Retail media has grown rapidly online, but translating that model into physical stores has proven far more complicated – particularly when it comes to measuring whether campaigns actually work.
A new report from Indianapolis, USA-based In-Store Marketplace (ISM), a Mood Media subsidiary, argues the issue is not a lack of measurement tools, but a lack of agreement about what success looks like inside stores.
Developed with Catalyst Media Consulting, the study says brands, retailers, agencies, and retail media networks often evaluate in-store campaigns using entirely different metrics. Agencies may focus on media performance, retailers on product sales, retail media networks on advertising revenue, and brands on category growth. When those scorecards do not align, campaigns that succeed in one area can still appear to underperform.
The report – titled In-Store Media Has a Measurement Problem – Just Not the One You Think – suggests the industry has tried to apply e-commerce attribution models to physical environments where they are difficult to replicate.
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Instead, ISM proposes a metric it calls Shopper Purchase Rate, which focuses on product movement using established retail analysis methods such as matched-market testing and pre- and post-campaign sales comparisons.
“We’ve overcomplicated the problem by forcing digital thinking onto a channel that operates very differently,” said Paul Brenner, SVP of Global Retail Media and Partnerships at ISM. “Brands ultimately measure success based on whether the product sells, and aligning measurement to that reality makes it far easier to justify investment.”
The company positions its platform as infrastructure that connects various in-store media channels – including digital signage and retail audio networks – so campaigns can be activated across physical locations.
As retail media networks look beyond e-commerce for growth, proving the impact of in-store advertising may become the next major hurdle.
The full report can be accessed here.