Summary4 min read

Podcast Summary

Podcast: Retail Media Breakfast Club
Host: Kiri Masters
Episode: In-Store Retail Media Measurement Is Broken — Shopper Purchase Rate Explained with Catalyst & In-Store Marketplace
Date: April 29, 2026
Guests: Paul Brenner (In Store Marketplace), Michelle Dooley (Catalyst Media Consulting)

Episode Overview

This episode explores the challenges and shortcomings of current in-store retail media measurement and introduces "Shopper Purchase Rate" (SPR) as a potential new metric. Drawing from recent research by Catalyst Media Consulting and In Store Marketplace, the discussion questions whether metrics like one-to-one attribution are appropriate for physical retail and highlights the need for metrics that better reflect how product movement truly drives value in stores.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Problem with Current In-Store Retail Media Measurement

Misaligned Measurement Goals
- Retail Media Networks (RMNs) focus on tech-driven, digital attribution solutions, but they're not entirely addressing the differences between merchant-oriented goals and RMN metrics.
  - “RMNs are trying to present a tech solution that will lead the horse to the water. But ... we’re still not addressing the differences between Merchant Org and RMN Org.” — Paul Brenner [01:04]
- Much investment remains in 'test budgets' because the ROI isn't clear or convincing enough to warrant larger commitments.

2. The Research Approach and Industry Response

Catalyst and In Store Marketplace conducted research with CPGs, RMNs, agencies in the US and Europe to understand pain points.
- Many respondents didn’t have a clear, shared definition of what counts as "in-store media."
  - “I would get a question back ... what do you mean by in-store media? And so it was like we were thinking digital in store because we're coming from the RMM lens.” — Michelle Dooley [01:45]
- Brands consider in-store to be all-inclusive: digital screens, classic end caps, printed signage, etc.
  - “The brands and even ... retailers were saying in store is so much bigger ... it includes things we’ve been doing ... end caps and shelf talkers and all these other things, print signage in stores.” — Michelle Dooley [02:39]

3. Three Core Themes from Research

Broader Definition of In-Store
- Digital is only one piece of the in-store puzzle.
Product Movement Is King
- In-store effectiveness is ultimately judged by product movement—other metrics are relevant but secondary.
  - “Product movement is king when we're talking about the store.” — Michelle Dooley [04:39]
Necessity of Merchant Partnerships
- The role of the merchant and their advocacy for in-store media remains underdeveloped in many organizations.
  - “My leadership doesn’t have FOMO of digital in store because the merchant’s not asking for it.” — Quoted Interviewee via Michelle Dooley [04:40]

4. Introducing Shopper Purchase Rate (SPR)

Origins and Rationale
- Inspired by how UK retailers measure “cost per shopper” and focus on the costs and impacts of signage and in-store placements.
  - “They started with a language that was really cost per shopper and ... how much does it cost to print, to put this sign in the store?” — Paul Brenner [07:05]
- Shopper Purchase Rate aims to unify scorecards between digital and physical tactics, moving beyond mere cost or digital ROI.
- The focus should shift from obsessing over new attribution technology to ensuring measurement frameworks speak a language both RMNs and merchants value—product movement and shopper impact.
  - “I don’t want the tech for measurement to be ... the distraction. I want it to be more of a ... scorecard approach and Shopper Purchase Rate and allow the RMNs and the merchants to focus on the harder part, which is where is this screen and how does it stay running every day and what’s the content strategy...” — Paul Brenner [09:02]

5. Key Takeaways

Effective in-store retail media can't just be measured with digital-type metrics; the end goal is still "how much product moves."
SPR proposes a shared, foundational language and measurement approach that can bridge the gap between merchants and retail media organizations—paving the way for greater investment, collaboration, and ultimately, better results at shelf.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On the measurement gap in-store:
- “Measurement was underdeveloped. ... We needed a new metric ... to help increase the sophistication of the measurement ... to move from the innovation dollars into a more annualized investment on the CPG side.”
  — Michelle Dooley [01:45]
On merchants versus media metrics:
- "The merchant is going to care about product movement much more than they're going to care about media metrics. So you're going to get them on board by default with this approach."
  — Kiri Masters [05:33]
On shared language for measurement:
- “Get people on the RMN and the merchant to use a common language, make that more foundational, and bring more of their energy to what is actually making a difference ... better content, unique experiences ...”
  — Paul Brenner [09:33]

