In-store retail media standards: IAB sets the tone

IAB's standards are recommendations and guidelines for digital advertisers around a particular digital advertising opportunity. As the retail media landscape continues to grow (an expected 20% growth in retail media in Europe by 2026), such standards were also needed for in-store media. According to IAB, they represent a crucial step in the technological investments and standardization needed to drive further adoption and cross-channel integration of retail media.

There are several elements associated with this standards set: definitions (clear terminology for all in-store retail media components); formats (recommended formats); store zones (standardized classification of key areas in stores where media can be deployed such as entrance, checkout, aisle); and measurement (guidelines for tracking, reporting and analyzing campaign performance for various in-store formats).

What?

“In-store retail media is at the root of retail media and is in the DNA of every retailer,” says Olivier Degrez, who heads Delhaize's specialized division around its retail media. “Now everything revolves around e-retail media and data, but it is often forgotten that in-store retail media was first, with the different touchpoints in and around the point of sale. Then pure digital elements were added, in addition to personalized communication based on data.”

“The oldest in-store retail media is in-store communication in front of the product, which is still very effective,” Olivier continued. “Then there's audio and everything in the aisles of stores, both in close proximity to the product and on the floor, in addition to window stickers, ... What has developed greatly in in-store retail media in recent years is DOOH expertise. Retailers have invested tremendously in digital displays. They realize that it is in the advertiser's interest to be there and create material for this medium. Those screens are very dynamic, inspiring and efficient. In addition, they allow you to push campaigns quickly, locally, regionally and nationally, and you can buy both live and programmatic.” In short, retail media today covers a wide range of solutions where retailers start from their reach to reach the shopper throughout the funnel and in an omnichannel manner.

Why?

We mentioned it in the intro. Fourteen retail media networks - including Ahold Delhaize, MediaMarkt and Schwarz Media - gave input to IAB to arrive at the final standards. According to Olivier Degrez, the standards will also provide guidance to retailers not yet proficient in this discipline to arrive at this minimum requirement for the market. “It will also give advertisers confidence that this will be followed. Furthermore, it will allow players in retail media to grow and they can compare, learn from each other and correct performance problems at other networks,” said Olivier, who at the same time points out that Ahold Delhaize is a forerunner in terms of measurement standards in in-store retail media, without having already met all the standards now defined by IAB. “The standards are now starting to live in the market and that is an excellent thing,” he said. But why is the trade association only coming out with it now? “At IAB, everything revolves around digital, so it is normal that they have gone the opposite way and are only now coming to in-store retail media,” explains Olivier Degrez.

The IAB exercise, by the way, offers new opportunities for uniformity of in-store retail media across markets. Agrees Olivier, who often talks with his Dutch colleagues in the group who work for brands such as Albert Heijn and Bol: “I see little difference between the Belgian market and the Dutch market in the way we measure and predict retail media.”

How?

Finally, how will this discipline continue to evolve? “In terms of standards, we've made a big step now, but I expect more developments around formats and inventory in the near future,” Olivier said, adding that adtech and automation in retail media will be further developed. “Those adtech skills will be in-house at every major retailer and we are evolving to a kind of grouping of smaller entities that will offer a self-service service to the market. All these evolutions will allow us to launch omnichannel campaigns in retail media as we already do in digital. In other words: very fast, targeting the right profiles ánd with excellent metrics.” So it seems that these standards are an important step forward in the professionalization of the profession.