How to evaluate a retail media network: a buyer's checklist
Evaluating a retail media network comes down to a handful of practical questions: where does it reach, what data does it use, how does it measure results, how can you buy it, and how does it handle creative and operations? A buyer who can answer those for each network under consideration can compare them fairly and choose the one that fits the campaign's objective.
This checklist is organized by those areas. Use it alongside any proposal.
What should you check about footprint?
Where the stores are. Ask for store counts by market or zip code, and compare them with your product's distribution. A network is only useful where your product is on the shelf.
What kinds of stores they are. Supermarkets, drugstores, convenience stores, independents? Each serves different shopping trips.
What the screens are and where they sit. At the entrance, in the aisle, at the checkout? Placement affects what the screen can do.
How the network is measured. Are screen counts and audience figures based on a stated method?
As an example of the kind of facts to look for: NRS Digital Media reports 34K+ independently-owned stores, 39K+ measured digital screens and 8.5K+ zip codes nationwide, with screens on NRS point-of-sale systems. NRS is the exclusive retail technology and media supplier for its locations, and the network doesn't include chains. The store locations page shows where it operates.
What should you check about data and targeting?
What data underlies targeting, and at what level. Store-level, product-level, shopper-level? Each has different uses and different privacy considerations.
What targeting options exist. Geography, store type, product, audience index? Ask how each is built.
How data is protected. Ask what data is collected, how it's aggregated and who can access it.
What should you check about measurement?
What delivery reporting is provided: plays, screens live, dates, locations.
How outcomes are measured: which sales data, which comparison, which period.
Whether results are reported with a method and a range, or as single numbers.
Whether the network's measurement approach follows published industry guidance. Organizations such as the IAB publish standards and guidance for digital and retail media.
What should you check about buying terms?
How inventory can be bought: directly, programmatically or both.
Whether there are minimums, required bundles or forced networks. NRS Digital Media, for example, states no forced networks or minimums, and campaigns can be bought directly or by PMP.
How pricing is structured and what's included.
What happens if delivery falls short.
What should you check about creative and operations?
Specs, approvals and lead times. How long does review take, and what's required?
Support. Who is the day-to-day contact, and how are issues handled?
Flexibility. Can creative be updated mid-flight? Can the store list be adjusted?
How should you compare networks?
Score each network against the same checklist, weighted by what matters most for your objective. A campaign aimed at SKU sales should weight footprint in stores that carry the product and outcome measurement heavily. An awareness campaign might weight reach and placement more.
Ask for clarification where answers are vague. And remember that networks can complement one another. Covering different channels, such as chains and independents, may call for more than one. To request details about NRS Digital Media, contact the NRS Digital Media team. The retail media overview offers broader background on the category.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most important factor in choosing a retail media network?
It depends on the campaign objective, but footprint relative to your distribution is often the starting point. A network is only useful where your product is sold. From there, measurement, targeting, buying terms and creative operations determine whether the network can deliver and report on what you need.
How can I compare networks that measure results differently?
Ask each to explain its method in detail and, where possible, to report on a comparable basis, such as advertised versus control stores. Score networks against the same checklist. Avoid comparing headline numbers built on different definitions, since they can make networks look more or less effective than they are.
Should a brand use more than one retail media network?
Often, yes. Networks cover different channels, store types and markets. A brand sold in both chains and independent stores may need more than one network to reach shoppers in both. Measuring each network's results separately, with its own method, keeps comparisons fair.
Considering NRS Digital Media? Start at nrsdigitalmedia.com, read the media deck, or contact the team.