Retail & Commerce Media Glossary

An audience that can be addressed in real-time with targeted messages, be it on-site, off-site, or in-store.

Advertising Cost of Sales is a metric that measures the ad spend generated by advertising in relation to the overall sales value. It is calculated by dividing the ad spend by the sales value and then converting it into a percentage.

A shared repository of commerce/ retail-related data for insights and analysis, benefiting multiple retailers.

An example of off-network retail media, in this case physical media. A box of free samples delivered at home to a retailer's customers, commonly used for products in the health and beauty, personal care, and baby categories.

Attributes are characteristics of consumer data that enable marketers to understand a customer's purchase and intent behaviours.

The process of evaluating and assigning credit to the marketing touchpoints that a consumer encounters on their path to the desired outcome. Attribution helps marketers understand the impact of their advertising campaign, especially in the context of closed-loop measurement and can enable incrementality.

The average revenue generated by a campaign's sales. This KPI is calculated by dividing the total revenue by the total orders over a given time period. The average cart can be tracked for any time period, but the most common is the moving monthly average.

A centralised online destination where a brand lists its products on a retailer site or marketplace, also known as Product Detail Page (PDP)

A catalogue is a regular (often weekly) booklet containing special deals and featured products that are distributed in stores or delivered by mail or newspaper inserts to consumers' homes.

The percentage of all products in a category that a brand sells, often expressed as a percentage in retail. Sometimes refers to the share of a market segment in the category instead.

A secure, cloud-based, privacy-safe environment that allows one or multiple companies to collaborate and analyse shared data, without any party accessing or exposing the other's raw customer information. Clean rooms are one of the foundations for off-site retail media.

A method of tracking and analysing the customer journey, from initial exposure to interaction to conversion, in retail. That conversion can be online or in-store if some form of user tracking is in place (such as the use of a loyalty card).

Commerce Media Networks, which includes Retail Media Networks, allows brands and merchants to address shoppers with products and services throughout their buying journey on and off owned platforms. It uses commerce/retail data for planning, execution and measurement. Commerce media includes an increasing range of activations on-site, off-site and in-store environments.

Attributes of consumer data that enable marketers to understand a customer's purchase and intent behaviours.

Signals or actions indicating a consumer's inclination to make a purchase, used for targeted marketing efforts.

Commerce Media Networks, which include Retail Media Networks, allow brands to address consumers and shoppers with products and services throughout their buying journey, both on and off owned platforms. They use commerce and retail data for planning, execution and measurement. Commerce media includes an increasing range of activations on-site, off-site and in-store environments. Examples of retail media networks include retailers operating in categories such as grocery, beauty, consumer electronics, fashion, DIY and home. Examples of commerce media networks include travel and mobility services, payment providers, food delivery or classifieds.

Traditional media which is connected digitally to the wider media landscape and therefore can be connected to the retail media ecosystem be it connected TV or connected in-store displays.

A customer/shopper journey is the entire experience a customer has while communicating with a brand. It considers the complete interaction roadmap from brand discovery to purchasing and beyond.

A segment of individuals specifically defined based on particular attributes or behaviours relevant to a campaign, often for one-time or limited-run use.

The act of reaching out to a portion of your customer list to re-engage them and drive sales.

A PDF file or HTML replica of the print sales catalogue provided on a retailer's website or digitised with rich interaction features (e.g., "clip to card") and provided inside the retailer's mobile app or by third-party shopping and savings apps.

Electronic vouchers or discounts that can be redeemed when making online purchases.

The online equivalent of the brick-and-mortar shopping experience. The digital shelf is where a brand's product is displayed online, and can include search results and product detail pages on retailer websites and apps, marketplaces, and other eCommerce channels.

Physical promotional materials sent to customers' addresses, often through postal services.

Advertisers displaying brands or products that customers can purchase at the retailer. For clarity, each advertiser can be endemic or non-endemic depending on the retailer (e.g. a toothpaste brand is endemic to a grocer, but non-endemic to an electronics retailer).

