IAB Europe has opened proposed changes to in-store retail media measurement for public comment, giving retailers, advertisers and measurement providers an opportunity to shape the next framework. The association published the proposals on 17 September and is seeking feedback by 23 October 2026.
For buyers of retail out-of-home media, the central issue is how a screen’s advertising delivery connects to a shopper’s opportunity to see it. The recommendations remain a draft, with finalisation to follow the consultation.
What is in the proposed framework?
IAB Europe describes five placement zones, extending from outside the store into the aisles. It proposes an Opportunity To See model using six inputs: footfall, store count, campaign duration, placement count, aisle penetration and share of voice.
The association also calls for transparency around modelled assumptions where sensors are unavailable. Its summary favours the opportunity for visual contact over ad plays alone when defining in-store impressions.
Those are proposed measurement changes, rather than evidence that every retailer already measures inventory this way.
Why a played advertisement needs audience context
Billboard Guide’s analysis is that a play log answers a narrow but useful question: was an asset displayed? Estimating audience opportunity requires additional information about the people present and their relationship to the placement.
Consider a hypothetical screen in a supermarket aisle. A store’s total visitor count does not establish how many shoppers entered that aisle, faced the display or were present during the advertisement’s slot. The estimate needs assumptions that connect store traffic with the actual media environment.
Those assumptions become important when comparing proposals. Two networks may both report impressions while using different methods to derive them. Without documentation, a buyer cannot tell whether the numbers describe comparable opportunities.
What retailers should make clear to advertisers
A useful media proposal should identify where the placements sit, how the audience estimate was built and which inputs come from direct observation. It should explain where estimates or external research fill gaps.
Campaign timing and share of voice should also be explicit. If a screen carries several advertisers, its overall audience opportunity and the opportunity associated with one campaign require different treatment.
These are practical questions prompted by the consultation, not additional draft requirements asserted by Billboard Guide. The final framework may change following industry feedback.
BillboardGuide’s grocery and supermarket advertising guide provides context for reviewing location, delivery and campaign fit.
Better definitions support more useful comparisons
For a brand, measurement clarity can improve the discussion before a campaign begins. The buyer can agree what constitutes delivery, what will be estimated and which business outcome matters.
Exposure estimates should then remain distinct from effectiveness. A documented opportunity to see an advertisement does not demonstrate that someone remembered it or changed a purchase decision. Those questions need their own evidence and study design.
BillboardGuide’s analysis of OOH metrics beyond impressions explains why audience volume should be assessed alongside media quality and other campaign measures.
What happens next?
Industry feedback will inform the next stage of IAB Europe’s work. Buyers and sellers can use the consultation period to compare the draft with their current reporting and identify assumptions that are difficult to explain or verify.
The immediate value is a more precise conversation about what an in-store audience figure represents. Final standards and implementation should be tracked separately from this draft announcement.
