Early 2025 is shaping up to be a year of big shifts. The U.S. business landscape is evolving fast—some industries are thriving, while others are adjusting to new realities. For marketers, this means one thing: adaptability is everything.
Consumers are rethinking how they spend, and businesses are tweaking their strategies to stay ahead. That puts performance marketers in the hot seat — needing to prove ROAS while keeping up with fast-moving trends.
So, what’s changing? And, more importantly, how can you stay ahead? Here are the biggest performance marketing trends to watch in 2025:
Connected TV (CTV) and streaming OTT platforms are becoming essential for performance marketers. Streaming ad spend is surging – local CTV/OTT ad spending alone is forecasted to grow by 20% from 2023 to 2025, reaching $2.8 billion. Global forecasts show double-digit CTV growth (~13-14%) in 2025, as more brands shift budgets into streaming video.
This trend is fueled by lower ad costs and precise targeting options on platforms like Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime Video. In fact, streaming CPMs have dropped to ~$38-40 (down from $60 on Netflix in 2022), making CTV viable for SMB advertisers who can now afford what was once “big brand” TV space . Agencies report many SMB clients reallocating 15-20% of their ad budgets from linear TV to CTV to reach local audiences with more granular targeting.
Digital advertising in 2025 is evolving with new formats and cross-channel opportunities. Platforms that were once ad-free (e.g. Netflix, Disney+) have introduced ad-supported tiers, expanding inventory for marketers.
By doing so, they joined peers like Hulu and HBO Max in offering tiered options with commercials. This shift has proven popular: by Q4 2024, (up from 21% a year earlier). Netflix’s own “Basic with Ads” tier, for example, saw about in that period.
The introduction of these ad tiers on once ad-free platforms highlights a broader industry trend of balancing subscriber growth with advertising dollars.
“Shoppable” content is everywhere: social media posts, streaming platforms, and even podcasts integrate instant shopping features. These interactive ads enable viewers to engage and even purchase directly from their TV. For example, brands are adding QR codes to CTV ads that viewers can scan with a phone to visit a product page or claim an offer. The payoff is huge: 72% of CTV viewers in a recent survey said they would scan a QR code in a TV ad to make a purchase.
These tactics lower the friction between seeing an ad and buying the product, effectively turning TV commercials into instant storefronts. Interactive CTV campaigns are driving higher engagement and, ultimately, more conversions. With big-screen immersive impact plus digital-like targeting and shopping features, CTV is becoming a cornerstone of performance marketing in 2025.
Influencer marketing continues its steady march from a trendy tactic to a core strategy for performance marketers. By the end of 2025, an estimated 86% of U.S. marketers at companies with over 100 employees will be using influencer marketing as part of their mix.
Brands are projected to spend roughly $9.3 billion on influencer campaigns in the U.S. in 2025, a 14% increase over 2024’s $8.1 billion (Shopify). This surge is driven by the ability of influencers to deliver targeted reach and authentic content that resonates with consumers, often translating into direct sales. Notably, marketers are moving beyond vanity metrics to a more performance-driven approach – tracking clicks, conversions, and ROI from influencer collaborations, sometimes via affiliate links or promo codes.
Social media platforms play a pivotal role in this trend. Instagram remains the top platform for influencer marketing, thanks to its visual nature and shopping features. But brands are also investing heavily in TikTok and YouTube influencers to tap into younger audiences and the explosive growth of short-form video. This multi-platform approach allows brands to meet consumers where they spend the most time.
At the same time, the focus is shifting to micro-influencers and authentic content. Influencers with smaller, niche followings often drive higher engagement and conversion rates than mega-celebrities. In fact, influencers with very large followings (10M+ fans) see only about a 1.6% engagement rate on their posts, whereas those with much smaller followings can achieve around 8% – roughly 5× higher engagement.
These micro-influencers may not have millions of followers, but their audiences are highly targeted and trust their recommendations, which leads to more meaningful actions. Brands in 2025 are forging more long-term partnerships with such creators and emphasizing authentic storytelling over glossy ads.
Affiliate marketing complements this evolution by ensuring that influencer partnerships are tied to performance outcomes. By giving influencers unique referral links or discount codes (an affiliate strategy), brands can directly attribute sales to specific creators and reward them accordingly. This fusion of influencer and affiliate marketing means that in 2025, more marketing dollars flow to campaigns that demonstrate measurable results. The bottom line: influencer marketing has matured – it’s data-driven, multi-platform, and performance-focused, making it a key lever for both brand and direct-response objectives.
