Observed Signal · Nov 4, 2026 · Analysis · Source: https://martech.org/feed/ · Impact: 2/5 · Sentiment: Neutral
How to Fund Full-Funnel Retail Media Across Three Budgets
This article provides a framework for funding full-funnel retail media campaigns across multiple internal budgets, such as retail media, paid media, and brand budgets. It emphasizes the importance of shared goals, clear spending authority, and separate tracking of proposed, approved, and retailer-eligible amounts. The hypothetical example illustrates a $340,000 campaign with only $290,000 approved and $230,000 expected to qualify for a retailer agreement. The article advises on coordinating purchases without merging approval authority, evaluating annual incentives, and keeping sales reconciliation separate from attribution. It references IAB and IAB Europe guidelines for incremental measurement in commerce media. The guidance is practical, focusing on internal alignment and financial tracking rather than new technological developments.
Provides practical guidance for coordinating retail media budgets across teams, but is not breaking news or a major industry event.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- The article presents a hypothetical retail media campaign with $340,000 proposed, $290,000 approved, and $230,000 expected to qualify for retailer agreement.
- It advises separating proposed, approved, and retailer-eligible amounts for clarity.
- It recommends using a shared campaign ID to connect purchases without merging approval authority.
- It references IAB and IAB Europe guidelines for incremental measurement in commerce media.
- It suggests reconciling retailer-confirmed sales separately from platform attribution reports.
Connected Companies & Entities
3 Entities mapped“The IAB and IAB Europe commerce-media incrementality guidelines distinguish measurement approaches by their causal strength and intended use...”
“The IAB and IAB Europe commerce-media incrementality guidelines distinguish measurement approaches by their causal strength and intended use...”
“The IAB and IAB Europe commerce-media incrementality guidelines distinguish measurement approaches by their causal strength and intended use...”
Ontology Mapping & Concepts
Related Market Signals & Shifts
Recent verified developments and strategic activity across this market segment.
Unlocking Retail Media's Future with Full-Funnel Measurement
Harvey Ma of Sam’s Club Member Access Platform argues that retail media’s next growth phase requires shifting measurement from siloed, last‑click and channel‑specific views to holistic, full‑funnel and longitudinal approaches. As in‑store retail media spending is projected to exceed $1 billion by 2029, confidence in current measurement lags due to disconnected reporting across onsite, offsite, in‑store and CTV channels. The piece calls for privacy‑safe, aggregated first‑party signals—especially membership and loyalty data—plus unified definitions and methodologies. It recommends combining multi‑touch attribution, media mix modeling, incrementality testing and closed‑loop transaction insights to track discovery, consideration, trial, repeat purchase and lifetime value over time, and to evaluate outcomes beyond short‑term ROAS.
Legacy Measurement Sabotaging Retail Media Growth
The IAB blog argues that traditional Marketing Mix Modeling (MMM) is increasingly insufficient for measuring retail/commerce media. With retail media networks (RMNs) providing deterministic, SKU- and transaction-level data, closed-loop reporting and incrementality testing, MMM’s reliance on aggregated historical inputs and spend variation can under-credit retail media and misinform budget allocation. The post explains structural mismatches—always-on activation, CPC/CPA and auction dynamics, and fragmented commerce signals across channels—that cause MMM to undervalue retail media. IAB recommends repositioning MMM for long‑horizon planning while using closed‑loop, causal measurement (randomized experiments, geographic lift tests, platform-level reporting) as the primary basis for retail media investment decisions. The article references IAB’s 'Guidelines for Incremental Measurement in Commerce Media' and quotes industry practitioners urging adoption of best practices to accurately capture retail media’s incremental sales impact.
Retail Media Investment Rises in Europe, Measurement Still Key Barrier
IAB Europe's third 'Attitudes to Retail Media Report' reveals that while retail media investment in Europe is rising, measurement remains the biggest barrier. The report, which includes MENA insights for the first time, shows 73% of buyers increased retail media spend in the last year, and 71% now partner with retailers for over a year (up from 51% in 2024). However, 61% cite measurement as an obstacle, up from 48% last year, and data availability concerns jumped from 31% to 58%. A 'measurement gap' persists: buyers want unified online/offline reporting (68% demand, only 40% offered), while sellers more often provide campaign metrics like reach and frequency. Sellers are prioritizing measurement development (63%) and AI adoption (68%), with half planning to build for product visibility in AI assistants like ChatGPT within 12 months. Only 12% of buyers consider their strategies fully sophisticated, underscoring the need for standardized measurement and certification.
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