In this episode of Total Retail Tech Insights, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Katie Carlson, vice president of partner success at Fluent Co., a leading commerce media platform helping brands engage audiences, unlock new revenue streams, and drive measurable results at scale. Listen in as Carlson discusses her career shift from brand-side marketing to tech partner (1:35), what it looks like to lead from a place of enablement vs. execution (3:40), and how are retailers evolving their view of the checkout page to a monetizable touchpoint (5:35). She shares the opportunities in enhancing the checkout experience (7:25), what low-lift, high-impact monetization in customer acquisition looks like today (8:35), and best practices for monetizing checkout without disrupting customer experience (10:00).

In addition, Carlson touches on why retailers shouldn't hesitate to monetize the order confirmation page (11:55); what non-endemic ads actually mean in the context of brand safety, control and experience (12:50); and preserving customer trust while still monetizing advertising effectively (15:50). Lastly, she discusses the metrics retailers should be tracking to measure marketing success (17:55) and what she's learned working at Fluent Co. that she wishes she had known as a brand-side marketer (18:45).