Timestamps for Important Segments

[01:04] — Problems with current in-store measurement; the tech/ROI gap
[01:45] — How the research was structured and what respondents revealed about "in-store media"
[02:39] — The complexity and breadth of in-store media investments
[04:39] — Product movement as the core judge of value in store
[07:05] — Origins and explanation of Shopper Purchase Rate (SPR)
[09:02] — Reframing measurement for shared value and language between merchants and RMNs

Conclusion

This episode convincingly argues that traditional digital metrics don't fully capture what matters in physical retail—namely, moving product. By reframing measurement around the Shopper Purchase Rate, retailers and brands can better align on what counts as success in-store and foster more significant, sustainable investment in in-store retail media.

For a deeper dive, listeners are encouraged to check out the full research white paper and the extended conversation linked in the episode show notes.

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Transcript12 lines

[00:00]
A
Last week I hosted a LinkedIn Live with Paul Brenner from In Store Marketplace and Michelle Dooley from Catalyst Media Consulting. And it was all about in store retail media and if we're measuring the right things. This is the premise of some new research from Catalyst Media Consulting about the scorecards that we're using to judge in store retail media and how metrics like one to one attribution might really be the wrong goal for physical retail. In this white paper that In Store Marketplace and Catalyst put together, they're proposing a measurement called shopper purchase rate. And the reaction from the industry so far has been very positive. In this episode today, I'm going to replay some highlights from that conversation last week, sharing the current challenges with in store retail media measurement and what might be a better system to work towards. Let's listen.
[01:04]
B
There's something missing where it feels like RMNS are trying to present a tech solution that will lead the horse to the water. But it we're still not addressing the differences between Merchant Org and RMN Org. The that gets us out of test budgets because test budgets is where everybody's living. And when you're trying to implement technology with an ROI against a capex that's usually pretty steep. It wasn't happening. Right. The gap was just getting wider. And so that's when I approached Michelle and said, hey, what do you think? Give me some thoughts. And we just started ideating, I guess.
[01:46]
C
Yeah, I think we started with the idea that, or the hypothesis that if we could create a like that measurement was underdeveloped. Right. That we needed a new metric or something that would help increase the sophistication of the measurement that we were doing to move from the innovation dollars into a more annualized investment on the CPG side. So we actually did research with CPGs, RMNs agencies across the US and, and Europe to say, what are the pain points? What's working, what's not working? And one of the first questions that we asked is like, help us understand what in store media looks like to you today. And the first I would get, I would get a question back and the question would be, what do you mean by in store media? And so it was like we were thinking digital in store because we're coming from the RMM lens.
[02:39]
A
Right.
[02:39]
C
The brands and even the, some of the RMNs or the retailers were saying in store is so much bigger than that. And it includes things we've been doing for since the beginning of time. Right. The decades of, you know, end caps and shelf talkers and all these other things, print signage in stores. So there's a modernization that's come, but because our amendments have taken over some of the digital elements of it, there's a little bit of a, there was a little bit of a gap that we started to notice in terms of what are we actually talking about when we say in store. And then how do we make sure that there's a coherent understanding of like how we're being compared as an rmn going up against jbps and decisions that come down to brands that say, I know how much product I'm going to move if I have an item on end cap. And we haven't proven that yet for digital in store. And so that that ended up kind of reshaping our thinking around, okay, maybe our hypothesis is of we need to like have better sophistication in in store measurement. Maybe we need to reframe that based on some of the key findings. So the three themes in our research, the first one is what I just touched on, like in store is more than digital screens and audios. And the brands really emphasized that I'm investing a lot in the store. Some of it goes to Inmar, some of it goes to Neptune, some of it's controlled by JDP conversations, some of its in cap shelf placement. Like, that's all perceived as in store. And, and so it really reframed the way we're thinking about it of like, we can't necessarily separate digital in store from everything else that happens in the store. And because of that mindset, this, the second theme emerged of like in store holistically is judged by product movement. First, it's not that media metrics don't matter and you know, impressions are still important because we are, you know, advertising leaders that have to compare across channels. But product movement is king when we're talking about the store.
