Commerce media networks don’t calculate ROAS the same way, and most advertisers have no way to see that until results come in. Ovative’s Commerce Media Measurement Transparency Guide puts leading commerce media networks’ (CMNs) methodologies side by side, in their own words, so you can see exactly where a reported ROAS number comes from before you compare it to anything else. 

This is the first guide of its kind: a direct comparison of how commerce media networks handle cost models, attribution windows, identity matching, and more. Read it before your next budget conversation, before your next network review, or before you take a ROAS number at face value again.

Summary

Most advertisers still can’t compare how their budget performs with commerce media networks on an apples-to-apples basis. This guide exists to provide the industry with a shared reference point, comparing leading networks across a variety of measurement dimensions. Our first edition puts Albertsons Media Collective, Orange Apron Media, Instacart, and Walmart Connect side by side. With this guide in hand, marketers who plan, negotiate, or manage retail media spend can ask sharper questions of their media partners and make better media-buying decisions.

Why Commerce Media Measurement Inconsistency Demands Transparency

Retail media is approaching $90 billion in the U.S., and more than half of advertisers now use five or more commerce media networks.¹ But most of those advertisers still can’t compare how their budget performs at those networks on an apples-to-apples basis. 

Varying, undisclosed methodologies risk advertisers shifting spend between networks based on reported ROAS numbers that were not built to be compared. The IAB and MRC have been working to standardize retail media measurement since 2024, and the ANA released its own framework in August 2026. We support that work. We also didn’t think advertisers should have to wait for it to finish before they could compare ROAS across networks. 

So we built what the industry needed ourselves: a commerce media measurement transparency guide. We asked participating commerce media networks the same questions about their cost model, attribution methodology, identity granularity, and more. We’re publishing what came back, in one place, exactly as each network answered it. 

This transparency guide is not a ranking of the methodologies used. We’re not naming a winner or a loser, and a network that discloses less isn’t necessarily doing anything wrong. It might measure differently, or it might not have an answer to share yet. Our job is to show you where the differences sit, so you can ask sharper questions with your media partners and make better media-buying decisions.

Retail media isn’t slowing down. Measurement should be able to keep up with it. This guide is one step toward that, and we plan to keep updating on pace with the industry. This first edition reflects the networks that responded to our initial outreach. And it’s just the beginning. If your network wants to be part of the next edition, let us know below. 

^{1 ANA, Retail Media Measurement Standardization (August 2026), citing eMarketer’s projection of 17% CAGR growth through 2028.}

How to Use Ovative’s Commerce Media Measurement Transparency Guide

This guide is built for marketers and media leads who plan, negotiate, or manage retail media spend. If you’re deciding where budget goes next quarter or trying to explain to your CFO why one network’s ROAS is or isn’t comparable to another’s, start here.

Key Components of Ovative’s Commerce Media Measurement Transparency Guide

1. The Glossary: Every dimension in the grid is defined below. Check these definitions before you assume a term means what it means.

2. The Comparison Grid: Each column represents one participating commerce media network, and each row represents a measurement dimension. The grid is split into two placement types: Onsite Display and Onsite Sponsored Products. Navigate the grid by reading across rows to see how commerce media networks differ on that one dimension and by reading down a column to see one network’s profile. 

3. The Takeaway: The grid tells you where methodologies are similar and where they differ. The 11 questions below tell you what to do with that information. Bring these insights to your next conversation with any retail media partner, not just the ones in this guide. 

This edition includes the commerce media networks that responded to our first round of outreach. It’s a pilot cohort but not the full market. We built this guide to grow and expect to add more networks and dimensions to future editions. 

Glossary: Measurement Dimensions Covered and Methodology Definitions

The following definitions apply to every section of this guide, including the comparison grid and the 11 commerce media measurement questions every advertiser should ask commerce media networks.

1. Cost Model: How commerce media networks charge for media, using cost per click (CPC), cost per thousand impressions (CPM), or another pricing structure.

2. Impression Type: Whether reported impressions are served (delivered by the ad server, regardless of whether they were seen) or IAB viewable (met the IAB’s minimum visibility and duration threshold).

3. Attribution Window (Click): The number of days after a click within which a resulting sale is credited to the ad.

4. Attribution Window (Impression): The number of days after an impression (no click) within which a resulting sale is credited to the ad.

5. Attribution Methodology: The logic used to credit a sale to a media touchpoint. For example, last-click, last-view, or multi-touch models like linear, time decay, or position-based.

6. Identity Granularity: Whether sales are attributed at the individual level (only the exposed person’s purchase counts) or the household level (any household member’s purchase counts).

7. Product Set: The scope of products included in sales attribution, from the exact SKU advertised up through the full parent brand or umbrella portfolio. 

8. Non-Traceable Extrapolation: Whether the commerce media network estimates additional sales for shoppers it couldn’t match to an ad exposure, and if so, how. 

9. Reverse Transactions: How commerce media networks handle returns and refunds in reported sales, netted out immediately, partially deducted, or handled some other way. 

With the glossary as your reference, the comparison grid shows exactly where each network lands on every dimension.

