Yara Daher is a Retail Media Consultant at IAB Europe and partner in Colosseum Strategy. Here she discusses key findings around Retail Media Incrementality Measurement, exploring what incrementality means, how it differs from common proxies and the best methods for measurement, inviting industry feedback ahead of the guide’s publication.
With Retail Media playing an increasingly pivotal role in advertising strategies, understanding the true return on investment (ROI) of your Retail Media campaigns is critical. This goes beyond simply tracking clicks and impressions; it requires a deeper understanding of incrementality – the additional sales generated solely because of your advertising efforts.
IAB Europe’s Guidelines to Sales Incrementality Measurement will be issued in summer 2025. The Guide will define what incrementality means, distinguish it from commonly mistaken proxies, explore various measurement methodologies, address associated challenges, and identify tools and platforms facilitating effective incrementality measurement. In this blog, I aim to lay out some of our findings to date and current thinking around Incrementality. It is an invitation to provide your thoughts and opinions ahead of the Guide being issued for public comment.
What is sales incrementality measurement, and why does it matter?
Incrementality sales measurement answers a critical question: What additional sales are directly attributable to your advertising campaign? It isolates the campaign’s true impact, disentangling it from other factors influencing sales.
While valuable standalone metrics like overall sales, customer insights, and sales insights exist within Retail Media, offering unique precision and actionability, incrementality serves a specific purpose within specific campaigns. It is one piece of the measurement funnel, not the entire solution. It is important to note that it is not always possible to deliver incrementality measurement.
What is NOT sales incrementality measurement?
Based on our research and discussions so far, the following would be considered as proxies but true Incremental Sales measurement:
Last click or last touch platform tracked attribution methodologies
New to brand
Before and After testing
Historical Performance analysis
A/B testing without a control group
The measurement funnel for retail media
The following visual provides an overview of the metrics and insights available in the Retail Media measurement funnel. The sections in purple are all covered in IAB Europe’s On-Site and Off-Site Measurement Standards. We continue to improve our definitions and guidelines and aim to cover the full funnel.
What is the best method for measuring incrementality?
The best method for measuring incrementality will depend on your specific needs, resources, and data availability. There are two classes of techniques: Randomised Control Trials and Multi Touch Modeling with aeven methods that can be used. Below is a summary of the strengths and challenges of each method based on our research so far.
The Guide that the IAB will deliver mid-2025 will cover the methods most suited to Retail Media campaigns.
What is the right time consideration for the products you are selling?
The time frame for measuring incrementality depends on the type of product being sold; frequently purchased goods require shorter measurement windows than infrequently purchased items. IAB Europe’s goal is to provide clear guidelines in keeping with our On-site and Off-site Measurement standards.
What Tools are available for incrementality measurement?
Reporting provided directly by the retailer
Open data sources provided by the retailer and an analysis by the brand
The new report takes a look at what onsite retail media is, the models underpinning its operation, the measures of success and steps to create an onsite retail media strategy, drawing on extensive sector research and analysis.
Retail media will also be discussed in person this May as Retail MediaX uncovers the opportunities for scaling RMNs, powered by retailers, brands and agencies across three compelling content tracks.
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You are in: Home » Retail Media » GUEST COMMENT Unlocking the power of retail media: a deep dive into sales incrementality measurement
GUEST COMMENT Unlocking the power of retail media: a deep dive into sales incrementality measurement
Colin Lewis
Yara Daher is a Retail Media Consultant at IAB Europe and partner in Colosseum Strategy. Here she discusses key findings around Retail Media Incrementality Measurement, exploring what incrementality means, how it differs from common proxies and the best methods for measurement, inviting industry feedback ahead of the guide’s publication.
With Retail Media playing an increasingly pivotal role in advertising strategies, understanding the true return on investment (ROI) of your Retail Media campaigns is critical. This goes beyond simply tracking clicks and impressions; it requires a deeper understanding of incrementality – the additional sales generated solely because of your advertising efforts.
IAB Europe’s Guidelines to Sales Incrementality Measurement will be issued in summer 2025. The Guide will define what incrementality means, distinguish it from commonly mistaken proxies, explore various measurement methodologies, address associated challenges, and identify tools and platforms facilitating effective incrementality measurement. In this blog, I aim to lay out some of our findings to date and current thinking around Incrementality. It is an invitation to provide your thoughts and opinions ahead of the Guide being issued for public comment.
What is sales incrementality measurement, and why does it matter?
Incrementality sales measurement answers a critical question: What additional sales are directly attributable to your advertising campaign? It isolates the campaign’s true impact, disentangling it from other factors influencing sales.
While valuable standalone metrics like overall sales, customer insights, and sales insights exist within Retail Media, offering unique precision and actionability, incrementality serves a specific purpose within specific campaigns. It is one piece of the measurement funnel, not the entire solution. It is important to note that it is not always possible to deliver incrementality measurement.
What is NOT sales incrementality measurement?
Based on our research and discussions so far, the following would be considered as proxies but true Incremental Sales measurement:
The measurement funnel for retail media
The following visual provides an overview of the metrics and insights available in the Retail Media measurement funnel. The sections in purple are all covered in IAB Europe’s On-Site and Off-Site Measurement Standards. We continue to improve our definitions and guidelines and aim to cover the full funnel.
What is the best method for measuring incrementality?
The best method for measuring incrementality will depend on your specific needs, resources, and data availability. There are two classes of techniques: Randomised Control Trials and Multi Touch Modeling with aeven methods that can be used. Below is a summary of the strengths and challenges of each method based on our research so far.
The Guide that the IAB will deliver mid-2025 will cover the methods most suited to Retail Media campaigns.
What is the right time consideration for the products you are selling?
The time frame for measuring incrementality depends on the type of product being sold; frequently purchased goods require shorter measurement windows than infrequently purchased items. IAB Europe’s goal is to provide clear guidelines in keeping with our On-site and Off-site Measurement standards.
What Tools are available for incrementality measurement?
For more on retail media check out our Retail Media: Onsite 2025 report.
The new report takes a look at what onsite retail media is, the models underpinning its operation, the measures of success and steps to create an onsite retail media strategy, drawing on extensive sector research and analysis.
Retail media will also be discussed in person this May as Retail MediaX uncovers the opportunities for scaling RMNs, powered by retailers, brands and agencies across three compelling content tracks.
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