Published on: April 15, 2026
India, April 15, 2026 – Criteo (NASDAQ: CRTO), the global commerce intelligence platform, today unveiled findings from its report ‘From Fragmented Touchpoints to Connected Journeys : A new commerce playbook for India’ , developed in collaboration with Ecosystm. The report reveals that more than 60% of consumers find history-based ads helpful, reinforcing the value of personalised experiences. At the same time, while 84% of Indian consumers prefer fewer, more relevant ads – even when powered by their history – 71% still encounter repetitive messaging. This gap highlights a clear opportunity for brands to move beyond basic personalisation and adopt more intelligent, AI-powered strategies leveraging real-time signals to deliver relevant, well-timed experiences that enhance engagement and reduce fatigue.
The report further highlights key consumer shopping trends that can help brands and advertisers align their digital advertising strategies. According to the report, about 51% of shoppers conduct all research outside retail platforms, while 44% engage across multiple channels before making a purchase. Only 5% of consumers start research and finish purchase entirely on the same shopping platform. This clearly reflects a more informed and deliberate mindset among Indian consumers: they are not only evaluating product details and reading reviews but also comparing prices and exploring alternatives across platforms.
Multi-channel discovery reshapes where and how Indians shop
Consumer journeys are increasingly fragmented across platforms, with discovery now also happening outside of retailer environments. According to the report, about 67% of shoppers notice ads on social media, followed by shopping app searches (55%), retailer homepages (51%), and product pages in a shopping app (45%). When asked about the most impactful online ads that influence their purchase decisions, 29% of consumers cited social media ads, followed by video/OTT ads (25%) and search ads (21%).
The report further highlights purchase timelines following exposure to digital ads. 26% of consumers report buying immediately, while 38% complete the purchase the same day. In contrast, 27% take up to a week to research before returning to buy. This underscores the opportunity to shorten the research window by harnessing intelligent advertising.
Measuring impact and data standardisation remain key challenge for retailers
The study reveals that despite strong momentum, the industry continues to face structural huddles. While consumers are increasingly open to data-driven advertising, execution is still catching up. Nearly 50% of digital advertisers cite measurement and attribution as a top challenge, making it difficult to prove that personalised ads are delivering the relevance consumers expect. Meanwhile, 43% struggle with data standardisation across retailers, and 32% face difficulties activating that data across multiple platforms, resulting in fragmented experiences that undermine effective targeting.
The next growth wave will be powered by AI but driven by smarter execution
While most retail platforms are leveraging AI to strengthen backend capabilities- 72% for building privacy-compliant audience segments and, 65% for modelling shopper intent, lifetime value and churn risk – its application remains uneven. Only 46% retailers said they are using AI to dynamically adapt ad formats in real-time across Web, App, and CTV. This highlights a clear gap between data intelligence and execution agility, and signals an industry need to deliver real-time creative optimisation and truly personalised, full funnel, cross-channel retail media campaigns.
Additionally, according to the retailers surveyed, platforms such as offsite shoppable videos (40%), CTV (24%), and on-site sponsored product listing (21%) are expected to drive highest margin growth in 2026 – particularly those that effectively integrate SKU-level data, enable automated omnichannel creative execution, and deliver closed-loop measurement.
Commenting on the findings, Medhavi Singh, Country Head, Criteo India, said, “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.”
Methodology: The Ecosystm India Shopper & Platform Insights Study was conducted in January 2026 to understand how consumers navigate the Indian e-commerce landscape, how platforms support these journeys, and how brands and agencies respond to influence discovery, consideration, and purchase. The study includes three quantitative surveys capturing consumer behaviour, platform interactions, and brand strategies. Findings from the surveys were further validated through eight analyst-led interviews with industry stakeholders.
The survey was conducted among 573 Indian shoppers, 68 retailers, and 74 brands.
Please find more about the report here – https://www4.criteo.com/india-commerce-playbook-2026/
Read more: Criteo Joins OpenAI Advertising Pilot In ChatGPT
