Retail, e-commerce, and CPG/FMCG marketers are prioritizing the optimization of marketing spend as a top short-term goal, yet few are leveraging artificial intelligence to achieve it. New findings from Supermetrics Marketing Data Report 2026 reveal a significant gap between stated priorities and actual AI adoption in campaign analysis and optimization.
Quick Intel
Supermetrics, a Marketing Intelligence Platform trusted by thousands of marketing teams worldwide, released the Marketing Data Report 2026, which examines how consumer-focused industries are applying artificial intelligence across their marketing operations. The data points to a notable disconnect, particularly in the area of campaign optimization.
Consumer-focused sectors show relatively higher AI usage in content creation and workflow automation, but far fewer organizations apply AI to identify high-performing campaigns, channels, and audiences. This limited adoption persists even though marketers are managing more campaigns across more channels than ever before.
"Marketers are running more campaigns across more channels than ever before, yet many still lack the real-time visibility needed to act on performance when it matters," said Anssi Rusi, CEO at Supermetrics.
"Marketers know real-time optimization drives results, but fragmented data keeps them reactive," said Zach Bricker, Head of Solutions Engineering & Data Activation at Supermetrics. "Teams need to move from simply having data to activating it. AI and automation remove technical friction and allow experts to focus on strategy and revenue impact."
Sector-specific variations further illustrate the gap. Retail marketers reported the highest AI adoption for campaign optimization at 22%, followed by CPG/FMCG at 14%. E-commerce ranked the lowest at just 8%, despite operating in one of the most data-rich marketing environments.
The findings suggest the challenge is not a lack of priorities but rather an execution gap. Respondents most frequently cited limited in-house expertise, insufficient technical infrastructure, and unclear business value or return on investment for AI as primary barriers preventing wider adoption.
Supermetrics enables marketers to turn fragmented insights into revenue-driving decisions and real-time activation. The platform is trusted by brands including BBC, Heineken, Levi's and L'Oréal.
About Supermetrics
Supermetrics is a marketing intelligence platform that helps organizations move from understanding past performance to driving future action. Trusted by more than 200,000 companies in 120 countries, Supermetrics unifies the marketing intelligence workflow from data connectivity to insight to activation, enabling confident, revenue-focused decisions. Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Helsinki, the company employs more than 400 people across offices in Helsinki, Dublin, and Singapore, with teams spanning APAC, Europe, and North America. Processing 15% of global advertising spend, Supermetrics helps brands and agencies navigate marketing with confidence in today's evolving data landscape.
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