When a brand's product is added first to the digital shopping cart over competitors, increasing the likelihood of it being purchased again.

Data that brands, publishers and retailers collect about their users from their own sources (e.g., websites, smartphone apps, customer surveys, CRM databases, etc.).

Marketing strategy involves reaching a consumer at each stage of the marketing funnel (awareness, consideration, and purchase) with appropriate messages. Retail media networks can help equip advertisers (brands) with full-funnel strategies.

Targeting and delivering ads to users based on their geographical location, enhancing local relevance. In the context of retail media it is often tied to local physical stores ranging or product availability.

Process of collecting and matching identifiers across devices and touchpoints to build a cohesive, single view of individual customers, enabling marketers to deliver personalised, contextually relevant messaging throughout the customer journey. This is a key component enabling closed-loop measurement.

Includes radio ads or ads included within store announcements.

Includes hand scanners, app-assisted shopping, smart carts and receipts.

Includes screens, end caps, shelf talkers, POP displays, LED wallpaper, hanging signs, interactive displays, promotional banners, in-store kiosks, smart fridges and check out screens.

In-Store Digital Retail Media refers to advertising that appears within physical retail environments, across digital or static in-store touchpoints. Retailer data is used for planning, targeting, execution, and measurement of in-store media, which may include digital screens (video, display, audio and smart TVs) or static formats (print, physical activations). For further detail, see the IAB Europe and IAB In-Store Definitions and Measurement Guidelines.

The sales value generated in-store during the campaign or over a specific time period. from shoppers exposed to your campaign.

Incrementality sales measurement answers a critical question: What additional sales are directly attributable to your advertising campaign? It isolates the campaign's true impact, disentangling it from other factors influencing sales.

Long loop data refers to data that tracks customer behaviour over a long period of time - for example, the past 52 weeks. This can include data about what products customers have purchased online and offline, how often they have visited a retailer's website, and what they have searched for online.

Lookback Window is the period of time after an ad is clicked or viewed within which a conversion can be attributed, or matched, to the ad.

A marketplace is a digital platform that serves as an intermediary between vendors and consumers, facilitating the online sale of goods and services.

Media monetisation is the capacity to generate additional revenue from your media assets and data by allowing advertising partners to promote their products and brands across multiple channels and touchpoints.

A brand that does not sell its products through a specific retailer or Commerce Media Network (CMN), but leverages the retailer’s media network to reach and engage its highly relevant audience.

Off-Site Retail Media refers to advertising delivered outside a retailer or CMN’s owned digital properties. Retailer first-party data is overlaid on third-party inventory such as display, video, social, CTV, DOOH, digital audio, and in generative AI chat platforms, to target audiences, product related intent, and provide measurement beyond the retailer’s platform.

Omnichannel refers to the practice of creating a seamless shopping experience for customers across all channels, including online, in-store, and mobile. This means that customers should be able to start a shopping journey on one channel and seamlessly continue it on another channel.

Omnichannel Retail Media solutions provide access to Retail Media both in-store and online (retailer owned “onsite” properties or off-site).

On-Site Retail Media is advertising that appears directly on a retailer or CMN’s own digital properties, such as their websites and mobile apps. These placements use the retailer or CMN’s first-party data to target shoppers as they browse and buy, typically through formats like Sponsored Products, Sponsored Display, and Display or Video units.

An example of on-site retail media. Online advertisements, including "digital display" banners or videos, are displayed on a retailer's consumer-facing websites.

Total offline or in-store sales value generated from exposed users over the campaign duration and attribution window.

Transaction data collected at the point of sale, providing insights into customer behaviour and preferences.

Predictive audience is targeting specific audience segments based on predictive models that forecast user behaviour.

A data source containing product information used for creating and managing dynamic product ads within retail marketing. Product information typically includes a product's ID, name, description, category, image URL, and the product's URL on the brand's website.

Product feed management is the administering and optimising of product feeds to enhance the performance of online advertising campaigns.

Product listing optimisation involves enhancing and enriching elements of a product listing or product feed to improve ranking in marketplaces, increase traffic, and boost conversions.

