The Association of National Advertisers is, for the first time, calling for a shared industry framework for retail media measurement. Retail media leans heavily on first-party data yet fails to offer satisfactory comparisons between networks despite that wealth of insight.
The report's most direct sentence:
"Marketers should lean more heavily on independent third parties for both validation and consistency. This is especially important when comparing performance across networks, where self-reported results may reflect methodological differences rather than true differences in performance."
The specifics come in layers. Marketers should adopt the baseline retail media standards set by the MRC for impressions, viewability, clicks and invalid traffic. The ANA is initially focused on inconsistent metrics, measurement methodologies and vocabulary, and plans to tackle outcomes and incrementality measurement, data sharing, integrations and on-platform experimentation over time.
On negotiations, the ANA argues marketers need a better window into sales volume, category movement, inventory status, pricing and basket composition — details retailers may be hesitant to share, since their understanding of first-party data is central to their competitive advantage.
Marketers should also push networks to "disclose the logic behind what is being reported" and not trust cross-network ROI claims at face value. Advocating for common reporting practices, such as 14-day attribution lookback windows, is part of the guidance.
The renewed push comes as the field of neutral ad-tech measurement vendors is perceived to be shrinking through M&A. Publicis acquired the data-collaboration platform LiveRamp in May, and ratings giant Nielsen announced a take-private deal for ad-verification firm DoubleVerify earlier in August.
Jackson Bazley, the ANA's EVP of measurement for marketers, framed it carefully: "In certain cases, such as DoubleVerify, the acquiring party is themselves an independent third-party measurement company (i.e., Nielsen). In situations where that is not the case, marketers will continue to seek independent measurement systems, and they will rigorously evaluate the true objectivity and neutrality of the tools available to them."
Standardization attempts aren't new. The IAB, in partnership with the Media Rating Council, published guidelines three years ago centered on standardizing audience measurement, ad delivery, incrementality and campaign reporting.
The fragmented, opaque aspects of retail media have not meaningfully dented its momentum. Emarketer forecasts U.S. ad spending on the channel rising 19% to $72 billion this year.
Network operators have contributed to the confusion by not maintaining consistent or clear definitions around product categories, audiences and purchase types. Without more alignment, the ANA argues, accurately understanding ROI and growth stays out of reach.
The ANA represents brand marketers — a cohort that has long complained retail media lacks transparency and can feel like a tax imposed as part of larger trade agreements. Retailers hold both a window into purchase-level data most marketers lack and control of valuable shelf space, which compounds their leverage.
The framework was developed with a working group of major CPG companies including PepsiCo, Hershey's, Clorox, Kimberly-Clark and Mondelez, alongside retail media networks such as Instacart, Walmart Connect and CVS Media Exchange.
The same problem travels. Reading Olive Young's Retail Media From the Brand Side raised the identical question — what a headline ROAS figure doesn't answer — because a network-calculated ROAS rests on attribution logic that differs from network to network.
Three operational moves follow.
Stop comparing ROAS across networks directly. If lookback windows and conversion definitions differ, the two numbers aren't in the same unit. Ask for aligned windows and definitions before making a comparison.
Put logic disclosure in the contract. The ANA's "disclose the logic behind what is being reported" works far better as a contractual clause than as a post-hoc request.
Verify incrementality separately. Most retail media performance includes clicks from people who were already going to buy. The real answer is how much revenue falls when the ads stop — something network reporting won't tell you.
Regulators are moving on adjacent ground, as with Korea's FTC opening a review of platform commission and ad fee structures. The concern is the same: platforms holding both the data and the shelf.
A shared industry framework for retail media measurement — its first such call — with more independent third-party measurement and accreditation rather than reliance on what networks choose to disclose.
The ANA notes self-reported results may reflect methodological differences rather than true performance differences. Different attribution lookback windows or conversion definitions mean the two numbers aren't in the same unit.
Because neutral ad-tech measurement vendors are seen to be shrinking through M&A. Publicis acquired LiveRamp in May, and Nielsen announced a take-private deal for DoubleVerify in early August.
Adoption of MRC baseline standards for impressions, viewability, clicks and invalid traffic; common reporting practices such as 14-day attribution lookbacks; and disclosure of the logic behind reported figures — best secured contractually rather than after the fact.
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