The Commerce Media Measurement Methodology Comparison Grid

The full guide includes a side-by-side comparison grid for both Onsite Display and Onsite Sponsored Products, covering all nine measurement dimensions above for Albertsons Media Collective, Orange Apron Media, Instacart, and Walmart Connect. A few things to know before diving in: 

1. Every answer reflects what a network told us directly. If a cell is blank, that network chose not to answer that measurement dimension. We don’t fill gaps with assumptions, and we don’t guess on a network’s behalf.

2. The comparison grid is split into two. Onsite Sponsored Products and Onsite Display often behave differently even within the same network. We kept them separate rather than averaging them into one grid.

No two networks calculate attribution the same way. The comparison grids tell you where network methodologies are similar and where they differ. Next, use the questions below to inform better media buying decisions.

The 11 Commerce Media Measurement Questions Every Advertiser Should Ask Commerce Media Networks

ROAS appears like a simple calculation, but it isn’t. Every commerce media network makes a set of methodology choices before that metric is produced, and those choices can swing ROAS by more than 60%. Ask these questions of any commerce media network before you make assumptions about the metric you are utilizing.

1. What product set does the commerce media network use to attribute sales to a campaign: Product Hero, Advertiser + Category Halo, Advertiser Halo, or Umbrella Advertisers Halo?

2. How does the commerce media network support advertisers with lower sales velocity, whose ROAS is naturally disadvantaged by this choice?

3. What’s the commerce media network’s match rate between your transaction records and their identity resolution partner? Is it household or customer level?

4. What’s your campaign’s media match rate to that same identity resolution partner or media platform?

5. How does the commerce media network extrapolate for untraceable sales? Is my brand or category more susceptible to untraceable sales at your retailer?

6. Does the commerce media network use IAB viewable impressions only? If it uses served impressions instead, what percentage of your media was viewable by users?

7. What attribution approach does the commerce media network use to credit sales to media touches?

8. Can a single sale or transaction be attributed to more than one campaign or channel?

9. Does the commerce media network attribute sales at the household level or the customer level?

10. Can you influence product attribution set, extrapolation, viewability, media attribution, or household/customer attribution when you set up a campaign?

11. Can any of those approaches change after the campaign ends?

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q1: How was Ovative's Commerce Media Measurement Transparency Guide created?

A: We invited several major retail media networks to participate. Every network received the same set of questions under the same terms and followed a defined response process. This edition reflects the completed responses we received by our stated deadline. Networks that chose not to respond aren't named. We don't identify non-participants, and we don't speculate on why a network chose not to respond. 

Responses are published as-is. We don't edit, interpret, or fill in what a network didn't answer. Where a network declined to answer a specific question, that's shown as a decline, not left blank or guessed at. 

Each participating network signed a legal release authorizing Ovative to publish their responses verbatim and attribute them to their organization. That release carves out an explicit exception to any existing confidentiality agreements between Ovative and the network, so responses can be shared publicly without conflict. Participation is voluntary and unpaid, and submitting a response creates no partnership or obligation beyond what's stated in the release. 

Q2: Will Ovative's Commerce Media Measurement Transparency Guide be updated in the future?

A: This guide will refresh on a regular cadence to reflect methodology changes and welcome new participants.

Q3: Why would my network want to take part in future editions of Ovative's Commerce Media Measurement Transparency Guide?

A: There are many reasons why a network should take part in the guide:

1. Advertisers trust numbers they can understand. And when advertisers trust the numbers, they invest more. Disclosure helps a network earn the budget.

2. You answer in your own words. Responses are published verbatim. Ovative does not edit, critique, or validate them.

3. No ranking, no "best." The guide shows answers side by side with no scores, standards, or judgment. It gives brands a common language, which is the stated goal of the guide. 

4. You choose what to disclose. Most questions offer "Decline to Respond" and "Other," and networks can leave out anything confidential or proprietary. 

5. You sit inside the industry conversation. The IAB, MRC, and ANA are working on standards. Participating networks show where they stand today while that work continues. 

Q4: What should I expect as a network in future editions of Ovative's Commerce Media Measurement Transparency Guide?

A: Participation in this guide is a four-step process:

1. Align. Confirm who owns the decision and who approves public disclosure.

2. Answer. Complete the questionnaire for two onsite channels, Display and Sponsored Products.

3. Review. Check every answer and see the finished guide before it goes live. 

4. Release and share. Your answers are published on this landing page.

Q5: How can my retail media network get added to future editions of Ovative’s Commerce Media Measurement Transparency Guide?

A: If your network wants to be included in a future edition, contact us below.

Ready to Put This Into Practice?

ROAS only means as much as the methodology behind it. With the questions and comparison grid in this guide, you can walk into your next budget conversation or network review knowing exactly what’s driving the number in front of you, instead of taking it at face value. 

This is the first edition of a guide we plan to keep building as new networks join. Here’s how to stay in the loop for the next edition:

For Brands: Want to know when the next edition drops or talk to us about how to bring these questions to your network? Sign up below.

For Networks: The networks in this guide told advertisers exactly how their numbers work. If you want in on the next edition, use the form below and we’ll follow up directly.