Oil shock, inflation, and the eCommerce boom: what it means for brands

Episode notes

Oil is surging and the headlines say brace for impact - but the relationship between energy prices and advertising spend is more nuanced than it looks. In this episode of the Media Intelligence Podcast, WPP Media's Kate Scott-Dawkins, Jeff Foster and Nidhi Shah break down what rising oil prices actually mean for advertising budgets, media planning and brand strategy across five key markets: the US, Canada, the UK, Europe and Australia. The team unpacks why an oil shock today works as a macro stress multiplier rather than a direct spending killer - and what that means for marketing investment decisions in 2026. Then it's into eCommerce, where US online retail crossed $1.23 trillion in 2025 and the UK hit nearly 29% of all retail sales online - and what the rise of global retail media networks means for brands and advertisers navigating this shift. Topics covered: oil price impact on CPI and consumer spending, inflation risk by market, retail media growth, OpenAI's commerce strategy, Amazon's advertising ecosystem, and the global eCommerce players reshaping media investment.

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