How Retail Media is Shaping the Future of Ad Measurement

Introduction

When was the last time you saw a product ad and made an instant purchase as a consumer? Most likely, you browsed a few more product options, checked for upcoming sales or discount offers, or even visited the nearest store for a demo or try-on before making the final purchase.

For most customers, buying isn't a snap decision but a journey involving multiple interactions across different channels – website, social media or in-store. This is exactly where retail media is empowering marketers and advertisers. Instead of solely measuring ROAS and pursuing quick wins, retail media allows advertisers to measure every customer interaction - from the first click to the most recent purchase and even post-purchase. Let's dive into how RMNs are revolutionising ad measurement.

The Power of First-Party Data

At the core of successful retail media campaigns is first-party data collected directly from shopper interactions within a retailer's ecosystem. Thus, it is more authentic and accurate and provides insights into customer behaviour (searches, purchase history, wish lists, engagement with digital ads), which is not available anywhere.

With this data, brands can move beyond traditional campaign measurement metrics, such as impressions and clicks, and focus on more granular KPIs like purchase intent, customer preferences, in-store foot traffic, and conversion rates across channels. This bird’s eye view of ad performance is critical as brands seek to optimise their ad spend for both immediate impact and long-term success.

Transitioning from ROAS to Long-Term Growth Metrics

Conventionally, marketers have relied on ROAS to gauge retail media campaign success. However, for brands to truly set themselves apart in the long run, they must focus on making every customer interaction unique and personal. For this, they need to understand not just the details of the actual sale but what led to the sale.

Retail media tracks the customer journey - from first ad interaction to post-purchase behaviour. A marketer can now see which touchpoints influenced the purchase decision and optimise campaigns for those touchpoints.

For instance, by leveraging the Epsilon retail media platform, marketers can track if an ad led to an immediate sale, repeat purchase, cross-sell, or an increase in in-store traffic. Additionally, the platform provides detailed views of customer interactions with digital ads or content, including clicks, video views, dwell times, and add-to-cart actions. Marketers can determine if a customer is actively considering a purchase or is just browsing by analysing these activities and then personalise communications accordingly.

How Marketers Can Make the Shift

While it is commonly accepted that it takes about eight touchpoints (https://www.emailtooltester.com/en/blog/how-many-touchpoints-before-a-sale/) before a sale, the actual number of touchpoints may be far more, depending on the competition or the customer's stage. Marketers need to track, personalise and measure the impact of each of these interactions to drive a sustainable growth strategy. Some of the key things to do for this include:

• While ROAS can be the short-term focus metric, marketers must also closely monitor metrics like CLV, customer retention rates and incremental sales that help determine customer loyalty and sustained growth.
• Incorporate multi-touch attribution tools that help track the entire customer journey. This will help marketers identify the most effective touchpoints and personalise content accordingly.
• Focus on real-time campaign optimisation to maximise ROI. For example, while running a retail media campaign, if you notice that an ad featuring user reviews is doing better than product feature ads, you can increase ad spend on the user review ad, test different messaging or even create special offers to drive higher engagement and sales.
• Incorporate value-added content into campaigns, such as post-purchase tips or exclusive offers for loyal customers, to nurture long-term relationships.

To know more about how to get started on making your retail media campaigns more impactful, browse: Epsilon Retail Media Network