Criteo has released its report, ‘From Fragmented Touchpoints to Connected Journeys: A New Commerce Playbook for India’, developed in collaboration with Ecosystm, highlighting evolving consumer expectations around digital advertising and retail media.
The report has found that 84% of Indian consumers prefer fewer, more relevant ads, even if it involves sharing their browsing history. At the same time, more than 60% of respondents have found history-based ads helpful, indicating openness to personalised experiences. However, 71% of consumers have continued to encounter repetitive messaging, pointing to gaps in execution.
The study has shown that consumer journeys are increasingly fragmented. Around 51% of shoppers have conducted research outside retail platforms, while 44% have engaged across multiple channels before making a purchase. Only 5% of consumers have completed their entire journey on a single platform, reflecting a shift towards more deliberate and informed decision-making.
The report has highlighted that ad discovery is now spread across multiple touchpoints. About 67% of consumers have noticed ads on social media, followed by shopping app searches (55%), retailer homepages (51%), and product pages (45%). Social media ads have emerged as the most influential for 29% of consumers, followed by video or OTT ads at 25% and search ads at 21%.
In terms of purchase timelines, 26% of consumers have made immediate purchases after seeing ads, while 38% have completed purchases within the same day. Meanwhile, 27% have taken up to a week to research before buying, indicating opportunities for brands to optimise engagement windows.
The report has also identified challenges in retail media execution. Nearly 50% of digital advertisers have cited measurement and attribution as key hurdles, while 43% have struggled with data standardisation across retailers. Additionally, 32% have faced difficulties in activating data across platforms, leading to fragmented consumer experiences.
While adoption of AI has grown, its application has remained uneven. Around 72% of retail platforms have used AI for building privacy-compliant audience segments, and 65% have applied it for modelling shopper intent and lifecycle metrics. However, only 46% have used AI to dynamically adapt ad formats in real time across channels, indicating a gap between data capabilities and execution.
The report has further indicated that formats such as offsite shoppable videos, connected TV (CTV), and sponsored product listings are expected to drive growth in 2026, particularly when combined with SKU-level data and omnichannel execution.
“Retail media in India is at a pivotal moment, with high-intent consumer signals and shrinking purchase cycles creating a strong opportunity for brands and retailers to drive measurable outcomes. However, unlocking this full potential requires moving beyond siloed, lower-funnel activation toward more connected, full-funnel strategies that seamlessly integrate offsite discovery with onsite conversion. This calls for stronger data foundations, closed-loop measurement, and a shift from last-click optimisation to AI-driven, real-time personalisation. At Criteo, we are enabling this transition by helping retailers and brands unify data, activate insights across channels, and deliver measurable business outcomes across the consumer journey.” — Medhavi Singh, Country Head, Criteo India
