By Charles Lee Mathews. Retail media networks are surging, with ad spend growing faster than other digital channels. Why? Brands are drawn to the deep customer insights and closed-loop attribution that shows the efficacy of every rand spent. However, a lack of standardised measurement across platforms may scupper the growth of retail media networks. Brands and media buyers are calling for change.
“Standardisation allows advertisers to accurately compare performance across different retail media networks,” says Neil Pursey, founder and CEO of Measurebyte. “When metrics are consistent and transparent, advertisers can trust the results they’re seeing. This confidence is key to building trust from the brands, unlocking larger budgets, and driving the growth of retail media as a whole.”
Standardisation drives competition
Pursey explains how fragmentation in the retail media sector limits brand participation and hampers competition. “It’s been argued that standardisation could lower the barrier to entry for smaller retailers and marketplaces, creating a more diverse and competitive ecosystem. Standardised measurement makes it easier to understand how retail media fits into the broader marketing mix. This holistic view is essential for optimising overall marketing strategies and budgets,” he explains.
“With a common foundation in place, retail media networks can focus on innovating and differentiating in areas like targeting capabilities or creative formats. Standardisation helps ensure that everyone is playing by the same rules, increasing transparency and trust in the ecosystem. As the industry matures, standardisation will pave the way for more sophisticated measurements, such as customer lifetime value, which could become the holy grail of retail media KPIs,” Pursey adds.
Daniel Malan, commerce lead at Dentsu Performance South Africa, echoes this sentiment: “Brands need visibility into how much ad revenue their advertising efforts generate and the ability to analyse this performance through self-service solutions. This foundation is crucial for scaling the adoption of retail media in South Africa and creating a competitive space for deeper market and brand understanding.”
Fragmentation and its impact on brands
The big problem facing nascent retail media networks is that inconsistent measurement standards hinder accurate evaluation of advertising efficacy across platforms. Malan points out that “without a consistent and accurate framework to support data analysis, many challenging questions arise. The most crucial aspect is making informed decisions—standardisation frameworks allow for strategic budget shifts across channels and provide a proper planning foundation.”
Martin MacGregor, partner: media at M&C Saatchi Group South Africa, says that “by using the same metrics across ad networks, brands can better compare performance across channels for integrated campaigns. This leads to better decision-making, from planning media buys to measuring the effectiveness of ads across networks.”
Currently, major players like Takealot and Checkers Sixty60 use their own proprietary metrics, making it difficult for advertisers to compare performance across multiple platforms. “The situation regarding standardisation of measurement in South African retail media is in flux, reflecting the dynamic nature of the market,” Pursey says.
Slow progress in standardisation
Despite growing awareness among advertisers and agencies, progress toward standardised measurement has been slow. “The dominance of Takealot in the e-commerce space has meant they’ve largely set the pace for measurement standards. The entry of Amazon into the South African market is likely to shake things up. Amazon brings with it global experience in retail media measurement, which could influence local practices,” says Pursey.
“Industry bodies in South Africa are beginning to discuss the need for standardisation, but concrete initiatives are still in their infancy,” Pursey continues. “There’s no equivalent yet to the comprehensive guidelines released by the IAB in more mature markets.”
Retail media’s unique ability to connect brands with sales results and shopper data has fuelled its growth, but this will only continue if standardisation follows, as recent IAB research suggests.
Fragmentation is holding brands back
The inaugural Attitudes to Retail Media Report reveals that nearly 90% of buyers 90% of buyers prioritise gaining access to first-party data from retailers, while three-quarters see the value in reaching consumers at the point of sale. But fragmentation and lack of standardisation remain significant barriers, with nearly 60% of buyers identifying these as key challenges to investment.
Measurement standards top the list of concerns, with 70% of respondents in the report describing the absence of standardisation as a major obstacle. According to the report, the most favoured metrics are return on ad spend (ROAS) at 74%, campaign metrics at 58%, and unified online and offline reporting at 58%.
Data silos and the measurement dilemma
“The data silos of individual retail ad networks result in inconsistent metrics, making it difficult to compare performance for an integrated campaign across platforms. This leads to complex reporting at best and inefficient media spend allocation at worst,” says MacGregor.
Celia Collins, VP of Publicis Media, agrees. “Fragmentation rules, and measurements are misleading,” she says. “If you look at third-party display elements where they have an add-to-basket feature, this is what’s measured. When you go onto the Checkers Sixty60 app, for example, they give you the actual sales, but third parties are not allowed into the Sixty60 ecosystem.” The current solution from Checkers is a standalone page that measures intent to purchase, not actual sales.
Brands want value and consistency
“Intent is not measured as sales, so it’s a hundred per cent important for the client’s sake — and what they’re investing in — to bring standardisation into the market,” says Collins. “If we don’t start doing this, brands will pull away because they’re not getting the value or true measurement of what it’s costing them to be on e-commerce.”
Pursey further explains, “There’s a growing demand for more granular data on audience segmentation and targeting. Brands want to know what audiences see their ads and how different segments respond. Incrementality measurement is crucial. Brands are prioritising this to improve omnichannel measurement. They need to understand how retail media drives additional sales, not just correlates with existing customer behaviour.”
He adds, “Media buyers would be able to make truly informed decisions across platforms. They could easily compare performance on Takealot, Checkers Sixty60, and the incoming Amazon, just as they can with Google and Bing in search advertising. This apples-to-apples comparison would lead to smarter budget allocation and strategy decisions.”
Standardisation brings efficiency
The big benefit for brands and media buyers is that planning and buying processes would become far more streamlined. “Buyers could use a unified approach across networks, saving time and resources. This efficiency gain could be particularly significant as the South African retail media landscape becomes more complex with Amazon’s entry,” Pursey says.
“Campaign performance would likely improve,” Pursey continues. With standardised metrics, media buyers can more easily identify top-performing strategies and apply them across platforms. This could lead to better optimisation and ultimately, better results for their clients. Demonstrating value to clients and stakeholders would become easier. Standardised measurements make it simpler to create comprehensive reports that stakeholders can easily understand, helping to justify investments and secure budgets for retail media.
Standardisation also paves the way for more sophisticated, cross-platform strategies. “As seen in the search advertising world, standardisation could pave the way for more advanced techniques like programmatic buying across retail media networks in South Africa. Measuring incrementality would become more straightforward. With a standardised approach to measuring the additional impact of retail media, buyers can more effectively distribute budgets across channels and campaigns.”
Trust and transparency will drive growth
“Trust in the ecosystem would likely increase. Addressing the ‘grading your own homework’ issue would boost confidence in reported results, potentially leading to increased investment in retail media as a whole,” he adds.
Pursey has a strong message to the industry, but particularly to retailers with skin in the game and who want their networks to grow. “To media buyers — keep pushing for clearer, more comparable metrics. To the retail networks — consider how standardisation might help you attract more ad spend. And to the industry bodies — there’s an opportunity here to provide valuable guidance to improve standardisation.”
Charles Lee Mathews is a contributing writer to MarkLives MEDIA and MarkLives.com, as well as co-founder of The Writers, a writing consultancy.
