Retail Media Networks Confront Measurement Gaps as Spending Nears $100 Billion
Claire Wyatt, GM at The Trade Desk, discussed the persistent challenges of data fragmentation and measurement inconsistency within retail media networks. Wyatt highlighted that establishing true incremental return on ad spend (ROAS) remains a roadblock as these networks increasingly look to integrate their first-party data into programmatic CTV and streaming ecosystems.
Key Takeaways
- Global retail media ad spending is forecast to rise from $75 billion in 2025 to $100 billion by 2027.
- The Trade Desk identifies incremental Return on Ad Spend (iROAS) as the critical metric for moving beyond basic shopper marketing to national brand budgets.
- Walmart Connect and Target’s Roundel are cited as the primary benchmarks for retailers successfully building full-stack media infrastructure.
- Implementing AI efficiencies remains impossible without foundational work to unify siloed first-party data sets.
Why It Matters
The shift from in-store signage to programmatic CTV inventory requires retailers to act more like sophisticated media companies than merchants. For the streaming ecosystem, this means CTV platforms must integrate more deeply with retail data to provide the closed-loop attribution brands now demand. If retailers cannot agree on unified measurement standards, the influx of brand capital into streaming ad tiers may stall as buyers struggle to compare performance across different networks. Watch for the emergence of standardized retail data clean rooms as the primary mechanism for resolving these identity and measurement friction points in late 2026.
Additional Context
The push for measurement standardization is gaining momentum across the tech stack. Per AdExchanger in May 2026, a coalition of major retailers including Amazon and Walmart began collaborating with the IAB to refine 'Retail Media Measurement Standards 2.0,' specifically focusing on cross-platform CTV attribution. This effort follows a period of intense fragmentation where each network utilized proprietary logic to claim marketing credit, often leading to over-reporting of conversion rates. Analysts at Forrester noted in April 2026 that nearly 60% of buy-side marketers cited 'lack of standardization' as their primary barrier to increasing retail media spend. Simultaneously, the competitive landscape is shifting toward deeper technical integrations. According to a June 2026 report from Business Insider, Roku and NBCUniversal have both expanded their 'shoppable' ad units, which rely on the very first-party retail data Claire Wyatt discussed. These partnerships allow viewers to purchase products directly via their remotes, closing the loop in real-time. Additionally, GroupM’s mid-2026 forecast suggests that retail media will soon surpass linear TV in total global ad spend, making the resolution of ‘garbage in, garbage out’ data issues a financial imperative for the entire video landscape.
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