Retail media has quickly become one of the fastest growing segments in the marketing ecosystem. Globally and in South Africa, retailers are transforming their owned platforms into media channels, unlocking new revenue streams while giving brands access to valuable customer data.
However, while retail media has scaled rapidly, one critical area has not kept pace: Measurement.
Across retail media networks (RMNs), platforms owned by retailers where brands can advertise such as Takealot, Amazon and Checkers Sixty60, there are significant differences in how performance is defined, measured and reported. What appears to be strong performance on one platform often cannot be meaningfully compared to another.
As a result, brands, agencies and retailers are making decisions without a consistent view of what “good” looks like.
If retail media is to deliver on its promise as a core part of the media mix, standardisation is not a nice to have. It is essential.
A fragmented measurement landscape
Currently, each RMN operates within its own measurement framework. Comparing performance across platforms like Takealot, Amazon and Sixty60 becomes complex without a consistent approach to how metrics are defined and applied.
Metrics such as ROAS (Return on Ad Spend, or the revenue generated for every rand spent on advertising), conversion rate (the percentage of users who complete a desired action, such as making a purchase), and even “sales” are often defined differently depending on the platform.
Attribution, the method used to determine which ad is credited for a sale, also varies widely. Attribution windows, the period in which a conversion can be linked back to an ad interaction, differ across platforms. Some retailers use a 7-day window, while others extend this to 14 or 30 days.
There are further inconsistencies in how view through attribution (where an ad is credited even if a user only sees it but does not click) is applied. Some retailers include halo performance, referring to indirect sales driven by ad exposure, while others report only on directly attributed paid activity.
The result is a fragmented and often unclear picture of performance.
This creates a fundamental challenge: results cannot be compared on a like for like basis. As a result, agencies are often required to go beyond platform reporting to assess the true business impact of retail media activity.
Why standardisation matters
At its core, standardisation is about enabling more informed and confident decision making.
Without consistent definitions and frameworks, it becomes difficult to evaluate performance accurately or to compare investment across platforms. This also limits the ability to connect retail media performance with wider media channels such as search, social and programmatic.
For retailers, inconsistent or unclear reporting can erode advertiser trust. As retail media continues to grow, its long-term success will depend on whether brands view these environments as credible, transparent and commercially reliable.
Ultimately, standardisation is about building confidence and unlocking greater, more strategic investment.
What needs to be standardised
Core KPI definitions
The priority is aligning how core metrics are defined and reported. Key examples include:
- Impressions, whether ads are served or viewable
- Clicks, and how invalid or non-human traffic is filtered out
- Conversions, what qualifies as a completed sale
- ROAS (Return on Ad Spend), whether it includes only paid activity or also organic or indirect sales
Beyond this, brands need to understand the incremental impact of their investment, meaning the additional sales generated directly by advertising that would not have occurred otherwise.
Without a consistent framework, performance comparisons can be misleading and success may be overstated.
Attribution frameworks
Attribution remains one of the biggest sources of inconsistency across RMNs.
Standardising baseline approaches, such as common attribution windows and clearer definitions of how credit is assigned, would significantly improve comparability.
At a minimum, platforms should clearly disclose:
- The role of post click attribution, after a user clicks an ad, versus post view attribution, after a user only sees an ad
- The attribution window used, for example 7-day, 14 day or 30 days
- Whether attribution is based on first click, the first interaction, or last click, the final interaction before purchase
- The split between new to brand and returning customers
The goal is not to enforce identical models across all retailers, but to ensure transparency and consistency in how performance is understood.
Data transparency and access
Standardisation is only meaningful if it is supported by transparency.
In more mature markets such as the United States and Europe, we are seeing the emergence of clean room environments, secure data environments that allow brands and agencies to analyse performance data at a deeper level while maintaining privacy.
Retail media platforms often operate as walled gardens, meaning data is contained within the platform and external visibility is limited. As a result, measurement is frequently restricted to platform dashboards, limiting the ability to perform deeper analysis or validate results independently.
Going forward, access to data will become a key differentiator in determining where brands choose to invest.
The opportunity for South Africa
South Africa is in a unique position. With increasing demand from brands and ongoing investment from retailers, the local retail media ecosystem is still evolving.
This creates an opportunity to learn from more mature markets and avoid repeating the same challenges. While fragmentation persists globally, South Africa has the potential to embed clearer measurement principles earlier in its development.
As major players such as Takealot, Sixty60 and Pick n Pay continue to expand their retail media capabilities, there is an opportunity to establish a more consistent, transparent and credible measurement approach from the outset.
With strong collaboration across brands, retailers and agencies, the market is well positioned to build a more robust and trusted retail media ecosystem.
Retail media is no longer an emerging channel. It is a core component of the modern marketing mix.
While growth continues at pace, sustained success will depend on addressing the gaps in measurement. Without consistency, transparency and credibility, it will be difficult to unlock the full potential of the channel.
Trust is built on measurement that is clear, comparable and reliable.
Ultimately, the retailers that will succeed will not only be those with the greatest scale or inventory, but those who can demonstrate meaningful, measurable and incremental value to advertisers.
*This is sponsored content.
Daniel Malan is commerce lead at Dentsu Performance.
