1. Defining Impressions
2. Identifying Relevant Clicks
3. Clicks per Impression: How Many are Counted?
4. Understanding Sales Attribution
5. The Brand Halo Effect
6. Dealing with Bot Activity
7. Navigating RoAS Modeling
8. The Growing Demand for Retail Media Networks (RMNs)
9. The Importance of Providing Differentiated Value
10. Channels Advertisers Prioritize for RMN Investment
11. Add-On Features That Drive a Premium
12. Addressing Advertiser Pain Points
13. First-Checkout, Last-Checkout or Delivered Attribution?
14. Multi-Touch or Duplicated Attribution?

Defining Impressions

What Constitutes an Impression?

In accordance with the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) standards, an impression is counted when an advertisement is rendered on the website, regardless of whether the customer actually views it. However, it’s important to distinguish between a standard impression and a “viewable impression”, which only counts when the advertisement is actually seen by the customer.

Understanding “Viewable Impressions”

Retail media solutions often do not separate “viewable impressions” as a distinct metric. Some retailers only report “viewable” impressions under their impressions metric, while others do not. Thus, it’s crucial to understand how each retail media partner measures and categorizes impressions.

Identifying Relevant Clicks

Which Clicks are Counted?

The IAB identifies two types of clicks: “click-through”, which leads to a webpage redirect, and “in-unit”, which does not result in a redirect. In layman’s terms, this simply means a click anywhere on the advertisement. On most ecommerce websites, this implies three types of relevant clicks: add-to-basket click, click to the product detail page, and click on a display ad that directs the user to another webpage containing the advertised products.

The Importance of Counting the Right Clicks

It is vital that retailers only count clicks that matter, excluding irrelevant ones such as right-clicks on the advertisement. Understanding how your retail media partner identifies and counts clicks can provide crucial insights into the effectiveness of your campaign.

Clicks per Impression: How Many are Counted?

Retailers often count a maximum of one click per impression, even if the customer clicks multiple times on an advertisement. However, this practice may not be universally followed. Understanding the click-to-impression ratio employed by your retail media partner can help in accurately assessing the engagement level of your campaign.

Understanding Sales Attribution

Ad Click or Ad View?

Retailers can attribute sales to a campaign if the customer viewed the campaign or clicked on it. View-based attribution is common for display media, whereas click-based attribution is common for sponsored products. However, some retailers use view-based attribution for all their media, including sponsored product placements.

Deciphering Attribution Windows

Most retailers choose between a seven-day and a 14-day window for attribution. For instance, in a seven-day window, any sale that happens within seven days of engaging with the ad can be attributed to the campaign. However, unless they are measuring and communicating the lifetime value of new customers, attributing sales beyond 14 days merely serves to inflate Return on Ad Spend (RoAS).

The Brand Halo Effect

Sales attributed to the campaign can either be for the products advertised in the campaign or for all the products within the brand, including those that were not featured in the advertisement. This phenomenon, known as the “brand halo”, can significantly impact the perceived success of a campaign.

Dealing with Bot Activity

Most retail websites are susceptible to significant bot activity for use cases like web scraping. While many retail media programs are not mature enough to filter out engagement from bots, it’s critical to understand how your retail media partner addresses this issue as bot activity can inflate relevant impressions, clicks, and media costs.

Navigating RoAS Modeling

First-Checkout, Last-Checkout or Delivered Attribution?

In grocery ecommerce, customers can edit their orders multiple times before the delivery date, leading to multiple checkouts. Understanding whether your retail media partner uses first-checkout, last-checkout, or delivered attribution can provide crucial insights into the effectiveness of your campaign.

Multi-Touch or Duplicated Attribution?

Most retailers attribute a single sale to multiple campaigns, a practice known as duplicated attribution. However, some might attribute the sale to only one ad (using first-click or last-click attribution) or divide the attribution between multiple ads using appropriate weights. Understanding the attribution model employed by your retail media partner can help in accurately assessing the success of your campaign.

The Growing Demand for Retail Media Networks (RMNs)

RMNs are attracting an increasing share of marketing budgets as manufacturers and brands shift spend to target consumers closer to the point of purchase. However, capturing and retaining this spend requires understanding and addressing what advertisers want and need.

The Importance of Providing Differentiated Value

High-performing RMNs that deliver superior performance, give access to otherwise inaccessible audiences, and offer transparency can drive significant value for the media network and their advertisers. Less importance is placed on self-serve access, indicating that advertisers prize performance above all else.

Channels Advertisers Prioritize for RMN Investment

Advertisers favor channels with the highest return on advertising spend: on-site display and video advertising. These channels outperform off-site advertising, and paid social media is also critical.

Add-On Features That Drive a Premium

Advertisers are willing to spend even more for added extras: features that help them make better-informed, timelier decisions about their marketing spend.

Addressing Advertiser Pain Points

RMNs that want to distinguish their offering and retain and grow their advertiser base can focus on solving advertisers’ biggest pain points. Transparent data sharing and reporting, reasonable media cost, customer insights, and scalable audiences are all crucial factors to consider.