Dear IAB Community,
The latest IAB Australia and Pureprofile Commerce and Discovery report highlights how cost-of-living pressure is turning Australians into savvier, more deliberate shoppers who research before they buy. The path to purchase continues to change, with AI, social creators and retailer channels now sitting alongside search and reviews in the discovery mix. If you want to hear from industry leaders about how brands and publishers are managing these changes, make sure you attend our Discovery Summit in a few weeks.
Retail media spend in Australia is growing, but buyers are getting pickier. Measurement is still the biggest sticking point, and retailers are racing to fix it. The Retail Media State of the Nation 2026 report breaks down what's changed. These reports were released at the Sydney Commerce and Retail Media Summit – check out the event photo gallery.
IAB Australia has made a submission to the OAIC on the Automated Decision-Making transparency obligation, pushing back on routine ad targeting and personalisation being caught in scope. Members can download the submission. Make sure you are across other regulatory issues that impact digital advertising in our latest Regulatory Roundup.
The next episode of our Policy 101 webinar series, “Can You Say It, Post or Promote It” is being run with Michael Shum from the Department of Health, giving a practical overview of the rules that matter and the mistakes to avoid when advertising therapeutic goods. Join IAB Australia's Therapeutic Goods Advertising 101 session for a practical, no-jargon breakdown of what the TGA regulates and what's off-limits.
More resources below and a range of industry job opportunities.
‘Til next week
Gai
