Resources to Measurement (% of US retail media advertisers, 2023 & 2024)
YouTube Has More CTV Viewers Than the Total Viewers of Any Video Platform Except Netflix (millions of US monthly viewers, by platform, 2025)Over Half of Marketers Believe GenAI Will Improve the Accuracy of Their Predictive Analytics (% of marketing executives worldwide who agree with each statement, July 2024)
Chinese Ecommerce Players Have Established a Presence Across Most of the Biggest Markets (top 10 ecommerce markets outside of China, ranked by billions in retail ecommerce sales, and availability of select China-based ecommerce platforms, 2024)FMNs Will Make Up Just a Fraction of Total Ad Spend—but Their Growth Will Be Enormous (billions in US financial media network (FMN) ad spending and % of digital ad spending, 2023-2026)
Medications Are US Consumers' Most Common Health-Related Online Purchase (% of US consumers, Dec 2023)

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First Published on Nov 14, 2024

authors

Sky Canaves, Maria Elm, Jasmine Enberg, Bill Fisher, Rajiv Leventhal, Sarah Marzano, Evelyn Mitchell-Wolf, Carina Perkins, and Max Willens

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