Why sales data should be the True North for tracking performance.
By Cassandra Spudic, Mars United Commerce
Canada’s retail media marketplace is exploding. With spending projections expected to climb from CA $1.2 billion in 2023 to CA $3.7 billion this year (according to eMarketer), it’s clear that brands and retailers are embracing this channel at scale. Yet despite the rapid growth and the potential for precision targeting, many campaigns are still being judged by the same old media metrics: impressions, clicks, and CPM.
Yes, impressions matter. They help tell an impact story — one about reach, presence, and share of voice. But on their own, they can’t tell you whether your campaign drove any actual business results. In a competitive market, sales data is what’s needed to turn visibility into value.
Why Sales Data Should Be at the Center
Vanity metrics like impressions and clicks only show how many people saw or engaged with an ad. They don’t reveal what — if anything — moved the needle. Integrating sales data allows marketers to:
- Attribute media spend to real-world sales.
- Measure incrementality, not just return on ad spend.
- Optimize creative and channel mix mid-flight (when the data is readily available).
- Prove campaign value to internal stakeholders and retail partners.
In short, sales data is the bridge between marketing performance and business performance. Impressions tell a story, but sales prove the ending.
Let’s be honest: Brands still want to see reach, scale, and eyeballs, so those metrics aren’t going away. But without tying impressions to purchase behavior, the story remains incomplete.
In a 2024 survey by Radiocentre Canada/Signal Hill Insights, 62% of Canadian media agencies said they were reallocating budget from traditional and programmatic media into retail media. But those budget increases came with greater expectations for accountability.
And that means one thing: Campaigns must drive results that can be seen on a store receipt.
Making the Shift: How to Center Measurement
Impressions and clicks still matter because they show how your campaign is performing at the top of the funnel. But to understand true business impact, sales data needs to be part of the equation. Here’s how marketers can start making that shift:
- Choose retail partners that provide sales attribution: Work with networks that offer closed-loop reporting tied to actual sales.
- Set full-funnel KPIs upfront: Include goals like conversion rate or unit lift, not just reach or engagement.
- Use test & learns to measure lift: A/B testing or geo holdouts can help prove your campaign drove incremental sales.
- Ask for faster reporting: Weekly or near-real-time sales data can guide in-flight optimizations. The strongest campaigns don’t just drive awareness — they drive results you can see on a receipt.
From Vanity to Value
Canada’s retail media landscape is growing up fast. To stay ahead, marketers must shift from surface-level metrics to bottom-line outcomes. Impressions may start the story, but sales data finishes it off with the proof needed to justify the spend.
Marketers need to track what matters, optimize what works, and show their stakeholders not just what was seen — but what was sold.
About the Author
Cassandra Spudic is Senior Manager, Client Leadership at Mars United Commerce, where she oversees two key books of business and serves as a strategic partner to clients — with a focus on driving performance and building brand impact. With a global marketing background and broad cross-vertical experience, Spudic has a proven track record of bringing creative and strategic initiatives to life across industries.
