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Retail media is quickly outpacing other areas of digital advertising and is projected to grow 29% by 2025. Despite this trajectory, retail media is still relatively new compared to traditional digital media and operates like a startup in terms of tech capabilities. Sustained growth will require retail media standardization — creating consistent ways to measure and compare ad performance across retail media networks (RMNs). This standardization will be key for RMNs wanting to understand what’s driving the most value and sales for their business.
In an Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) study, 62% of ad buyers pointed to standardization as a top growth challenge. The current ecosystem’s inconsistent standards have prevented effective investment in measurement and limited ad buyer participation. Standardization will be necessary moving forward for effective adoption and trust in these new channels.
This article explores the challenges marketers face without retail media standardization and the collaborative efforts needed to establish consistent measurement standards across the industry.
How much standardization currently exists?
Retail media standardization is limited industry-wide, with each RMN using its own metrics and definitions; what one network calls a “conversion” might be defined differently by another. Some retail companies also sell ad space within siloed, walled-garden shopping environments, which makes it difficult for advertisers to compare performance across platforms. As a result, the current landscape lends itself to inconsistency, campaign measurement complications, and an unclear view of return on investment (ROI) across RMNs.
This fragmentation stems from how retailers have historically developed and managed customer data platforms and e-commerce websites independently, causing disparities in the types and quality of customer data available and the technologies used to manage it. Each retailer uses a unique technology stack and customer experience strategies, which means data is collected, utilized, and integrated into advertising platforms differently.
Why is standardization important?
A 2023 State of Retail Media Survey highlighted the industry’s lack of standardization as a significant obstacle to growth. The Association of National Advertisers also found that advertisers can’t fully take advantage of their retail media investments because of inconsistent measurement practices. Standardized retail media measurement practices are critical for growth. By setting consistent measurement standards across different platforms, it becomes easier for various players to:
- Assess how ads are performing
- See which strategies work across RMNs
- Optimize ad spending
- Make informed decisions
- Extract more value from advertising budgets
Ultimately, standardized metrics are a must for improving transparency, strategic effectiveness, and ROI.
Who is promoting standardization?
We’re seeing a collective push for retail media standardization by several industry stakeholders wanting a more cohesive and effective advertising ecosystem. One of the most recent efforts came from the IAB and the Media Rating Council (MRC). These organizations collaborated with brands, agencies, and RMNs to develop new guidelines for standardized measurement practices and have given the ecosystem a proposed common language for retail media measurement.
These guidelines were released in January 2024 to provide a consistent framework for the following across retail media platforms:
- Audience measurement
- Reporting
- Incrementality
- Transparency
- Viewability
- Ad delivery
- In-store advertising
Microsoft Retail Media, an early adopter of the framework, has experienced greater data transparency, accuracy, privacy, and security, which has benefited advertisers and retailers and advanced Microsoft’s position as a retail media industry leader. Widespread adoption of these guidelines has the potential to drive innovation, attract more advertisers, strengthen collaboration, grow the industry, and improve the consumer experience.
The benefits of industry standardization
A standardized retail media framework for performance measurement can benefit advertisers, retailers, media agencies, and other stakeholders in the ecosystem. Here are some ways each entity stands to benefit.
Benefits for retailers
Standardization makes it easier for retailers to demonstrate their credibility and the value of their retail media program. With uniform measurement across channels and campaigns, they can provide clear, comparable data that reflects their impact, builds trust, and encourages advertiser investment. Better campaign management efficiency also reduces the operational burden, so retailers can focus on improving customer experiences and driving sales.
Experian’s Activity Feed helps you measure performance — and understand how ads impact shopping behavior — by providing you with ad exposures in one environment (web or connected TV) that you can connect to an action in another (in-store purchase). Learn more about Activity Feed and see it in action here.
Benefits for media agencies and marketers
With standardized metrics, advertisers and media agencies have an easy, reliable way to compare metrics and assess the effectiveness of various campaigns across RMNs. This “apples to apples” comparison helps them determine which channels are truly driving better ROI so they can effectively optimize spending.
Standardization also improves collaboration with retailers and leads to more effective campaigns. Consistent guidelines can help teams create, carry out, and optimize retail media strategies and easily compare platform effectiveness.
Benefits for industry stakeholders
Industry stakeholders like technology providers and regulatory bodies can greatly benefit from standardized retail media measurement practices. Consistent measurement provides a common framework that improves transparency and trust among parties. With reliable and comparable metrics, standardization helps everyone speak the same language when it comes to performance evaluation and decision-making. This uniformity facilitates smoother interactions and partnerships between the buy and sell sides, so it’s easier to negotiate and collaborate.