Social media is no longer just for discovery – it’s now a full-fledged commerce platform. In 2025, shopping directly through social apps (social commerce) is set to explode. Globally, social commerce sales are forecast to reach about $1.2 trillion by the end of 2025, roughly triple the levels of just a few years ago. That would account for roughly 1 in 6 of all e-commerce sales worldwide, underscoring how significant this channel has become. In the United States, social commerce is on track to hit nearly $80 billion in sales by 2025, about 6–7% of total U.S. e-commerce – a share that’s growing each year.
Platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Pinterest have heavily invested in shopping features to capitalize on this trend. Instagram and Facebook (Meta) offer Shops and in-app checkout, allowing users to buy products featured in posts or ads without leaving the app. TikTok launched TikTok Shop and shoppable live streams, blending entertainment with instant purchasing. Pinterest expanded its Buyable Pins and integrated with retailers to make the inspiration-to-purchase journey seamless. Even messaging apps and YouTube have added shopping capabilities (e.g., product tags in videos). These integrations mean that consumers can move from browsing to buying in a frictionless flow while they scroll their feeds.
Several factors are driving the social commerce boom:
Younger consumers (Gen Z and Millennials) are extremely comfortable with discovering and buying products on social platforms. They spend hours a day on TikTok and Instagram, so it’s natural to shop there; 51% of Gen Z in the U.S. spend at least 4 hours on social media daily, and many now search for products on TikTok or Instagram before Google.
Social platforms use algorithms and data to personalize product recommendations, which can boost conversion rates.
Influencers and user-generated content fuel social commerce by providing social proof – seeing a favorite creator or friend buy something increases confidence for other buyers.
The result is an increasingly streamlined path to purchase: social media is becoming a shopping hub. See a makeup tutorial on TikTok? Tap, buy, done. Spot a stylish outfit on Instagram? Swipe up and check out in seconds. Live shopping, influencer partnerships, and platform-specific strategies (think Instagram Shop or TikTok’s shopping feeds) make buying effortless. In 2025, social commerce will be a powerhouse for both reach and conversions.
Retail media networks – advertising platforms run by retailers like Amazon, Walmart, and others – are capturing a growing share of marketing budgets. In fact, U.S. retail media ad spending is forecast to more than double from about $54.8 billion in 2024 to $129.9 billion in 2028. At that size, retail media would comprise roughly one-quarter of all U.S. advertising spend by 2028. For comparison, it was around 14% of total ad spend in 2024, per industry estimates.
The appeal of retail media lies in its high-intent audiences and measurable results. These networks enable brands to advertise to shoppers who are already in a buying mindset – for instance, a cereal brand can promote its product on Walmart’s website when someone searches for “breakfast foods,” or a beauty brand can run ads on Sephora’s app knowing the viewers are actively shopping for cosmetics.
Because the retailer controls the point of sale, they can provide closed-loop attribution – linking ad impressions directly to purchases. This means a brand can see that a certain ad led to, say, 500 product page views and 50 purchases, with actual sales revenue tracked.
Amazon is the heavyweight in this space – its advertising business (ads on Amazon’s search results, product detail pages, Fire TV, etc.) is huge and still growing. But 2025 is seeing wider retail media adoption beyond Amazon. Walmart Connect, Target’s Roundel, Kroger Precision Marketing, and others are expanding their offerings. Even travel and ride-hailing companies like Uber and DoorDash have introduced ad platforms to monetize their apps. The result is a proliferation of opportunities for brands to buy retail media ads programmatically, often via self-serve platforms. This democratization means even mid-sized and smaller brands can dip into retail media with modest budgets, targeting relevant consumers in contexts where they’re ready to buy.
For agencies and advertisers, a key trend in 2025 is integrating retail media into the omnichannel strategy. It’s no longer siloed – the data from retail campaigns (e.g., which keywords drive conversions on Amazon, or which products are popular in Target’s ad network) can inform broader marketing efforts.
Likewise, brands are coordinating messaging: a customer might see a sponsored product ad on Amazon, a commercial on Hulu, and a follow-up email or social ad – all synchronized to guide the shopper down the funnel. With retail media networks delivering strong return on ad spend and granular analytics, this channel is becoming a must-have in the performance marketing toolkit.
