Brand leaders should first protect the investment that supports profitable sales of priority products, strategic keyword coverage, and important retailer occasions. They should also preserve acquisition activity that demonstrably brings in new buyers. Commerce, shopper marketing, and sales teams can agree on these priorities by reviewing each campaign's contribution to business goals and the likely consequences of reducing it.

At the 2026 Commerce Media Brand Summit, Shanteria Jones, Director, Shopper Marketing at Chobani, described how her team connected retail media expectations to company priorities: "We know a lot of our enterprise goals focus on units and the new buyers; that translates into the KPIs that we have for our RMNs." Her team had identified strong reported returns alongside excessive targeting of existing buyers, prompting them to reassess audiences and spending levels. For leaders facing cuts, that experience highlights why protecting customer acquisition deserves explicit consideration during budget reviews.

Across the conference's budget discussions, brand leaders emphasized defending profitable online share through hero products, priority keywords, and retailer occasions connected to broader brand plans. They also described coordinating retail media with upper-funnel activity, giving teams a reason to examine how a proposed cut could affect demand across their marketing mix.

Bring commerce, sales, finance, and brand colleagues together to identify the products, audiences, and retailer occasions they consider essential to the next planning period. For each investment, document its commercial role, supporting performance evidence, and the risk of a reduction. Ask your analytics team to help estimate the spending needed to sustain priority outcomes, and agree on review dates and recovery thresholds before making cuts.

Join the next Commerce Media Brand Summit to learn how brand-side leaders prioritize retail media investment and protect growth through tighter budgets.