Strategies for implementing retail media standardization
Standardizing measurement will require industry-wide coordination around several strategies, as outlined in best practices frameworks from standardization proponents like IAB/MRC and the Albertson’s Media Collective.
Unify reporting and performance measurement
To address the lack of standardization in performance metrics, RMNs must adopt uniform definitions and calculation methodologies for key metrics. Unified reporting in retail media requires successful stakeholder collaboration to:
- Agree on critical KPIs and reporting metrics like impressions and conversion rates
- Adopt standardized data formats and reporting tools
- Educate stakeholders
- Ensure data quality and compliance
- Continuously improve based on industry feedback
The IAB/MRC framework provides a basis for standardizing metrics for media delivery and engagement, as well as sales and conversions. This consistency helps advertisers compare performance across platforms effectively, enhancing transparency and decision-making.
Standardize product specifications
It’s important for advertisers to have consistent product specifications, as it makes it easier to create and deploy ads across multiple RMNs. To achieve this, RMNs should align ad formats, file sizes, animations, and video specifications with IAB guidelines. Following these standards will help RMNs eliminate compatibility issues, simplify adoption, and save time and resources. It’s also vital for RMNs to maintain flexibility for unique ad formats in order to encourage innovation while still benefiting from standardized specifications.
Introduce third-party verification and disclose capabilities
Introducing third-party verification for ad placement, fraud detection, brand safety, and competitive separation can improve an RMN’s credibility and transparency. By disclosing the third-party providers used and the types of verification offered, RMNs build trust with advertisers and give them the confidence they need to invest.
Additionally, RMNs should disclose their staffing, processes, technology, inventory management, targeting, creative management, and self-service offerings. Transparency in these areas helps advertisers make informed decisions, optimize ad buys, and increase efficiency. Using existing IAB verification and capability disclosure guidelines ensures reliability and a more trustworthy, efficient advertising environment.
Future retail media standardization trends
The future of retail media is poised for significant growth, especially as standardization guidelines are widely adopted and implemented. Here are some trends we expect to see as retail media ad spending grows.
Widespread RMN adoption and spending
Standardization could spur greater RMN spending and drive broad adoption by advertisers who hesitated before due to concerns about metrics and performance comparability.
New partnerships and collaborations
Standardization may lead to new partnerships that weren’t possible before:
- Brands and retailers might team up to blend advertising and sales data for better-targeted campaigns.
- AdTech companies could also partner with multiple retailers to offer unified advertising solutions.
- Retail media networks and analytics firms could collaborate to provide deep insights into consumer behavior and campaign performance.
- Partnerships among retailers, including smaller ones seeking retail media measurement uniformity, may drive further standardization and create new advertising opportunities across product categories with audience overlap.
Ad format innovation
Agreeing on common standards simplifies how ads are measured and understood. Standardization may drive down costs and free up space for more imaginative, engaging ads in the future. For instance, the IAB/MRC’s common language is helping to promote consistency and clarity and fuel innovation across the board.
Incrementality focus
As standardization becomes more widespread, there may be a growing trend toward incrementality measurement, which measures the additional impact of advertising campaigns compared to what would have happened without them. Standardized metrics can help advertisers accurately gauge and optimize campaign effectiveness and maximize their marketing investments.
Growth of cross-platform ad targeting
Standardization may drive the growth of cross-platform ad targeting. With consistent metrics and measurement standards, advertisers will be able to track and compare their ad performance across platforms more accurately. This unified approach will improve ad targeting precision and ensure a consistent impact across RMNs.
Commerce media
Commerce media is changing retail advertising with its focus on verified data and real-time transaction insights, making campaigns more efficient. This shift could push for more uniform measurement standards across platforms and level the playing field. As commerce media gains traction, its emphasis on targeted advertising and ROI measurement might pave the way for universal metrics and clearer guidelines across retail networks.
Where does this leave modern advertisers?
Retail media is still at a crossroads. If standardization doesn’t occur soon, its growth may slow. For now, advertisers are resorting to custom strategies or relying on whichever network they feel is most effective for their products. They are likely to continue investing significantly in retail media, maintaining or increasing spending in the next year.
Although RMNs continue to be challenging without formally recognized standardization guidelines, the proposed IAB/MRC guidelines provide an effective starting point.
