Measuring Retail Media Effectiveness Without a Loyalty Program

Measurement Approaches Without Loyalty Data

POS Basket Analysis

Aggregate point-of-sale data can show sales lift at the store, category, or SKU level during and after ad campaigns. By comparing advertised product sales in test stores vs. control stores (or pre/post campaign periods), retailers can calculate lift without identifying individual shoppers.

Test-and-Control Store Methodology

The most reliable loyalty-free measurement approach. Run campaigns in a subset of stores while holding matched control stores constant. Measure the sales difference. No individual shopper data required.

Third-Party Measurement Partners

Companies like IRI (Circana), NielsenIQ, and Catalina can provide measurement services that match in-store media exposure to purchase data using their own panelist data and modeling. This adds cost but provides advertiser-credible measurement.

Wi-Fi and Sensor Analytics

Foot traffic sensors, Wi-Fi probe requests, and Bluetooth beacons can measure changes in store traffic, dwell time, and zone visits during campaigns. This provides engagement metrics even without sales attribution.

Receipt Scanning Panels

Services like Ibotta and Fetch Rewards collect receipt data from millions of shoppers, providing a measurement panel that doesn't require the retailer's own loyalty program.

Building Toward Better Measurement

Retailers without loyalty programs should prioritize collecting email addresses at checkout (digital receipts), launching a simple loyalty or rewards program, or partnering with a measurement provider. Even a basic loyalty program with 20-30% penetration provides valuable campaign measurement data.

What Advertisers Accept

Most CPG advertisers will accept test-and-control store methodology or third-party measurement as proof of performance. However, advertisers increasingly prefer closed-loop attribution tied to individual shopper data, which gives loyalty-equipped retailers a competitive advantage in selling ad inventory.