Retail is evolving fast, and so is TV.
At last week’s Shoptalk conference in Las Vegas, Roku took the stage to talk about what’s next in content, commerce, and consumer connection. From shoppable storytelling to self-serve streaming campaigns, here’s what we brought to the conversation and what attendees were buzzing about.
Roku’s vision for shoppable TV
The possibility of shopping for Jennifer Aniston’s sweater from “Friends” has tantalized marketers since the early days of the Internet. More than 25 years later, the tipping point for shoppable TV has finally arrived.
Speaking alongside TikTok and Amazon about the marriage of content and shopping, Brian Toombs, head of Roku Brand Studio, explained why shoppable TV is finally taking off: The audience is already there, remote in hand.
Roku reaches nearly half of all broadband households in the U.S., and streamers are already comfortable using remotes to transact—whether subscribing to a service or renting a movie. Adding a product to cart? Just one more intuitive step.
“It wasn’t so long ago that people said no one would shop on the internet,” said Toombs. “Well, Amazon would like a word. Then they said no one would shop from their phones. TikTok would like a word. In the space of shoppable TV, Roku would like a word.”
As search and social near saturation, he said, shoppable TV opens a new pathway to reach loyal and new customers. And when viewers sit down to watch TV, they’re in a focused, lean-back mindset—ideal for absorbing storytelling that moves people and products.
Turn content into commerce
Roku’s Action Ads let viewers press OK to get a text, receive an offer, or purchase the item they just saw on screen. Think pre-show interstitials: “Watch for the ingredients used in this recipe. You can buy them at the end.” Or mid-show prompts like, “Love what you see? Press OK to purchase.”
And it’s working. Roku has found a 96% correlation between on-screen dwell time and purchases, with viewers spending an average of 24 seconds with shoppable units.¹ That’s nearly double the attention of a 30-second spot.
For brands that want in but don’t have in-house content studios, Roku Brand Studio makes it simple to create and scale branded storytelling inside the streaming experience.
“I’m passionate that brands have a right to be at the content table,” Toombs said. “They’re good at marketing. That’s a huge part of entertainment.”
Retail Media + Real ROI
Shoppable TV gets even more powerful when paired with retail media. Toombs explained that Roku’s partnerships with Walmart Connect, Instacart, Best Buy Ads, and Kroger Precision Marketing allow brands to pair first-party in-store data with streaming data at scale.
For example, 65% of Waterpik’s ad-attributed purchases through a recent Walmart Connect campaign happened directly on Roku devices—more than Walmart.com or in-store. Meanwhile, in Roku + Instacart campaigns, 45% of purchasers were new to the brand.²
“Digital and in-store data, married with the streaming ecosystem, is incredibly powerful,” said Toombs.
Roku Ads Manager and the rise of self-serve TV buying
At Shopify’s The Art of The Possible event at Las Vegas’s monolithic Sphere, Peter Hamilton, Roku’s head of ad innovation, introduced marketers to Roku Ads Manager, our self-serve platform that brings the speed and flexibility of digital buying to TV.
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“Streaming is the next great platform to conquer for performance marketers,” said Hamilton. “It just hasn’t been accessible, until now.”
Hamilton explained that TV is no longer a passive experience. Streamers are navigating, clicking, and engaging. With over 125 million people visiting Roku’s home screen every day³ and 47% of all U.S. streaming time happening on Roku,⁴ the opportunity is massive.
With Roku Ads Manager, any brand can:
- Easily launch campaigns with no minimum spend
- Run Action Ads with custom CTAs and shoppable overlays
- Optimize for performance and measure results in real time
“Roku Ads Manager is a platform for disruptors,” said Hamilton. “For people who want to define what television commerce looks like.”
What’s Next for Shoppable TV?
Hamilton wrapped his talk with a look ahead, offering three predictions.
- Buying on TV will go mainstream. Viewers are already doing it, and adoption is growing fast. Integrations such as Roku’s tie-up with Shopify are making purchase flow even more frictionless.
- Brands will build TV showrooms. Think digital storefronts built for the largest screen in the home.
- Retail media will connect it all. From targeting to measurement, retail media will tie together TV, online, and in-store.
“This is just the beginning,” Hamilton said. “We’re excited to build this new world of TV commerce with all of you.”
Overheard at Shoptalk
Beyond the stage, Roku teams were all over Shoptalk 2025, listening in on what retail leaders, brands, and media innovators are prioritizing right now. Here are three themes that stood out:
The new market is here
This year, Shoptalk created a new track to capture the big changes in retail as consumers toggle fluidly between streaming, scrolling, shopping and other behaviors. Called The New Market, this program speaks to big disruptions in the industry: Retailers are acting like media companies and media companies are selling things and acting like retailers. As a result, the lines between media, retail, and now retail media have blurred.
“The traditional purchase funnel is giving way to a seamless, real-time journey where discovery and purchase are virtually indistinguishable,” said Sophie Wawro, Shoptalk’s global president.
Retail media is expanding from channels to ecosystems
Best Buy Ads’ Lisa Valentino called for a shift in mindset, from “shopper marketing” to full-funnel media strategy. She shared how with 93% of purchases linked to identifiable users, Best Buy Ads is betting big on omnichannel measurement and a national media presence. Off-site scale with partners like Roku is an integral piece of this puzzle.
Creator and community marketing are rewriting the playbook
From Taco Bell’s influencer-only launch of the Toasted Cheddar Chalupa to True Religion’s viral moments on the Vegas Strip, creators aren’t just part of the plan; they are the plan. Speakers across retail and CPG echoed the same theme: Marketing today is non-linear, emotional, and deeply connected to community.
Ready to Launch?
Whether you're going big with a branded content strategy or testing the waters with Roku Ads Manager, now is the time to join the shoppable TV movement.
Contact us to learn more, or try Roku Ads Manager today.
¹ Roku Internal Data, 2025
² Roku + Instacart Data, 2025
³ Comscore CTV intelligence data for May ’24
⁴ Roku Internal Data, 2025
