Industry urged to weigh in on retail media standards

Digital advertising body IAB Europe is calling for industry feedback after releasing its first set of recommendations for retail media metrics and measurement standards as part its commitment to boost investment in the channel.

While the market is awash with retailers seeking a slice of action, with Tesco, Sainsbury’s Boots, Currys, Asda, Morrisons, Superdrug and Kingfisher among those who have launched channels in recent months, an IAB Europe study carried out last year revealed 70% of buyers believe a lack of standards remain a barrier to investment.

This is despite global retail media spend forecast to reach $141.7bn (£115.8bn) this year, putting it on track to overtake linear TV as the third-largest channel by spend within a few years.

The recommended standards were developed following IAB Europe’s Retail Media Measurement Workshop which brought together 15 retailers from across Europe. This feedback was combined with the ongoing discussions from IAB Europe’s Retailer Council and Retail Media Committee.

IAB Europe also recognises that progress has been made on the development of retail media metrics definitions in other markets (e.g. IAB US, BVDW in Germany and ISBA in the UK) and this work was used to form the basis for discussions within the workshop.

The recommendations address issues including primary media metrics (such as viewability, IVT) to ensure digital retail media ads adhere to the same standards as other digital ads. They also cover attribution metrics to ensure that brands are able to compare their ad investments using a standard lookback window and iROAS definition.

IAB Europe Retail Media Committee chair Jason Wescott, who is also global head of commerce solutions at GroupM, said: “Whilst a rapid increase in the number of retailer advertising offers is a wonderful thing for our industry, it has made planning and buying more complicated, with accurate comparisons across providers burdensome, if not impossible.

“A common set of standards will not only ensure retailers can be consistent with existing digital media standards, but also encompass consistent, retail-centric, metrics spanning sales attribution and sales/consumer insights. This consistency will be a big step towards making the region’s industry more unified and accessible for advertisers. I’m excited to see the first version of these standards and for future iterations, as this channel will continue to evolve.”

SMG senior insight director Bianca Hall added: “This is an absolutely necessary first step, as most retailer tech stacks lack the capability to report on these basic metrics effectively.

“We are particularly excited about the future iterations of the framework as these metrics will enable unprecedented learning for brands, retailers and media agencies alike. The IAB are currently focused on digital (but mention that they plan to look at offline measurement in the future) but we believe that this is only part of the picture.

“The industry advocates for omnichannel campaigns, but progress on true omnichannel measurement has been slow. Brands want to understand how offline, onsite, and instore channels work together in a campaign to drive incrementality. Measuring omnichannel campaign performance is not easy but it is possible with retailer first party data and will unlock deep learnings at an audience level.”

The recommendations are open for public comment until March 29 2024. The first version of Retail Media Metrics and Measurement Standards for Europe in April.

Share with friends and colleagues

Related Articles