Retail media networks under scrutiny amid calls for transparency and accountability

It’s a familiar tale: A new media channel becomes the ad industry’s shiny object, touted as a silver bullet only for concerns about return on investment, performance and transparency to arise after marketers have already shelled out ad dollars to invest in said channels.

Most recently, it was a scene from the programmatic space, in which the Association of National Advertisers released its Programmatic Media Supply Chain Transparency Study, kicking up questions around transparency — or the lack thereof — and ultimately revealing $22 billion in wasted programmatic ad spend.

Now, the industry has turned its attention to lagging transparency in retail media networks. Notably, retail media networks are expanding their offerings to off-site channels, like search or social, to expand their reach and diversify revenue streams to take in more ad dollars. But with these expansions, some media buyers and executives say it’s more difficult to get a sense of the actual return on investment. 

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