Product recommendations are typically AI-driven algorithms that enhance the relevance of digital content for specific products based on a shopper’s on-site behaviour, such as navigation, recency, and the types of other products browsed.

An example of on-site retail media. Product search involves sponsored-search ads and premium product placement on a retailer's e-commerce site using proprietary consumer data, including history, preferences, and demographics.

Real-time targeting is a way for advertisers to deliver personalised messages within milliseconds to the right audience at the right time.

All these variations refer to the concept where shoppers research brands, offers, and products online before making an in-store purchase.

A Retail Media Network (RMN) is the entity comprising both online and offline channels where brands can advertise to reach shoppers. It encompasses the actual ‘spaces’ or ‘channels’, such as e-commerce sites, in-app spaces, in-store digital displays, off-site retail data, and email marketing channels, where advertisements can be placed.

A Retail Media Platform (RMP) is a technological solution or software system that facilitates the management, execution, and analysis of advertising campaigns within the Retail Media Network. It allows brands to reach shoppers at the point of purchase on retailer and marketplace websites and apps. RMPs offer a variety of ad formats, including sponsored products, display and video ads, instore display and offsite.

Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) is a metric that measures the sales value generated for every unit of currency spent on advertising. It is calculated by dividing the sales value by the ad spend.

Return on Investment (ROI) is a metric used to measure the performance of an ad investment. It is expressed as a percentage and calculated by dividing an investment's net profit (or loss) by its initial cost.

Sales Uplift determines overall Sales lift for a brand during a set amount of time by undertaking an AB test using an exposed vs non-exposed group. The exact methodology for the AB test will vary by Retailer / Retail Media Network.

A collection of connected digital screens that are placed throughout a retailers’ network of stores that can be used to display a variety of content, including advertising, product information, and promotions. Through ownership or partnership, a screen network can be extended to include proximity screens and other screen inventory that a retail media network has been provided access to. Screens could be placed within the car park, foyer, aisle, checkout and post-checkout areas.

Self-Serve Platform is a retail media advertising platform that enables marketing teams and agencies to have direct access to data, inventory, and more, allowing for greater control and clarity in advertising efforts.

An example of in-store media. Shelf edge advertising promoted products are placed right at the point of sale (POS) to drive conversion. Attached to the shelf where the products can be bought, they can vary in content and format - promotions, coupons, recipes, competitions. Historically physical/ print media, digital versions are becoming more prevalent.

Media content that directly links to a product or service for immediate purchase. This could be within articles, social media posts, or videos.

Enabled by dynamic creative and technology that allow e-commerce basket building and / or checkout directly in the ad unit.

An overarching term to describe a marketing discipline that leverages behavioral insights to influence consumer purchasing decisions at critical points in their customer journey. It focuses on the experiences that influence customers to buy something as opposed to driving brand recognition or engagement, like traditional marketing. In-store examples include displays and demos, whilst online would include personalised ads and on-site recommendations.

The practice where customers visit a physical store to examine products before purchasing them online.

An example of on-site retail media. Sponsored Products ads are keyword- or product-targeted ads that promote individual listings and appear in shopping results and product detail pages on the retailer’s site. Also known as promoted products.

A unique identifier is assigned to each product variant, allowing accurate tracking and inventory management.

An organisation, often referred to as a brand that provides a product or service for sale via a retail partner or marketplace.

Supply-side retail media (SSRM) is a type of retail media that allows brands to buy ad space directly from retailers owned and operated properties. The ad space inventory is accessed via a platform where retailers can manage and sell their ad space directly to advertisers. This is in contrast to traditional retail media, where brands buy ad space from intermediaries, such as ad networks and exchanges.

A marketing strategy focused on wholesalers, retailers, and distributors. Its goal is to increase demand from supply chain partners and promote products to consumers, by increasing product visibility within a retail environment. Trade marketing is funded by trade budgets which is the money that manufacturers or suppliers spend on advertising and promotional activities in partnership with retailers.