Observed Signal · Sep 29, 2026 · Product Launch · Source: The Drum · Impact: 4/5 · Sentiment: Neutral
Retail Media Networks Revive Multi-Touch Attribution
Within a week in September 2026, two major retailers announced new multi-touch attribution (MTA) capabilities for their retail media networks. Albertsons Media Collective launched an incrementality-based MTA built with LiveRamp and piloted by PepsiCo, while Best Buy Ads released its own in-house MTA within My Ads. The author, Kiri Masters, questions the revival given MTA's fall from favor, but analyzes retailer incentives: MTA may serve as a tool to unlock brand budgets, which are larger than performance budgets, by justifying higher CPMs and measuring full-funnel impact. Retailers see demand from shopper marketing teams, but brands and consultants express skepticism about MTA's accuracy, data access, and black-box nature. The article contrasts retailer-owned systems with independent tools like Clerdata, Incremental, Keen Decision Systems, and Circana, and discusses limitations of the Albertsons-LiveRamp partnership, which is grocery-exclusive and excludes Google Search and Amazon.
Two major retail media networks (Albertsons and Best Buy) launching multi-touch attribution signals a shift toward more sophisticated measurement in retail media. This could impact how brands allocate budgets between performance and brand, influencing ad tech competition and the need for cross-retailer normalization. The article highlights debates on MTA vs. MMM, with implications for measurement vendors.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Albertsons Media Collective announced Retail Media Incrementality-Based Multi-Touch Attribution on September 17, 2026, built with LiveRamp and piloted by PepsiCo.
- Best Buy Ads confirmed its own multi-touch attribution, built in-house, going live on September 30, 2026, within My Ads.
- Albertsons' MTA connects impression-level exposure across its channels, offsite media, and participating platforms (including Google DV360, Google Ad Manager, Perion) against transaction data.
- The Albertsons-LiveRamp collaboration is described as 'first-to-market, grocery exclusive'.
- The article cites independent measurement tools: Clerdata, Incremental, Keen Decision Systems, and Circana.
- Acadia, an agency, abandoned MTA in favor of mix modeling, incrementality testing, and platform optimization.
Connected Companies & Entities
9 Entities mapped“Albertsons Media Collective announced Retail Media Incrementality-Based Multi-Touch Attribution, built with LiveRamp and piloted by PepsiCo....”
“PepsiCo is the launch pilot partner......”
“Albertsons went through LiveRamp’s Cross-Media Intelligence infrastructure......”
“Best Buy Ads confirmed its own multi-touch attribution, built in-house......”
“Microsoft-level third-party inventory with Display & Video 360 and Google Ad Manager......”
“The release specifies 'third-party inventory with Display & Video 360, Google Ad Manager and Perion.'...”
“Skye Frontier, executive vice-president at Incremental......”
“...Keen Decision Systems and Circana......”
“bringing Meta and third-party inventory......”
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