Retailer Comparisons
Part of Retail media investment reviews
Comparing retailer campaign outcomes with commercial objectives
Match retail media delivery, credited sales and advertiser contribution to the objective originally approved.
Judge a retailer campaign against the commercial question it was approved for. Recover that objective before deciding which result to report. Delivery may be complete while the sales question remains open; a large attributed-sales figure does not by itself show additional profit.
Recover the objective
Find the approved brief and identify the products, retailer, period and primary business outcome. Was the campaign intended to introduce a range, support sales of named products, or test a case for further investment?
If the brief had several aims, identify the one used to approve the spend. Record any later change in objective and who approved it. Do not substitute the metric with the most favourable number after the campaign.
Match evidence to the question
| Commercial question | Useful evidence | Remaining limit |
|---|---|---|
| Did the campaign reach its intended shopping context? | Placement and delivery records with product and location coverage | Delivery alone cannot show attention or caused purchases. |
| Which purchases were credited? | Attributed sales with named products, channels, interaction rule and lookback | Attribution cannot show which purchases were additional. |
| What contribution is associated with the relevant orders? | Advertiser receipts, costs, returns and campaign charges on a consistent basis | Contribution from credited orders is not necessarily caused by the ads. |
| Did advertising cause growth? | A credible comparison of outcomes with and without the activity, including uncertainty | The finding remains limited to the studied population and period. |
Do not assume that report labels alone establish what a retailer supplied. ISBA's UK study found differences in core metric definitions across five networks, including what counts as an attributed sale. Keep the delivered report's definitions beside its figures.
Key Findings from ISBA’s UK Retail Media Study
- Variation in attributed sale definitions found
- Yes
- Primary concern highlighted
- Inconsistent metric definitions across platforms
Put the commercial record beside the media report
A retailer's shopper sale may differ from what the supplier receives. Check the advertiser's receipts, variable costs, trade support, returns and charges for the relevant products and period. Avoid deducting an allowance twice if it already reduced receipts. Label unsettled returns or invoices as provisional.
A conclusion can therefore state that credited sales were reported while contribution remains pending settlement. If the approved decision requires a causal effect, attribution and return on ad spend cannot supply the missing no-advertising comparison; the method and uncertainty of any incrementality estimate must be considered.
Give the objective a bounded result
Mark the primary objective met on its stated measure, not met or unresolved with available evidence. Add the definition or condition governing the judgement, such as a stock gap or changed price. Then state the action the result supports. Verified delivery may justify signing off delivery while a budget increase remains undecided. Keep the original objective with the conclusion so its meaning does not change in a later presentation.
