Commerce Media is starting before the product page: Threepipe Reply analyzes how brands create demand at the top of the funnel

Threepipe Reply: The Future of Commerce Media Is Before the Product Page

London, 26 May 2026 — In an industry opinion piece published by The Drum, Threepipe Reply said that the focus of commerce media is shifting further upstream, with brands increasingly needing to engage consumers in the discovery, consideration, and decision-making process before they reach the product page.

The article’s author, Threepipe Reply Marketing Manager Ollie Shelton, pointed out that traditional commerce media strategies have long focused on product pages, conversion rates, and last-click attribution, but consumer journeys are no longer linear. TikTok, retail media networks, creator content, social platforms, and AI-driven search and generative search optimisation (GEO) are collectively shaping a more fragmented purchase path.

Brand impact happens earlier

The article argues that as consumers increasingly rely on AI-generated recommendations and aggregated search experiences to discover products, brands need to rethink how they build visibility and demand at earlier stages, rather than only trying to convert users once they reach e-commerce pages.

Against this backdrop, commerce media growth objectives are also changing: no longer just capturing existing demand, but creating demand earlier, increasing consideration, and identifying the activities that truly drive incremental growth.

Discovery journeys are being reshaped

Threepipe Reply said it has observed this shift across sectors including beauty, retail, travel, and automotive. Brands are increasingly realising that commerce media cannot operate in isolation, but needs to work in tandem with social media, creators, CRM, and broader performance marketing campaigns.

The article noted that the keyword-led search journey of the past is being replaced by recommendation-led experiences. These experiences are influenced by creators, social proof, retail algorithms, and personalised content feeds. For marketers, this means that by the time consumers finally reach the product page, much of the decision-making process has already taken place.

Measurement is shifting towards incrementality

The article also noted that existing measurement models have not evolved in step with consumer behaviour. Many brands are still optimising for the easiest-to-measure touchpoints, such as branded search, retargeting, or platform-reported ROAS, but these touchpoints are often capturing demand rather than creating it.

In automated media environments, strong platform performance does not always reflect true incremental growth. Brands may be paying for users who were already likely to buy anyway, such as consumers with existing brand familiarity, purchase intent, or loyalty behaviours. The key question is therefore no longer simply “what drove the conversion?”, but “what truly influenced the outcome?”The article argues that incrementality is becoming a core concept in modern commerce media strategy.

Case: An integrated strategy aimed at creating demand further up the funnel

Threepipe Reply mentioned in the article that its partnership with L’Occitane built a full-funnel growth strategy for Amazon, aiming to unlock growth potential beyond branded keyword searches and core SKUs. The solution combined sponsored ads, DSP, and Amazon Marketing Cloud insights, with a focus on improving new-to-brand user acquisition and identifying the factors delivering the most incremental impact. The article disclosed that this strategy drove a 39% increase in shipped revenue, and more than 60% of attributed customers were new-to-brand.

The article also noted that Threepipe Reply’s work with the OXO brand under Helen of Troy was shortlisted for the 2026 Drum Marketing EMEA Awards in the “Best Use of Retail Media” category. The project combined on-site retail media within the John Lewis ecosystem with off-site demand generation channels such as TikTok, emphasizing measurable sales uplift and genuine incrementality rather than platform-level metrics alone. The article stated that the campaign achieved 408% year-on-year sales growth.

Connected strategies are becoming the industry direction

Threepipe Reply believes these cases reflect a broader shift in commerce media: retail media remains important, but it cannot exist in isolation from the wider customer journey. Brands need to integrate media, content, creators, audience insights, and measurement frameworks under shared business objectives.

The article also points out that in an environment of information overload, increasing sponsored recommendations, and intensifying competition, trust is becoming a more important performance driver. Creator credibility, retailer trust, and community validation all influence purchase decisions before consumers even reach a product page.

Company information

In the article, Threepipe Reply positions itself as a company that combines human insight, creative capability, media, technology, and data, aiming to turn complex problems into clear priorities and coordinated execution plans.

Reference and implications for distribution

This opinion piece emphasizes that the next stage of commerce media should not revolve only around “capturing intent,” but around designing strategies based on “how to create demand before conversion.” For brands, retailers, and marketing platforms, this means building tighter omnichannel coordination mechanisms and using metrics that better measure incremental contribution.