15 May 2026 – NielsenIQ (NYSE: NIQ) has released a new global report, The Commerce Revolution: Where East Meets West,which examines how the intersection of Asian commerce innovation and Western retail media monetization is reshaping consumer commerce.
Key findings from the report include:
- Emerging channels are scaling fast. Live, social and quick commerce now drive most incremental digital growth globally.
- Growth will come from orchestration, not channel expansion. Live, social, and quick are now interconnected “arms” of a broad infrastructure where discovery, transaction, and product delivery converge—requiring a truly holistic view of performance.
- Discovery‑led commerce is going mainstream. In APAC, nearly 60% of consumers shop via social and quick commerce.
- Quick commerce is resetting fulfillment expectations.
- Retail media is scaling globally. Retail media reached $184 billion in global spending in 2025, with more than 270 networks worldwide.
- Super‑apps point to what’s next. APAC accounts for nearly 55% of global e‑commerce, driven by integrated platforms that unify content, commerce, payments, logistics, and AI.
- Agentic commerce is collapsing the traditional funnel. AI agents are beginning to autonomously discover, evaluate, and purchase products on consumers’ behalf, accelerating the shift toward AI‑driven decisioning and fundamentally changing how brands compete for visibility, relevance, and growth. A shift from consumers shopping via search to content- and AI-powered discovery forces manufacturers and retailers to rethink how they’re measuring influence—and how they’ll connect engagement to conversion.
The Middle East is one of the regions setting the pace, with rapid consumer adoption of social commerce, quick commerce, super apps and fintech tools.
eCommerce continues to drive incremental growth across the region, with the UAE recording +33% and KSA recording +56% on FMCG Q1 figures. Live, social and quick commerce, are now experiencing fast uptake throughout the region, particularly in UAE and KSA. These channels no longer operate in silos, with consumers demanding integrated experiences that guide them through a cohesive shopping journey. This convergence is accelerated by AI and its ability to track, automate, and personalize the shopper journey.
“With its mobile-first consumers, rapid adoption of social and quick commerce, and government-led digital transformation initiatives across the Gulf, the Middle East is fast becoming a blueprint for the convergence of digital commerce innovation” said Andrey Dvoychenkov, General Manager Arabian Peninsula and Pakistan at NielsenIQ.
“Government-led transformation agendas, from Saudi Vision 2030 to the ambitious smart city across the Gulf, are accelerating this shift by creating the infrastructure, regulatory frameworks, and investment climate needed for integrated commerce to thrive. At the same time, periods of geopolitical uncertainty have reinforced demand for faster, more resilient ways to discover, purchase and receive goods.”
Underscoring how essential it is to understand how commerce is evolving, NIQ recently announced the launch of its Commerce Lab, a new initiative focused on solving the data and measurement challenges shaping the next generation of commerce. This builds on NIQ’s broader strategy to redefine how commerce is measured, validated, and scaled in an increasingly automated world.
This shift underpins The Commerce Revolution, emphasizing that this new landscape requires brands and retailers to operate more like technology, media and data companies. Brands must unify their data, content, and measurement capabilities across channels to capture value in a highly interconnected, omnichannel world.
As global commerce shifts from fragmented channels to connected systems, understanding where growth is coming from—and how value is being created—has become essential. To learn more, visit niq.com/commerce-revolution.
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