Exclusive retail media KPIs to help marketers more effectively measure campaigns

Measurement is critical to retail media’s continued success.

• Measurement and attribution are the most critical advertising capability or media investment for over half (53%) of retail marketers worldwide, according to November 2023 data from Mediaocean.
• Proving ROI is particularly important—68% of US agency/marketing decision-makers say higher ROI versus other advertising channels would drive them to increase their future investment in retail media, according to July 2024 data from Quartile and NewtonX.

However, measurement is increasingly difficult for marketers, especially those that employ multiple retail media networks.

• Half of US retail media decision-makers say standardization of metrics/KPIs across multiple retail media networks is key to improving retail media, according to a June 2023 study from Interactive Advertising Bureau and BWG Strategy.
• Nearly as many (45%) say standardization of measurement approaches is also an area for improvement.

Here are four KPIs to help marketers more effectively measure and benchmark their retail media campaigns across categories.

1. Home and garden has the highest CTR

Home and garden retail media ads in the US had a 0.4% click-through rate (CTR) in Q2 2024, the highest across 12 categories, according to exclusive KPI data from Skai.

• Computers and electronics had the lowest rate at 0.2%, showing there’s not much variance among retail media CTRs.
• However, computer and consumer electronics has the highest CTR growth in Q2 at 9.0% YoY.

2. Ad spend is growing fastest in beauty and personal care

US retail media ad spend on beauty and personal care grew 38.1% YoY in Q2 2024, faster than any other category. However, that percentage is down from 48.1% YoY growth in Q1, per Skai.

• Sports and fitness saw the largest decrease in retail media ad spend, down 10.2% YoY in Q2.
• Overall retail media ad spend in the US will grow 26.0% to reach $54.48 billion, per our forecast.

3. Health has the highest retail media CPC

The cost-per-click (CPC) for retail media ads across the health category was $2.47 in Q2 2024, the highest across all categories in the US, according to Skai data.

• Beauty and personal care had the second highest CPC ($1.77) followed by food and groceries ($1.64).
• The health category also had one of the largest increases in CPC from Q1 to Q2 2024, growing 59 cents, just behind food and grocery’s 64-cent growth.

4. Computers and electronics experienced the fastest ad click growth

Computers and electronics saw a 37.0% increase in ad click growth in the US for Q2, a higher growth rate than any other category, per Skai.

• Food and grocery was the only other category to experience ad click growth over 30%.
• Two categories (sports and fitness and home and garden) saw declines in click growth in Q2, decreasing 11.5% and 1.0%, respectively.

This was originally featured in the Retail Media Weekly newsletter. For more marketing insights, statistics, and trends, subscribe here.