On this episode, we explore how leading brands are implementing successful offsite strategies. Focuses include data partnerships and clean rooms, audience targeting off-platform, measuring offsite incrementality, and balancing scale with signal quality. EMARKETER Senior Analyst, Minda Smiley hosts Jason O’Toole, Head of Connected Commerce & Media at Gildan and Ryan Verklin, Paid Media & Retail Media Senior Lead at Bayer.

As retail media networks use different attribution models, it’s becoming harder for advertisers to compare performance across platforms. Incrementality offers a clearer view of which investments are truly driving growth.

While digital in-store retail media remains a small fraction of total retail media spend, the real challenge is integrating digital formats into physical stores thoughtfully to create a cohesive customer experience rather than a fragmented one.

Retail media has reached a point where measurement is table stakes. But what table stakes actually look like is changing fast. With the launch of its latest measurement tool, Kroger Precision Marketing (KPM) is signaling its priorities for retail media measurement: Speed, incrementality, and clearer decision-making.

Research shows it builds demand first, then converts—rewarding longer flights and post-campaign tracking.

As commerce media ad spend shifts, clear gaps emerge in buyer maturity and execution. From setup friction to system-level optimization, spend levels signal today’s constraints and what it takes to unlock scalable growth.

This FAQ addresses what commerce media is, how it differs from retail media, and where growth opportunities exist for advertisers in 2026.

“The way retail media has historically been built has been about setting up an advertising business on a retailer’s owned and operated digital channels,” said our analyst Sarah Marzano on an episode of The CPG Guys.

PayPal rolled out Transaction Graph Insights & Measurement at CES to gives advertisers and merchants a clearer, cross-merchant view of how people actually shop and purchase—and early results suggest meaningful impact.

"The retail media landscape is only becoming more crowded, but Target's guest insights are often cited as a key differentiator," said our analyst Sarah Marzano during EMARKETER's recent Commerce Media Summit.

Retail media’s early free-for-all is giving way to a more deliberate approach. At last week’s EMARKETER Summit, leaders from Kellanova and Every Man Jack described how marketers are sharpening their focus, rethinking measurement, and preparing for an AI-driven discovery landscape.

Nearly half (46.9%) of US brand and agency marketers plan to invest in marketing mix modeling (MMM) over the next 12 months, according to July data from TransUnion and EMARKETER.

In-store retail media is Europe’s next big ad opportunity. But as retailers digitize stores, standardization and measurement challenges are dragging advertiser adoption.

YouTube’s strength is that it’s many things to many people. But that also makes it harder for marketers to reach audiences on the platform. This report outlines YouTube’s challenges and explains how marketers can make the most of the YouTube opportunity.

As retail media networks expand, one of the biggest challenges facing marketers is measurement. In fact, 42% of US retail media buyers believe that more effective and accurate campaign measurement is the most important issue in retail media advertising today, according to March 2025 data from Koddi. To help advertisers better assess the effectiveness of their campaigns, Sam’s Club Member Access Platform (MAP) has introduced Omni-Impact—a new AI-powered measurement solution.

Advertisers’ push for a unified strategy across retail media, loyalty programs, and merchandising is raising the bar on data and transparency. Paul Lentz, executive director and head of strategic development at CVS Media Exchange, shares how new collaborations—from The Trade Desk to social platforms—can help brands see every ad dollar’s impact.

Retail media will reach $60.81 billion in 2025—adding more new dollars than Meta and Alphabet combined—and brands now rank incrementality as a top KPI. In this interview, Tinuiti’s Elizabeth Marsten lays out how to prove incremental sales, pick smarter tools, and keep measurement future-ready.

Incrementality has always been the holy grail of retail media. But lately, it’s taken on greater importance as ad budgets are squeezed and retail media networks (RMNs) fight for their share of ad dollars.