At some point, the industry stopped arguing about whether content drives commerce and started living in the reality where the two are indistinguishable.
“Content, commerce and technology are really coming forward in a special way and recognition that there aren’t disparate separate systems any longer,” says Cara Pratt, president of global retail and media at Circana. “There really is one connected, cohesive, intelligent ecosystem that is fueling discovery, fueling conversion and purchase.”
Speaking with The Drum at CES 2026 in Las Vegas, Pratt explained that the most important shift happening right now isn’t a new channel, format or device; rather, it’s the collapse of the walls that once kept media, retail and technology neatly separated. In other words: the funnel has evolved from a line into a live system.
From shoppable TV and creator-led social commerce to immersive experiences across screens, Circana is seeing how entertainment has become a serious commercial accelerant, as it changes how people discover, decide and buy – often all at once.
“Entertainment really is having a massive impact,” Pratt explains, pointing to sports, creators and live experiences as key forces shaping consumer behavior. “It becomes about entertaining and connection and creating a sense of community.”
The data backs it up. Circana estimates that TikTok Shop alone is already influencing around 1% of total US retail and 3% of e-commerce, with outsized impact in categories like beauty and personal care. It’s a signal of where commerce is heading.
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But this convergence comes with consequences for how brands show up. Consumers now expect content to move seamlessly across small screens, large screens – often both at the same time – and still feel relevant.
“That level of accessibility, adaptability, flexibility and constant consumption of content through screens is what consumers expect,” Pratt said. “That’s just where we now have to sit and create and connect.”
Behind the scenes, this puts pressure on an industry infrastructure that wasn’t built for such fluidity. Measurement, data flow and accountability all depend on one thing: interoperability.
“The ad tech supply chain has been fractured over time,” says Pratt. “We can only understand the efficacy of a dollar invested through interoperability and through partnership.”
For Circana, the future of content-led commerce is going to be delivered through “real relationships, trusted relationships, appropriately governed data, and the right responsible use of data.”
Looking ahead, Pratt sees an even more fundamental shift coming, one that changes where commerce happens and how decisions are made. As machine-driven systems increasingly influence discovery and purchase, metadata becomes the engine behind growth.
She doesn’t believe this will be a catalyst of massive change in 2026 or even 2027, but by 2028-29, absolutely believes “that trillions of dollars can be flowing through agentic decision-making,” she says. “That’s an exciting space for everybody to learn from.”
The takeaway? Content becoming commerce isn’t a trend that marketers should be chasing but a structural change already underway. Brands that succeed will be the most connected: to data, to partners, and to the experiences consumers actually value.
To hear Cara Pratt unpack what this means for brands, retailers and the future of commerce media in her own words, watch the full CES conversation here.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.thedrum.com ’
