Rokt Outlines 2026 Digital Commerce and Media Trends at Transaction Moment

The Digital Commerce and Commerce Media Outlook for 2026 signals a major rethinking of how brands engage consumers at the point of purchase, as relevance and trust overtake scale as the primary drivers of growth. Rokt has released its annual outlook detailing five trends that will redefine how digital commerce media evolves in the year ahead, with the transaction moment emerging as the most valuable point in the customer journey.

Ecommerce continues to expand rapidly, with more than 300 billion dollars in United States sales recorded in the second quarter of 2025 alone. Against that backdrop, Rokt predicts that 2026 will represent a turning point where brands move away from volume driven tactics toward more intelligent and intentional experiences built around confirmed customer intent.

“Commerce media has reached an inflection point,” said Elizabeth Buchanan, Chief Commercial Officer at Rokt. “Brands and retailers are recognizing that scale without control leads to saturation, diminishing returns, and frustrated consumers. What will win in 2026 are experiences that feel intentional, helpful, and designed around the highest-value moment in the customer journey: the transaction.”

At the center of the Digital Commerce and Commerce Media Outlook is the idea that checkout is no longer just a functional step. Rokt expects brands to treat checkout as the most valuable moment in commerce, where intent is explicit and trust is highest. Rather than crowding this stage with generic offers, companies will prioritize quality and relevance to protect long term customer relationships.

“Checkout is where intent is confirmed, not assumed,” Buchanan said. “It’s the single most valuable signal in digital commerce, and in 2026 we’ll see brands treating it accordingly.”

The report also forecasts a shift away from chasing impressions toward smarter signals rooted in first party data and real purchase behavior. As marketing efficiency declines across crowded digital channels, advertisers will rely more heavily on contextual intelligence and fewer but more meaningful touchpoints. “2026 is the year marketing teams stop asking, ‘How many impressions did we deliver?’ and start asking, ‘Was this moment meaningful?'” Buchanan added.

Organizational change is expected to follow. Rokt predicts that commerce and media teams will increasingly converge, breaking down internal silos to manage checkout, loyalty, onsite media, and customer experience as a single growth engine. Loyalty strategies will also evolve, moving closer to the transaction moment by offering relevant benefits during checkout rather than only after a purchase is completed.

Another defining theme is restraint. As consumers grow fatigued by cluttered digital environments, Rokt expects intentional white space to become a competitive advantage. Brands that remove noise and focus on relevance will stand out in a market saturated with competing messages.

“This year, the smartest brands will win by doing less, but doing it with far more relevance,” Buchanan said.

Taken together, the Digital Commerce and Commerce Media Outlook highlights how 2026 will reward brands that rethink the transaction moment as a strategic asset. By aligning media, data, and experience around confirmed intent, companies can drive stronger performance while rebuilding trust in digital commerce environments.