Retail media is evolving rapidly, with advertisers increasing investment in this growing, diverse channel. As the industry expands, so do the challenges of accurately measuring campaigns across networks and regions. To address these challenges, industry groups have created guidelines to unify measurement practices across on-site, off-site and in-store retail media. IAB Europe developed the pan-European Measurement Standards for On and Off-Site retail media campaigns, which were inspired by the IAB/MRC Retail Media Measurement Guidelines, and worked closely with IAB U.S. to create in-store measurement guidelines.
For our latest AAM Media Matters, we spoke with Marie-Clare Puffett, industry development and insights director at IAB Europe, to learn more about the collaborative effort behind the guidelines and how they benefit the industry. We also recently interviewed IAB’s Angelina Eng about the guidelines.
Measurement inconsistency and lack of standardization are two of the biggest challenges in retail media. Campaign metrics can differ depending on how the network decides to measure them. Discussions among industry stakeholders highlighted a need for developing unified standards across networks that benefit global brands operating across multiple regions.
“Once we realized this, we worked very closely with the team at IAB U.S., particularly for the in-store measurement guidelines,” Puffett said. “They did some groundwork looking at in-store media and produced a playbook, which was used as a basis for creating the guidelines.”
The guidelines are meant to help media buyers better understand how their campaigns are performing when navigating different technologies and complex workflows.
“Without uniform measurement practices across retail media networks, media buyers can't compare apples to apples,” Puffett said. “This lack of clarity and uniformity is frustrating. Buyers need reliable, standardized data to make informed decisions about where to allocate budgets and help with operational inefficiencies.”
IAB Europe is driving the adoption of the guidelines through its Retail Media Certification Programme. AAM is one of three international auditors selected for the program.
In the first phase of the certification, the focus is on on-site and off-site measurement.
“We want to make sure the networks are measuring and reporting metrics like viewable impressions or clicks in the same way,” Puffett said. “These might sound like really basic things, but if we look at the retail media space, a lot of these metrics aren't uniform or standardized.”
The goal of the certification program is to encourage adoption of the guidelines, which improves trust and transparency across the industry.
“Certified retailers will benefit from increased trust with the brands, agencies and other industry stakeholders by showcasing their adherence to industry standards and demonstrating their leadership in this space,” Puffett said. “Brands will get that reassurance that if they receive a report from a certified partner, they’ll know exactly how the metrics were calculated because the network meets these guidelines.”
As retail media grows, Puffett expects further integration between digital and in-store experiences.
“In-store is likely going to be a big growth area. There’s a lot of opportunity there, and the data points you get from an in-store environment really helps feed online activity and vice versa.”
While in-store media is not yet included in the certification, IAB and IAB Europe have released in-store measurement guidelines to lay the foundation for alignment as the market grows. They’re also looking at certifying ad tech companies.
Connected TV is another area expected to see further integration into retail media.
“We've seen a lot of really exciting partnerships happen in the market with retailers either buying or partnering with streaming platforms to power campaigns,” she said. “As more of those partnerships happen, we’re going to see more sophisticated data and measurement strategies in the channel.”
Puffett added that as more innovation occurs, the guidelines will continue to evolve while adhering to the goal of simplifying measurement across networks. She also emphasized the importance of ongoing dialogue between all stakeholders.
“When the buy side asks for something, the sell side might not understand the context or why they need to implement standards in a certain way,” Puffett said. “Those continued dialogues within organizations like IAB and IAB Europe are important to encourage implementation and an understanding of standardized practices as the industry evolves and grows.”
For a quick overview about the six critical areas for compliance, download Implementing Retail Media Measurement Guidelines — Key Elements for Compliance.