Bridging the Gaps in Retail Media Measurement: IAB Europe Supports Collaboration Following Findings of a UK Study into Retail Media From ISBA & Mediasense 

Now exceeding €10bn in advertising spend* across Europe, the rapid rise of Retail Media is unlocking new opportunities for brands to engage with consumers. However, with this growth comes the need for greater consistency and clarity in measurement.

The recent ISBA x MediaSense study into the UK Retail Media ecosystem brings renewed focus to several challenges that stakeholders across the industry are actively working to address. Key areas highlighted in the study include:

• Inconsistent measurement methodologies across platforms
• Fragmented data sources that hinder holistic performance analysis
• Varying definitions of key metrics that require manual reconciliation
• Limited transparency in viewability, attribution, and audience quality

IAB Europe recognises these challenges as opportunities for collaborative progress. In close partnership with its members and broader stakeholders, IAB Europe is leading a series of initiatives aimed at improving transparency, building trust, and enabling sustainable growth in the Retail Media ecosystem.

Current initiatives being shaped by IAB Europe and the industry include:

• Retail Media Certification: A voluntary initiative that helps retailers and ad tech partners demonstrate alignment with common measurement principles, including consistent metric definitions and reporting standards.
  
• Core Metrics Framework: Establishing shared language for KPIs such as ROAS, view-through rates, and new-to-brand conversions to promote better cross-platform understanding.
  
• Attribution Best Practices Guidelines: Encouraging consistent approaches to lookback windows and click/view-based attribution to support clearer comparisons.
  
• Third-Party Verification Protocols: Supporting the adoption of independent audits for factors such as invalid traffic, viewability, and data integrity.

These collaborative efforts aim to create a more interoperable and trusted Retail Media landscape, one in which brands can make confident investment decisions, and retailers can compete based on the value of their solutions.

"The findings in our report give us a clear mandate from brands in the UK to continue our joint efforts with IAB Europe to educate the ecosystem on what constitutes sensible guardrails and standards within Retail Media”. Dan Larden, Head of Media at ISBA

For more information on IAB Europe’s role in facilitating Retail Media standards, visit our Retail Media hub and our Retail Media Certification Programme page. You can also reach out to our Industry Development & Insights Director, Marie-Clare Puffett, at puffett [at] iabeurope.eu.

About IAB Europe’s Retail & Commerce Media Committee

The Retail & Commerce Media Committee is a multi-stakeholder group that brings together IAB Europe members to foster understanding, enable industry-wide initiatives, and co-develop standards in areas such as measurement and metrics. The Committee is open to all IAB Europe members. If you’re interested in participating, please contact Marie-Clare Puffett.

Notes:

*Data refers to On-Site Retail Media Advertising Spend