[04:39]
A
Yep.
[04:40]
C
And then the third thing was more of like an organizational thing. Like the merchant partnership is still critical and in some cases underdeveloped on the RMN side to really make sure that the merchant is advocating. I think one of our interview, one of our interviews said my leadership doesn't have FOMO of digital in store because the merchant's not asking for it. And there was a time three years ago when we went out and said, you know what, we really gotta invest in the metaverse. And we all know how that turned out. So this idea of like, in order to have valid proof points, the approach might need to be different than kind of where we thought we were headed, which was you know, can we get to IRO as or what are the different things that, that we could do to advance how we're approaching digital in store. And it really took us back to what's foundational and what needs to be true to create that through the rest of in store.
[05:33]
A
Yeah, the merchant is going to care about product movement much more than they're going to care about media metrics. So you're going to get them on board by default with this approach.
[05:43]
C
The merchant's going to care and the brand when they have to justify it internally to their sales team, being able to have a conversation that says hey, your other in store stuff, this is how product is moving and digital in store. I can also show that is incremental product moving that changes the conversation.
[06:06]
A
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[07:05]
B
Yeah, the little setup there I think because we landed on Shopper purchase rate after a lot of the discussion. Right. And I embedded myself in the UK market several years ago and spent time as. You know Carrie, they started with in store in the UK market and what they did 15 years ago was they addressed this bridge that we discovered in our like oh yeah, now we figured it out. Now the UK figured it out first and they started with a language that was really cost per shopper and it was the legacy. How much does it cost to print this sign, to put this sign in the store? What's it lead time look like? What does compliance look like? Right. So there's like a cost model built around that. It's really more cost driven and then it's, it's, it's upon the merchant to demonstrate right. What the effect of how much product move because of that. And that's, I think that's very similar shop purchase rate. It goes a little bit further in where the UK market pretty much just absorbed all the Shopper. Right. Business and trade and made it part of RMN using those common metrics. Where we went was more of a how to unify the scorecard view from a retail media perspective. If you grew up and your growth came from on site and off site, this is something you ultimately have to address if you want in store to be as effective and as much of a growth driver for your retail media goals. Right. So it's like why now? Why are you trying to figure this out now? Why is SPR seem like a sudden thing? It's because it was. It's like the UK did in store first and now they're going the other direction. No, RMN had to go beyond a world they controlled for the first six years of this evolution. Right. And so what, what we think of, what I think of as SPR being a benefit is real time analytics and attribution, screens, audio, whatever have somehow become the larger discussion as opposed to customer experience content strategy. Right. Using efficiency to your benefit. Right. With these systems. So we really kind of want to. I don't want the tech for measurement to be. To be the distraction. I want it to be more of a. Okay, let's address this right through the scorecard approach and shopper purchase rate and allow the RMNs and the merchants to focus on the harder part, which is where is this screen and how is it stay running every day and what's the content strategy to align with the price promotion and the placement. Right. And not to repurpose content from another platform like TikTok and just put it on a screen in a store. Like how do, how do you address those things? And that's really what I feel like SPR could do, is get people on the army and the merchant to use a common language, make that a more foundational and bring more of their energy to what is actually making a difference. For my opinion is placement of screen, better content, unique experiences that take that kind of X and Y. Right. Of like time and money coming from analog static versus digital. How do you intersect those at some point? Right. So that your growth vigilance, doors to benefit.
[10:28]
A
Well, that was just a short snippet of a great conversation that I had with Paul and Michelle about this new research that they put together. I'm going to link up to the research in the show notes here as well as a link back to the full replay of that webinar if you want to go a little bit deeper. Thanks for listening and I'll catch you tomorrow.