The Core Tension: Performance vs. Brand Building
Retail media has become a cornerstone for brands seeking direct sales impact through precise, performance-driven metrics such as Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) and click-through rates. However, this approach often sidelines fundamental principles outlined by the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute and Byron Sharp’s How Brands Grow, which emphasize brand growth through increasing penetration and mental and physical availability. Brands expand their footprint not merely by optimizing conversions at the final purchase moment but by reaching more buyers and being more readily thought of and accessible. Retail media occupies a unique position within this dynamic, influencing both shoppers’ mental availability and their purchasing behavior at the point of sale.
Why Current Measurement Falls Short
Current reliance on performance metrics like ROAS and last-click attribution presents a narrow view that can undervalue the broader influence of retail media. These metrics often emphasize immediate sales, potentially penalizing channels and activities that drive long-term brand health but do not produce instant conversions. Budget structures further reinforce this bias, with funding sources dictating measurement priorities—trade marketing and shopper marketing budgets expect clear, short-term return signals, overshadowing brand-focused investments. ROAS offers simplicity and control but lacks the ability to capture the contextual relevance and cumulative impact retail media has across the consumer journey and the overall marketplace.
The Path Forward: Evolving for Full-Funnel Impact
The customer journey today is complex and fragmented, defying the assumptions of linear, last-click conversion models. Retail media networks should evolve to offer full-funnel measurement solutions that recognize the varying roles media play—from building awareness and brand salience to driving conversion. This requires adopting sophisticated marketing mix modeling (MMM) alongside metrics that integrate both brand growth insights and performance data.
Such evolution means prioritizing measurement frameworks that align with how brands genuinely grow—by expanding their customer base through improved availability and salience, rather than merely optimizing a narrow funnel. Retail media has the opportunity to become a powerful driver of sustainable brand growth if the industry invests in meaningful, contextual, and multifaceted measurement approaches rather than settling for legible but incomplete performance indicators.
Ultimately, embracing a more holistic, strategic measurement philosophy will empower retail media professionals, brand marketers, and agency executives to allocate budgets more effectively—balancing trade, shopper, and national brand investments to foster long-term growth in a complex retail environment.