With increasing privacy regulations and the deprecation of third-party cookies, 2025 demands a privacy-first approach to marketing. Several new state-level privacy laws (similar to California’s CCPA) take effect in 2025, adding complexity for U.S. marketers. Globally, regulations like GDPR continue to enforce strict data consent and usage rules. In this new environment, first-party data has become more valuable than ever. In fact, according to eMarketer, 80% of marketers are already leveraging first-party:
This means the vast majority of companies are investing in collecting data directly from their customers – through things like website analytics, CRM systems, loyalty programs, surveys, and mobile apps – to fuel their marketing insights and targeting.
First-party data is gold because it’s information customers have shared with you (often willingly), and using it doesn’t carry the same privacy risks as buying third-party data from brokers. Brands in 2025 are leveraging this data to build rich customer profiles and segments. For example, an online retailer might use its first-party data to identify a segment of high-value customers who purchase frequently, then create lookalike audiences based on those attributes for ad targeting. Or a media company might use first-party behavioral data (like articles read or videos watched) to serve more relevant ads to its site visitors.
Zero-party data – data that customers proactively hand over, like preferences or product feedback – is another piece of the puzzle, as it often indicates strong purchase intent or loyalty when customers volunteer information.
At the same time, consumer privacy expectations are higher. Users are increasingly aware of how their data is used and many use ad blockers or opt-out mechanisms (like Apple’s App Tracking Transparency) to limit tracking. Marketers are responding by being more transparent and offering value in exchange for data. Accenture’s global Financial Services Consumer Study showed that about 60% of consumers are willing to share their data if they understand how it will be used and what benefits they get.
This has given rise to more visible consent forms, preference centers, and clear messaging about data usage. For example, a brand might explicitly tell users, “Share your email and preferences to get personalized deals – and we won’t spam or sell your information.”
Building that trust is now directly tied to performance: if customers trust you with their data, you can market to them more effectively.
With third-party tracking limited, marketers in 2025 are also turning to new measurement and targeting methods. Contextual targeting is seeing a renaissance – ads are placed based on the context of content (for instance, running a travel ad on a travel blog) rather than individual user profiles.
Last-click attribution is less reliable in a world where many touchpoints are hidden or untracked. In response, marketers are turning to holistic measurement models. Marketing mix modeling (MMM) is resurging as a way to analyze performance by correlating spend and results across channels using statistical models. Even digital giants are offering free tools here – for example, Meta’s open-source Robyn and Google’s Meridian help advertisers run MMM analyses to gauge channel contribution. These tools can estimate the incremental impact of each channel, helping you optimize budget allocation.
Publishers and platforms are offering cohort-based targeting and clean rooms where aggregated data can be used for insights without exposing personal info. Google’s Privacy Sandbox is introducing Topics API and other tools to target ads in a privacy-safe way.
Additionally, companies are revisiting marketing mix modeling and incremental lift tests to gauge performance without user-level tracking. These approaches use aggregated data and statistical models to estimate the contribution of each channel or campaign. While these techniques existed before, they’re becoming essential in 2025 to measure what can’t be directly observed due to privacy restrictions.
Incrementality testing is another strategy: this involves structured experiments (like hold-out groups or geo-based tests) to see what lift an ad campaign truly provides beyond the baseline. For instance, you might show ads in one region and not in a similar region to measure the difference in sales – that difference is the incrementality due to ads. This kind of testing is becoming crucial for validating channels like CTV or influencer campaigns where direct click data might be sparse. Additionally, companies are investing in conversion modeling (using AI to fill gaps in conversion data lost from iOS privacy changes or cookies) and server-side analytics to capture events with user consent.
Advances in artificial intelligence are revolutionizing performance marketing in 2025. AI and machine learning tools are enabling hyper-personalization, predictive analytics, and marketing automation at a scale that was not feasible just a few years ago. Marketers are embracing these technologies en masse – 87% of marketers have used or experimented with AI tools, and 68% are using AI regularly in their daily work (according to The Conference Board Survey).
Machine learning models can analyze customer behavior and purchase history to predict what an individual is likely to want next, then automatically deliver targeted content or offers. For example, if an e-commerce system sees that a customer recently bought camping gear, an AI might predict they’ll need a sleeping bag next and serve an ad or an email featuring sleeping bags. This next-best product recommendation approach can significantly increase upsell and cross-sell rates. Importantly, this level of personalization is no longer exclusive to tech giants – the tools have become more accessible.
Many CRM and email marketing platforms now have built-in AI features, allowing even small and mid-sized businesses to segment audiences and trigger personalized messages automatically. Essentially, affordable AI-as-a-service platforms are leveling the playing field, so an SMB can implement recommendation engines or automated chatbots without a huge data science team.