Join forces with a strategic RMN partner
RMN success requires overcoming complicated technical hurdles that may exceed non-media business capacities. Managing data complexities, resolving identities, utilizing audience insights, and ensuring precise measurement requires specialized expertise and technologies.
We recently announced a solution tailored for RMNs. This offering enhances RMNs’ strength in first-party shopper data by using Experian’s#1 ranked identity and audience services. Our solution helps RMNs unlock expanded customer insights, enriched audiences for activation, identity resolution for cross-channel audience targeting, and real-time measurement and attribution. This comprehensive solution is designed to help RMNs capture more advertising revenue.
If your organization could benefit from a partner with the requisite technological tools and insights into the retail media landscape, contact us to discover how we can help you achieve RMN success.
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Audigent, a part of Experian, is excited to announce that curated audience and contextual inventory packages are now accessible on Google Display and Video 360 (DV360), delivered via Index Marketplaces. These premium deals offer industry-leading targeting solutions, combining high-quality data and inventory to enhance scale, value, and performance across connected TV (CTV), display, and online video (OLV). The integration launches with over 250 ready-to-run deals covering various sectors, including some available for DV360 buyers for the first time, such as automotive, B2B, seasonal retail, sports fandom, travel, and weather, among others. Each deal combines exclusive audience data with premium inventory under a single DV360 deal ID. The supply-side activation lets you scale campaigns without cookies or device IDs, so results stay consistent even as traditional tracking disappears. "We’re excited to expand Audigent’s curated, data-enriched packages in DV360 with Index Exchange. Putting Experian’s audiences and Audigent's premium supply inside a single deal ID accelerates smarter decisions for marketers—letting brands activate, test, and see results right away.”Chris Feo, Chief Business Officer, Experian Why these packages stand out Unique targeting and supply packages Each package fuses exclusive data with handpicked inventory and ships as a single, ready-to-trade deal ID. Deep partner bench Audiences are sourced from first-party publisher data as well as data leaders such as Experian, Affinity Answers, Acxiom, Bombora, Circana, Dun & Bradstreet, Resonate, Sports Innovation Lab, The Weather Company, and more, providing buyers with deterministic purchase, intent, behavioral, and lifestyle signals in one flight. Future-proofed addressability Packages rely on Audigent’s identity framework, contextual intelligence, and supply-side data activation rather than third-party cookies or device IDs, keeping reach intact as identifiers fade. Three reasons these packages drive results Signal-agnostic reach: Cookieless, device-less targeting preserves scale today and tomorrow. Instant activation: Traders simply add the pre-curated deal ID to a DV360 line item and go live in seconds. Built-in quality assurance: Exclusive audience data is paired with hand-vetted inventory, so you start closer to KPIs from day one. Direct-to-source media buying that pays off By packaging curated, data-enriched deals directly atop Index Exchange, via the Index Marketplaces platform, Audigent eliminates extra hops and integrates premium partner data into a single price, with no additional data management platform (DMP) fees. That means higher match rates, simplified audience management, and a cleaner, greener path that concentrates spend on top-tier publishers. Paired with Index Exchange’s omnichannel reach, brands see stronger performance and lower waste, no trade-offs required. "Our goal with Index Marketplaces is to streamline access to premium supply, high-quality data, and measurable outcomes. Hosting Audigent's ready-to-run deals on Index lets DV360 buyers tap addressable inventory curated for scale, sustainability, and speed – no extra steps, just better results."Paul Zovighian, Vice President of Marketplaces, Index Exchange Real-world use cases Audigent’s deep data collaboration bench isn’t window dressing; it’s baked into every package. Deterministic signals from Experian and fellow data leaders come pre-loaded, so you tap high-intent, high-match audiences the instant you activate a deal ID. In-market auto shoppers Reach consumers actively researching specific vehicle types, such as compact cars, SUVs, trucks, or luxury models, using deterministic data from Experian. These segments predict purchase intent within the next 180 days, enabling the delivery of accurate messaging at the moment of consideration. B2B account growth Target decision-maker employees at companies segmented by employee count: 11–50, 51–250, or 251+, using Dun & Bradstreet’s data. Or reach small business professionals and business decision-makers via deals utilizing Bombora’s data assets. Sports fandom Engage verified MLB fans based on purchase behavior, powered by Sports Innovation Lab. Extend reach to contextual sports content, including live sports and sports-related programming across CTV and OLV. Seasonal retail bursts Engage gift-givers and in-market segments for gifts and occasions. Target DIY home improvers and verified affinity audiences for home