Retail media has become one of the most powerful growth engines in modern marketing.

It sits at the intersection of media, merchandising, data, and commerce, influencing how brands allocate capital. It increasingly carries enterprise-level expectations for measurable return, and it’s our job to ensure performance accuracy for all advertisers.

Performance metrics are no longer simply “campaign reporting.” They’re a testament to effective and trustworthy planning, media packaging, incremental results, and category, shopper, and basket expansion.

And that’s where our industry must evolve.

Growth metrics must withstand executive scrutiny

In retail media, incremental return on ad spend (iROAS) has become the shorthand for growth impact. At its core, it answers a critical question: What revenue occurred because of advertising that would not have happened otherwise?

It’s a powerful metric. But it’s also a sensitive one.

Recently, we partnered with Ovative Group and Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management to evaluate 42 campaigns and found that reported iROAS could vary by 6.5x on average and 83% of campaigns could flip from positive to negative based solely on methodological choices. This means when media, audience, and spend are constant, and the only variable is measurement methodology, the results can swing widely.

That level of variance is a strategic signal. When methodology can materially shift performance narratives, leadership and decision-makers must clearly and comprehensively understand what sits beneath the number.

This is about governance, not debate

Retail media now plays a central role in shaping enterprise growth projections, informing trade and media investment decisions, and influencing how brands prioritize retailer partnerships. It’s also increasingly tied to broader marketing efficiency discussions at the CFO level, as leaders look for clearer accountability and measurable performance, spanning all marketing levers.

If performance metrics and methodologies vary, we risk optimizing for measurement mechanics instead of business growth. Focusing on flawless execution and pinpoint accuracy, we ensure what we report reflects what actually happened—not what’s convenient.

Retailers operate in different models. But executive decision-making requires three constants:

• Transparency: Advertisers and leaders should have access to clearly defined and calculated incrementality.
• Consistency: Methodologies should not shift without clear rationale.
• Understanding: Ensure day-to-day users understand the methodology well enough to interpret results correctly.

Our approach at Albertsons Media Collective

As an omnichannel retailer, we operate in an environment where customers move fluidly between digital and physical touchpoints— from couch to checkout. Clean experimental isolation is not always possible, which makes disciplined measurement design essential.

At Albertsons Media Collective, our approach is grounded in performance and accuracy through transparent practices, consistent methodology, and understanding of results.

• Transparency. We clearly define how our incrementality is measured, including how test and control groups are constructed, which behavioral and purchase signals are used, and how incremental revenue is isolated. Advertisers should have a confident understanding of what sits beneath the reported number.
• Consistency. Methodologies are documented and applied systematically at The Collective. Incrementality is not recalculated to fit a narrative or adjusted on a campaign-to-campaign basis without clear rationale. Stability builds trust and enables meaningful, longitudinal decision-making and partnerships.
• Understanding. A comprehensive and digestible understanding of assumptions, limitations, and situational impact is crucial. Incrementality only drives better decisions when stakeholders understand what the metric truly represents.

At The Collective, we apply advanced matching methodologies grounded in predictive purchase behavior to construct credible test and control groups. This methodological rigor allows for understanding at all levels of an organization and enables mid-flight optimizations for best-in-class performance. Before reporting lift, we evaluate match quality and, where business context is required, we incorporate time-series modeling to account for trend and seasonality. In addition, we offer a randomized testing methodology upon request.

This commitment ensures reported iROAS reflects true, consumer purchase responses. As an advertiser, you will see this level of disciplined reporting on Albertsons Media Collective’s Pinterest, In-Store and Offsite Display and, now, Onsite Display capabilities when programming reaches the appropriate scale.

The industry’s next phase

Retail media has scaled rapidly. Now, measurement standards must scale with it.

If incremental impact is going to guide how brands allocate billions of dollars, the industry must ensure that those metrics are interpretable, governed, and trusted at the executive level. At Albertsons Media Collective, we are leading with research and actioning through transparency, consistency, and understanding.

Growth deserves measurement that can withstand scrutiny. And that responsibility sits with all of us.

And now, fellow media providers, will you join us in the fight for complete, actionable, and scalable performance accuracy?

Advertisers, will you accept nothing less than clear, consistent measurement driven by outcomes with us?

Want to dive deeper? Download our full whitepaper, “Retail Media iROAS Demystified,” and explore a new EMARKETER interactive report, “Methodology is the Missing Variable in Retail Media Measurement.”