59% of Advertisers See Retail Media as a Full-Funnel Channel

Despite rising advertising investments, 82% of advertisers are yet to fully integrate their marketing activities, highlighting gaps in measurement, media planning and cross-channel coordination.

Advertisers Struggle to Connect Marketing Investments

Higher advertising expenditure does not automatically translate into more effective marketing. A joint playbook by Amazon Ads, Marketing + Media Alliance (MMA) India and WPP Media highlights how Indian advertisers continue to face challenges in connecting brand-building activities with measurable business outcomes.

Titled From Fragmentation to One View: A Marketer’s Playbook for Full-Funnel Growth, the report found that 82% of surveyed advertisers had not yet fully implemented a full-funnel marketing strategy.

The research, conducted by MMA India among 126 advertising decision-makers in July and August 2026, also found that greater spending does not necessarily result in more mature marketing practices.

Among advertisers investing over ₹200 crore annually in digital advertising, 14% described their full-funnel execution as unsuccessful or not attempted. By comparison, the figure stood at 4% among advertisers spending between ₹50 crore and ₹100 crore.

These findings indicate that budget size alone cannot ensure marketing effectiveness. Brands must also coordinate their channels, teams and measurement systems to create a connected consumer journey.

Measurement Remains a Major Challenge

The report identifies fragmented measurement as one of the biggest obstacles to full-funnel marketing. Around 67% of respondents cited the lack of unified measurement as a barrier, while 69% expressed a need for better cross-channel attribution.

Modern consumers interact with brands across multiple platforms before making a purchase. They may discover a product through online video, research it on social media, compare options on a marketplace and eventually purchase it online or in a physical store.

When marketers evaluate campaigns primarily through the final click or conversion, they risk overlooking the earlier interactions that helped generate awareness and influence the buying decision.

The playbook references WPP Media’s Touchpoint India study, which found that the number of touchpoints responsible for 80% of the total influence on purchase decisions in the non-food consumer packaged goods category increased from 12 in 2018 to 21 in 2024. Meanwhile, the influence of the top 15 touchpoints declined from 85% to 68%.

The findings underline the growing complexity of consumer journeys and the need for measurement systems that assess the collective contribution of different marketing channels.

Sairam Ranganathan, head of commerce at WPP Media India, notes that marketers have traditionally treated brand-building and performance marketing as separate functions. Retail media, however, creates opportunities to connect consumer discovery and product consideration with measurable sales outcomes.

Retail Media Expands Beyond Conversions

The report found that 59% of advertisers now view retail media as a full-funnel solution. Of these, 47% see it as increasingly relevant for awareness and consideration, while 12% use it across awareness, consideration and conversion. Another 25% continue to regard retail media primarily as a lower-funnel channel focused on conversions and sales.

Traditionally associated with sponsored product listings and search advertisements, retail media is expanding into video, display advertising and creator-led content. These formats allow brands to engage consumers earlier in the buying journey while maintaining links to commerce outcomes.

The playbook also draws on WPP Media’s econometric modelling across consumer packaged goods categories, which identified e-commerce as the largest contributor to both volume sales and brand KPIs within the analysis.

For brands with significant contributions from commerce to both sales and media spending, the report estimated impacts of 10–12% on brand awareness, 18–20% on consideration and 20–25% on offline sales.

Investment intentions further reflect this shift. According to the survey, 55% of advertisers plan to increase retail media spending in 2027, while 80% expect to raise investment in video and social or creator marketing.

Retail Media Spending Continues to Grow

Retail media's expansion is being driven by a combination of budget reallocations and fresh investments, according to Ranganathan.

While overall advertising expenditure is growing by approximately 8–10%, retail media is expanding at an estimated 25–30%. Marketing and sales budgets, once managed separately, are increasingly converging as brands seek stronger connections between advertising exposure and commercial performance.

Categories such as FMCG, mobile handsets and electronics are witnessing stronger growth in retail media investment. White goods are also gaining traction, despite historically relying more heavily on mass-media advertising.

As brands increasingly prioritise measurable outcomes, retail media is becoming an important component of broader media-planning strategies.

Can Smaller Advertisers Achieve Full-Funnel Success?

The findings also challenge the assumption that larger advertising budgets automatically lead to better marketing execution.

Large advertisers benefit from greater spending power, wider reach and established operational structures. However, coordinating multiple teams across brand marketing, performance advertising, commerce and measurement can make integrated execution more difficult.

Smaller advertisers may be able to experiment more quickly because they often have fewer organisational layers. However, limited resources and smaller budgets can also restrict their ability to test different strategies.

The report does not suggest that smaller brands are inherently more effective. Instead, it highlights the importance of strategic coordination, shared objectives and reliable measurement, regardless of company size.

For smaller businesses, a practical approach could involve targeting a clearly defined consumer segment and testing connected campaigns before increasing investment. Larger advertisers may need to prioritise collaboration between fragmented teams and unify their measurement systems.

Evaluating full-funnel campaigns also requires more than conversion metrics alone. Awareness, consideration, purchase and loyalty should be assessed through appropriate indicators and viewed collectively.

Commerce Is Becoming Central to Media Planning

Ranganathan describes the emerging model as a “connected commerce ecosystem”, in which marketplaces and quick-commerce services have reduced the distance between advertising exposure and purchasing.

Integrations between content platforms and commerce services are creating opportunities for consumers to explore products or move towards a purchase while engaging with digital content.

Examples discussed in the playbook include interactive advertising opportunities involving JioHotstar, Amazon and Instagram. Features such as add-to-cart functionality and QR codes on connected TV advertisements can help viewers move from watching content to exploring products on marketplaces or quick-commerce platforms.

These developments could make purchasing more convenient while helping advertisers establish clearer connections between media exposure and commerce outcomes.

Retail media also presents an opportunity for direct-to-consumer brands seeking to expand beyond their existing digital audiences. As these businesses mature, reaching new consumer segments becomes increasingly important for sustained growth.

For established brands that have traditionally relied on television and digital advertising to build awareness, retail media can provide additional ways to connect brand-building investments with sales.

The Road Ahead for Full-Funnel Marketing

As consumers increasingly shop across marketplaces, quick-commerce platforms, direct-to-consumer websites and traditional retail outlets, brands must adapt to a more connected purchasing environment.

The Amazon Ads, MMA India and WPP Media playbook highlights that full-funnel marketing is not simply about increasing budgets or adding more advertising channels. It requires coordinated planning, consistent measurement and a clear understanding of how each consumer interaction contributes to business growth.

For advertisers, the next phase of marketing effectiveness will depend on integrating brand-building, performance advertising and commerce into a unified strategy that delivers both long-term brand value and measurable business results.