Navigating the Complexity of Omnichannel Integration in Commerce Media

As the commerce media landscape continues to grow and evolve, today's brands face increasingly complex challenges.

Most brands are focused on creating seamless experiences that connect every touchpoint in a shopper's journey. However, they must also synchronize data from separate sources to properly measure the effectiveness of each of those touchpoints.

For brands that advertise through commerce media, attribution and measurement can be a significant challenge due to silos, proprietary agreements, and a lack of integration between brands and the retailers through which they advertise.

Here, we’ll explore how brands are overcoming omnichannel integration complexity to unify disparate channels, data streams, and measurement systems into a cohesive and measurable strategy.

Understanding the Scale of Omnichannel Complexity

Commerce media now spans an expansive ecosystem of customer touchpoints. For example, a shopper’s purchase journey could include all the following steps:

• Obtaining a subscription to a connected TV (CTV) channel
• Discovering a product through a CTV ad
• Researching the product through a search engine
• Reading product reviews on social media
• Comparing product prices on Amazon
• Checking availability at their local store
• Speaking with an in-store representative about the product
• Making the purchase in-store or through a retailer's mobile app

At Commerce Media Brand Summit (CMBS) 2025, a leader from a major technology platform shared this about the sheer size and complexity of today’s channel environment.

"Two of the major challenges we encounter often are the fact that there are so many different channels to consider, and it can be difficult to allocate resources appropriately,” they said.

"It can be challenging to decide where to move budgets to achieve incremental growth and get the best results.”

The proliferation of touchpoints has created both opportunity and complexity. The growth of commerce media is encouraging for both brands and channel owners. Brands must work with their advertising partners to synchronize necessary data and establish clear standards for attribution and measurement.

Achieving Omnichannel Integration in a Fragmented Data Environment

Each retail media network operates with its own data formats, measurement methodologies, and reporting standards. This creates what experts call "walled gardens,” which are closed systems that don’t necessarily "speak” to systems outside of themselves.

This can make it difficult for brands to create unified views of their advertising performance across platforms, partners, and channels.

"Every retail media network has a different way to look at incrementality,” said one speaker at CMBS 2025.

"Because of the different methodologies, all the results look wonderful, and nothing ever looks bad. What we want to do is standardize all of that."

The challenge extends beyond just measurement. Brands must manage different creative requirements, various audience targeting capabilities, and inconsistent attribution windows across platforms.

Breaking Down Integration Barriers

Successfully navigating omnichannel complexity requires addressing three critical barriers: data integration, operational alignment, and measurement standardization.

Data Integration Challenges

Modern commerce media generates massive amounts of data from multiple sources. The challenge lies not in collecting this data, but in making it actionable across all channels.

One marketing leader at CMBS 2025 explained the reality: "We are getting a lot of reporting from all our different retail media partners and from our different agencies, but then it’s up to us to merge all of that.”

However, organizations are finding success by doing the following:

• Creating centralized data lakes that consolidate information from all touchpoints
• Implementing unified customer profiles that track behavior across channels
• Building live dashboards that connect advertising activity to point-of-sale data
• Establishing single sources of truth for performance measurement

Achieving these steps requires brands to work with their partners on attribution agreements, data governance standards, and more.

Operational Alignment Issues

Perhaps the most significant challenge brands face is organizational. Traditional structures often separate brand marketing, shopper marketing, e-commerce, and sales teams. Each department has its own budget, goals, and success metrics.

"Even though I work in marketing, we actually have separate budgets for different goals across the entire customer journey,” said one marketing leader at CMBS 2025. "One budget is for marketing activities focused on building the brand, while another is specifically dedicated to retail media.”

Nonetheless, there are steps brands can take to break down these silos. According to practitioners, the following steps can help:

• Cross-functional collaboration between previously separate teams
• Unified measurement frameworks that work across all channels
• Shared goals and nbsp;that align with different stakeholders
• Regular communication processes that keep all teams informed of campaign performance

Technology Integration Complexity

The technical challenges of omnichannel integration are substantial. Different platforms often use varied data formats, have unique functionalities, and may not naturally communicate with each other.

Some of the key technical hurdles include:

• System compatibility issues requiring specialized APIs to resolve
• Data inconsistency leading to errors in product availability or pricing
• Security concerns when integrating multiple platforms
• Scalability challenges as data volumes and campaign complexity increase

Measurement and Attribution Headaches

Finally, one of the most persistent challenges in omnichannel commerce media is measurement. Brands struggle to understand the true impact of their investments across multiple channels and touchpoints.

The complexity of measurement stems from several factors, including the following:

• Inconsistent attribution windows across different platforms
• Lack of standardization in how metrics are defined and calculated
• Cross-device tracking limitations that miss parts of the customer journey
• Walled garden restrictions that limit access to comprehensive data
• Organic versus paid performance mixing that inflates teams’ understanding of incrementality

To address these measurement complexities, organizations need to establish unified measurement frameworks that standardize attribution windows and metric definitions across all platforms. They can also invest in first-party data collection and customer identity resolution systems to overcome cross-device tracking limitations.

Additionally, implementing incrementality testing methods and negotiating for better data transparency with partners can help isolate true paid performance impact. Ideally, it will also provide a more complete view of the customer’s journey.

Microsoft Builds Its Own "Omnichannel Retail Media Platform”

Microsoft has made significant investments in omnichannel retail media integration. According to a report from 2023, Microsoft launched plans to build an omnichannel retail media platform to compete directly with Google and Amazon.

The company introduced the Microsoft Retail Advertising Network and began piloting in-store retail media solutions through its PromoteIQ platform.

By 2024, the company had launched its Retail Media Creative Studio as well, leveraging its years of work integrating AI into its platform. The company described it as "a comprehensive, end-to-end banner ad creative solution tailored for retail media.” Users can use the solution, which is powered by generative AI, to create banner creative easily.

Microsoft also partnered with Vibenomics to create in-store audio advertising solutions, reaching over 170 million monthly unique shoppers in the US. A pilot campaign with an unnamed advertiser resulted in 40% higher household spend and 50% share of category results when combining onsite and in-store advertising.

Importantly, Microsoft focused heavily on accurate measurement, "providing unified reporting and attribution.”

Microsoft's vision is to create an omnichannel retail media solution that integrates onsite, offsite, and in-store channels.”

The Future of Omnichannel Integration

The complexity of omnichannel integration will likely continue to grow as new channels emerge and consumer behavior evolves. However, advances in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data management are creating new opportunities to simplify and optimize these complex systems.

The brands that succeed in this environment will be those that build the organizational capabilities, technology infrastructure, and measurement frameworks needed to navigate it effectively. The challenge is significant, but so is the opportunity for those willing to invest in getting it right.