projects. Reach back-to-school families by targeting parents preparing for the school year with Affinity Answers’ event-based segments. Weather-driven behavior Activate campaigns based on how real-time or forecasted weather conditions (like sunny days, outdoor activity suitability, or severe weather alerts) influence mindsets and decisions, powered by The Weather Company's data. "This collaboration integrates The Weather Company’s industry‑leading weather forecast data into DV360, the world’s largest buying platform, enabling real‑time relevance through curated deals. Experian contributes deep expertise in consumer audiences, The Weather Company delivers unmatched precision in timing and location, and Index Exchange adds efficiency and transparency – together creating a streamlined, turnkey solution for activation." Dave Olesnevich, VP of Data and Ad Product, The Weather Company Ready to activate? Search Audigent in DV360’s Marketplace, select the Audigent package that fits your KPIs, and add the deal ID to your line item. Prefer a custom build? Reach out to us at partnershipsales@experian to curate a package tailored to your campaign goals. The quickest path to performance is just one deal ID away. Contact us now Latest posts
Brands want more from their media investments: better insights, more efficient reach, and clear proof of performance. Whether you’re starting with high-quality first-party data or need help reaching new audiences, Experian offers flexible solutions to drive reach among key audiences and to measure the impact. We’ve built two primary activation and measurement solutions tailored to how brands operate, so you can spend less time managing data and more time driving outcomes. Use case 1: First-party insights to activation and measurement Best for: Brands with first-party data looking to deepen their understanding of existing customers, activate intelligently, and measure what matters – all through a single trusted partner. Solution: Audience Engine + Outcomes Audience Engine Audience Engine is our self-service platform designed to help you onboard first-party data, gain key insights into your customers, build custom audiences using our powerful data assets, and activate them across 200+ platforms — all within a single workflow. Outcomes Experian Outcomes closes the loop by measuring real-world results of your campaigns (such as visits, purchases, and website actions) and tying them back to specific media exposures across digital and TV channels. Together, these tools offer a full-funnel audience and measurement solution, from planning and activation to proving performance. Let’s bring this to life A leading athletic retailer partnered with Experian and Yieldmo to drive in-store foot traffic, targeting shoppers likely to buy from their competitors during key sales windows. Using Experian’s Audience Engine, which includes our proprietary and third-party data marketplace, Yieldmo built a high-performing, self-serve targeting strategy for the retailer. By combining Experian Audiences with Partner Audiences from Alliant, Circana, Webbula, and Sports Innovation Lab, Yieldmo was able to build apparel and footwear audiences from the data marketplace including: In-store shopper segments Athleisure purchasers Competitive purchasers Audience Engine also enabled Yieldmo to tap into Experian’s identity graph, expanding cross-channel reach and maximizing campaign scale and precision. And while not used for this campaign, our Outcomes solution allows advertisers to tie media spend to in-store activity, so retailers can measure true business impact. Benefits Understand your customers more deeply To reveal behavioral, demographic, and lifestyle trends. Reach your first-party audiences at scale Across top activation platforms, using Audience Engine’s onboarding capabilities. Increase your brand awareness By reaching prospective audiences, using Experian Audiences, Partner Audiences, and lookalike audiences. Measure campaign effectiveness With Outcomes, which correlates media exposures (digital and/or TV) with offline and online conversions, visits, or sales. Optimize future media buys By using attribution insights to refine targeting, creative, and channel mix based on what’s actually driving results. Use case 2: Activation and measurement Best for: Brands that already know who they want to reach and are looking to activate high-quality, data-driven audiences across their preferred media platforms and want to clearly understand what’s driving performance. Solution: Audiences + Partner Audiences + Outcomes Audiences Experian Audiences are pre-built audience segments grouped by shared attributes from Experian Marketing Data built for activation on-the-shelf of top programmatic, TV, and social destinations like FreeWheel, Magnite, and Madhive, in addition to Audience Engine. Partner Audiences Experian's Partner Audiences are high-quality audience segments sourced directly from 30+ leading third-party data providers like Affinity, Circana, and Dun & Bradstreet. These segments are curated across verticals like Business, CPG, Health, Retail, and Travel, and are available through on top media destinations, in addition to our data marketplace for easy selection and deployment. Outcomes Experian Outcomes helps close the loop by tying real-world results back to media exposures across digital and TV channels. Together, these products empower marketers to activate smarter and prove success with confidence. Let's