# What Does Commerce Media Look Like Beyond Amazon? – Collin Colburn, IAB

S3 E19 · Jul 14, 2026 · 41 min

Why most retailers need a different strategy than Amazon, and why disclosure may beat standardized measurement.

### Show notes

Commerce media has become a $100B+ industry, but much of the conversation still assumes every retailer should build the next Amazon.

In this episode, Collin Colburn, Vice President of Commerce at the IAB, joins The Middlemen to discuss his new research, Building a More Competitive Commerce Media Ecosystem. We explore why most retailers need a different strategy than Amazon and Walmart, how interoperability and shared infrastructure can help smaller retailers compete, and why disclosure—not standardized measurement—may be the more realistic path forward.

#### What we cover

- The future of commerce media beyond retail
- The IAB’s work on in-store media standards
- Why retailers are incentivized not to standardize measurement
- Shared infrastructure and interoperability
- How smaller retailers can build sustainable commerce media businesses

#### Links from the episode

- [Building a More Competitive Commerce Media Ecosystem ↗](https://www.iab.com/blog/commerce-media-has-hit-day-two-now-what/)
- [See Collin at GroceryNext ↗](https://informaconnect.com/grocery-next/)
- [Shopper Purchase Rate (SPR) ↗](https://instoremarketplace.com/spr)