Generative AI is transforming the way marketers create content, making it faster, more scalable, and highly personalized. In 2025, AI tools are not only generating ad copy and social media content but also producing images, videos, and even voiceovers, allowing brands to streamline creative production. Marketers can now test multiple ad variations dynamically, optimizing campaigns in real time based on audience engagement.
One area where this innovation is making a significant impact is TV advertising. AI-generated TV commercials are becoming a practical solution for businesses looking to scale video campaigns without traditional production costs. This makes TV advertising more accessible, especially for SMBs and agencies looking to run campaigns on streaming and broadcast platforms.
Search behavior is undergoing a major transformation as users increasingly turn to AI assistants like ChatGPT and Perplexity instead of traditional engines like Google or Bing. Instead of sifting through a list of links, users are getting instant, direct answers from chatbots — making search faster, easier, and more conversational.
For marketers, this shift is a game-changer. Google’s AI-powered search results have already slashed click-through rates nearly in half, meaning fewer people are clicking on websites. But there’s a flip side — AI platforms are also becoming a new traffic source. ChatGPT and Perplexity are linking to websites in their answers, and savvy brands are already figuring out how to get featured. The new SEO challenge? Optimizing for AI-generated responses, not just Google rankings.
And then there’s advertising. AI search is rewriting the rulebook, with Microsoft now embedding ads inside Bing Chat answers and platforms like Perplexity testing sponsored follow-up questions (e.g., “Looking for the best running shoes?”). With AI-driven tools projected to grab approximately 14% of the search market by 2028, brands need to start thinking beyond Search Ads. The future of search isn’t just about ranking — it’s about showing up in AI conversations where decisions are being made.
This shift in search behavior also means brands can’t afford to rely on a single channel anymore. With organic traffic from search engines declining, diversifying the marketing mix is more critical than ever. CTV advertising, retail media, and influencer partnerships offer alternative ways to reach high-intent audiences and drive conversions. Consider reallocating budgets and balancing search with video ads on streaming platforms to engage audiences in a more immersive way.
Adapting to these 2025 trends requires strategic action. Here are 5 tips for marketers and agencies to capitalize on these developments:
Don’t rely on the same one or two ad channels. Test emerging platforms and formats. For example, experiment with CTV ads (and include QR codes or interactive elements to make them shoppable), try running campaigns on retail media networks like Amazon or Walmart, and expand your social media advertising beyond Facebook/Google into Instagram, TikTok, or Pinterest where appropriate. A broader mix can help you find new pockets of efficient growth
When investing in influencer marketing, pick the right platforms and creators. Identify micro-influencers on Instagram or TikTok who align closely with your niche – their engagement can drive real conversions. Set up affiliate links or unique discount codes for each influencer so you can track ROI directly. With the majority of marketers using influencers now, a data-driven approach to influencer selection and measurement will set you apart.
Leverage the new wave of AI marketing tools to work smarter. Use AI for tasks like audience segmentation, predictive product recommendations, and automated email or ad content generation. Many platforms now offer built-in AI – take advantage of them to personalize customer experiences at scale. Given that 87% of marketers are already using or testing AI tools, those who don’t risk falling behind in efficiency and optimization.
Make 2025 the year you strengthen your first-party data collection. Enhance your website analytics, encourage newsletter sign-ups, run surveys or interactive quizzes to gather zero-party data, and integrate that data across your ad platforms and CRM. With privacy changes, your own data is a key competitive asset. Ensure you’re transparent and provide value back to users for their data – a trusted relationship can yield better marketing opportunities long-term.
Finally, update your measurement playbook. Incorporate privacy-safe measurement techniques like marketing mix modeling or geo-lift tests to understand campaign impact without relying on individual tracking. Also, stay agile – monitor performance across all these channels and be ready to reallocate budget quickly. For instance, if a TikTok social commerce campaign is outperforming expectations, scale it up; if a certain retail media placement isn’t delivering sales, tweak or pause it. The most successful performance marketers in 2025 will be those who combine data-driven insight with quick execution, riding the wave of these trends and adjusting in real-time.
The marketing world in 2025 is more connected, interactive, and privacy-conscious than ever. Performance marketers have an expanding toolkit – from shoppable CTV and social platforms to AI and first-party data – to engage consumers and drive results. By understanding these six key trends and implementing thoughtful, well-measured strategies, brands and agencies can stay ahead of the curve and turn the year’s challenges into opportunities.
The common thread is adaptation: those who adapt to new channels, new technologies, and new consumer expectations will thrive in the performance marketing arena of 2025.
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Olena Svietlova
2025-03-17 • 15 min to read