bring this to life A leading fashion brand set out to grow their customer base by reaching high-intent shoppers where they spend their time: online. Their goal: drive e-commerce conversions through a programmatic campaign powered by The Trade Desk. To do it, they needed more than just reach, they needed accuracy. That’s where Experian came in. On The Trade Desk, the brand quickly discovered Experian’s prebuilt audience segments, readily available and easy to activate. They selected: Age Range: 25–44 Women’s Fashion Frequent Spenders: Households identified as frequent purchasers of women’s apparel, cosmetics, jewelry, and accessories—based on verified, consumer-reported transactions from the past 24 months. These segments gave the brand confidence that it was putting its message in front of the right consumers, those most likely to engage and buy. To understand whether their campaign was driving results beyond impressions, the brand implemented a site pixel to capture both top-of-funnel visitation and bottom-of-funnel conversions. Using Experian’s Outcomes solution, they were able to close the loop—tying ad exposure directly to e-commerce sales. The Outcomes report showed clear campaign lift, highlighting which channels and audience segments performed best. Armed with these insights, the brand refined their targeting and messaging for future media buys—boosting ROI with each iteration. Benefits Reach your ideal audience at scale By activating Experian Audiences and Partner Audiences off the shelf at digital and TV platforms. Access privacy-conscious, diverse data Curated by 30+trusted data providers in verticals like Business, CPG, Health, Retail, and Travel without needing to manage multiple data contracts. Understand what’s working Through Outcomes reporting, which connects media exposure to offline and online outcomes like conversions, purchases, or visits. Continuously improve performance By using attribution insights to inform audience selection, creative strategy, and media channel mix for future campaigns. Bring this to your brand Experian’s activation and measurement solutions for brands gives you the tools to act with clarity: from onboarding your first-party data to reaching new customers and tying media back to real results. Whether you’re starting with deep customer insights or building campaigns from scratch, here’s how our solution helps: Audience Engine Onboard your first-party data, gain insights into audience composition, build custom audiences using Experian and Partner Audiences, and activate them across 200+ leading platforms — all through a centralized, self-service platform. Audiences and Partner Audiences Reach high-intent prospects using Experian’s syndicated audiences or custom-built segments from partners like Circana, Dun & Bradstreet, and more. Outcomes Understand what worked. See how media exposure correlates with actions like store visits, quote requests, site activity, or purchases. Every element is built to help you scale campaigns, improve addressability, and tie media spend to results that matter—without the overhead of multiple vendors or disjointed systems. Ready to see it in action? Get in touch with our team. Latest posts
1,000+ ready-made segments, available for activation within Nexxen Audigent, a part of Experian, has officially launched its audiences in the Nexxen demand-side platform (DSP), pairing premium publisher audiences with Nexxen’s streamlined connected television (CTV) and omnichannel buying workflow. Audigent transforms real engagement from premium publishers into over 1,000 ready-to-activate segments—spanning beauty, finance, travel, and more. Three key benefits Signal quality Verified publisher data drives higher match rates and wider look-alike reach. Media impact Reach up to 92 million entertainment fans, 78 million retail shoppers, or 71 million finance intenders across CTV, online video (OLV), and display without guesswork. Privacy and compliance Every segment is built from opt-in, first-party data and delivered through Audigent’s privacy-by-design framework. How Audigent and Nexxen boost your campaigns Now live in the Nexxen DSP, Audigent’s premium audiences plug directly into your existing buying workflow—making it easier than ever to plan, activate, and optimize at scale. Audigent utilizes cookieless, first-party IDs sourced directly from its premium publisher network, allowing advertisers to future-proof campaigns and continue to reach real people across browsers, devices, and CTV. Vertical use cases Auto Target auto intenders as they research new models, then retarget them on CTV during primetime motorsports broadcasts. Retail and CPG Engage retail shoppers with dynamic product ads ahead of peak sales weekends, bridging display and CTV for sequential storytelling. Travel and Hospitality Reach travel planners with destination-specific offers the moment they begin searching for flights. Finance Serve relevant credit card or fintech messaging to finance enthusiasts researching personal finance content. Premium audiences, measurable performance As a part of Experian, Audigent’s audience solution complements our broader identity resolution and activation capabilities, ensuring consistency across every channel. Together with Nexxen’s unified tech stack, advertisers can launch ads faster while respecting consumer privacy. Audience data, targeting, and media all sit in one workflow, making results easy to see and optimize. Contact us Latest posts