How do I know if my retail media is performing well?

Throughout the store, you'll find POS materials, displays, floor stickers, and narrowcasting that play your videos. But are they truly present? Are they in the right place? Is the right message being delivered at the right time? Both you, the supplier, and the retailer, have a vested interest in ensuring this happens, so it's a joint effort.

Why measuring retail media really makes a difference

The decision is made in the store. You can run a great campaign, but if your displays are in a forgotten corner, it's a waste of money. If a narrowcasting screen shows a black screen, the consumer won't be motivated to make a purchase. Anyone who doesn't measure what happens on the shop floor is lagging behind. Retail media exists to perform, so you have to monitor it. Not based on gut feeling, but with evidence.

What exactly can you measure in retail media?

More than you think. For POS materials, you can measure their presence, their proper setup, and whether the promotional items are included. For digital screens, you can measure whether the correct video is playing on the designated screen and for how long. What's written down is only relevant if it's accurate on the shop floor.

Measuring in practice: how SmartSpotter works

SmartSpotter sends Spotters to the shop floor. Regular consumers, trained in detail, who verify your agreements on-site. They take photos, record videos, and sometimes even audio. This data is fed into your dashboard in real time. No waiting. No noise. Just raw, validated facts that you can act on immediately. Share the data directly with the location manager or your own field staff. This allows you to implement improvements immediately, instead of after the fact.

What does the dashboard tell you about performance?

You can see exactly what's happening at each store. You'll receive a rating for the POS or narrowcasting implementation, and you can filter by store, product, or region. You'll see where things are going well and where you need attention. This allows you to make targeted adjustments, always staying on top of the situation.

What do you do with those insights?

Measuring is one thing, but what you do with it determines the results. Use the insights to provide targeted feedback to stores or field service teams. If you see that certain regions are lagging behind, you can offer additional support there. Or compare promotions: which message performs better, which POS materials are more likely to be correctly constructed? This way, your retail campaigns become increasingly focused and you manage based on facts.

Who will find these insights useful?

Anyone who can benefit can use the insights; you can share the dashboard with everyone in your organization. Marketing, category management, field service, purchasing, store staff, external field service, those ultimately responsible at the retailer, and many more! You'll all be looking at the same figures and the same visuals. Based on this, you can start working on concrete solutions; the numbers don't lie. This allows you to adjust your course more quickly.

Tips to take your retail media to the next level

Leave as little as possible to chance. Standardise your measurements for every campaign. Don't just look at the score, but especially at the variances by region or retailer. Discuss results internally and externally. Retail media only truly works if you don't let them go once they're in stores. And with real-time data, you know exactly where your energy is most effective.