The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has released a report on the fast growth of Retail Media in the US during 2022.

This report indicates that Retail Media has become one of the country's most rapidly expanding advertising channels.

Key findings

Growing investment in retail media: RMN ad buyers are expected to increase their spending by 11% in 2023, particularly among buyers at brands and agencies investing at least $5m annually in RMNs.

They are shifting budgets to Retail Media from other digital platforms, including social media, search, digital video/CTV, linear TV, print and out-of-home advertising.

Reasons for investment: The primary reasons for increased spending on RMNs include reaching incremental audiences, leveraging retailer first-party data, driving performance and using customer data.

Contrary to the notion of an endemic brand "spend tax," only 28% of buyers cited spending requirements as a top reason for their investment.

Challenges and opportunities: RMN ad buyers identify several challenges in the industry, including the need to improve measurement and data collection, resolve complexity in the buying process, establish measurement standards and achieve greater transparency.

Better collaboration and communication with RMNs are also desired, with only 12% of ad buyers expressing high satisfaction with their RMN partner relationships.

Guidelines for standardisation

In response to the issues of measurement inconsistency, the IAB and the Media Rating Council (MRC) are collaborating to establish measurement guidelines.

These guidelines aim to provide uniformity in measurement across different RMNs and enhance transparency.

Public comment period: These guidelines will be open for public comment from 13 September 2023 to 13 October 2023.

The aim is to create comprehensive standardisation in various aspects, including audience measurement, in-store digital placed-based measurements, ad delivery, viewability, incrementality, reporting and transparency.