Retail media is expanding fast, yet inconsistent measurement practices make performance claims hard to compare. That fragmentation costs retailers ad dollars and leaves brands uncertain about return on investment.
The Industry’s Measurement Dilemma
Retail media networks report metrics using different definitions, lookback windows, and calculation methods. One platform’s ROAS may use a 14-day lookback while another uses 30 days. Viewability thresholds, impression counting and attribution rules vary. The result is confusion for agencies and brands, weaker negotiation positions for retailers, and reduced confidence in media spend.
IAB Europe’s Solution: Standardizing Transparency
IAB Europe’s Commerce Media Measurement Standards V2 is a cooperative effort to make reporting comparable across networks. The standards set common definitions, measurement boundaries and reporting formats so advertisers can meaningfully compare performance and trust claims.
Core Measurement Categories
- Basic metrics: unified definitions for viewability, ad impressions and click recording.
- Sales metrics: standardized ROAS calculations, agreed lookback windows and reporting of incrementality test parameters.
- Insight-led metrics: consistent definitions for new-to-brand and new-to-customer measures to show customer acquisition value.
Retail Media’s Strategic Future
Retail media will grow as it becomes an integrated component of the broader media mix. That requires retailers to operate like media companies: transparent measurement, clear inventory policies and open data flows. Brands and agencies will place higher-value, cross-channel buys when outcomes are comparable and auditable.
Your Path to Confident Retail Media Investment
For retailers, adopting standard reporting makes inventory more sellable and supports long-term ad revenue. For brands and agencies, consistent metrics enable better portfolio optimization, reliable incrementality testing and fairer media buying. The widespread use of IAB Europe’s standards will reduce friction, increase trust and accelerate investment in retail media.
Adopt the standards, demand transparent reporting and make performance decisions based on comparable data. That is how retail media moves from promising to dependable.
