Essential Terms

Term	Definition
Ad	A promotion displayed to an audience, combining creative elements (like images or videos), copy (text) or increased product visibility to deliver a specific message or call to action for an advertiser’s product or service.
Ad set / ad group	Groups of ads that share similarities. Ad sets are part of a plan and can include one or more ads. Used to structure your ads, keywords (for search placements) and targeting (for display ads) inside a plan.
Advertiser (AKA supplier or brand)	An advertiser, also known as a supplier or manufacturer, is a company that manufactures and sells products to other businesses rather than directly to consumers. Supplier brands typically sell to retailers or distributors, who sell the products to customers.
Asset	Any individual component used in an ad, such as an image, video, or written content, that contributes to the overall creative.
Bid	The amount an advertiser is willing to pay for a specific outcome, such as a click, impression, or conversion.
Budget	The total amount allocated for an advertising campaign over a specific period, set by the advertiser.
Delivery amount	The actual spend or value of advertising delivered, which may differ from the bid or invoiceable amount due to performance or caps.
In-store	In-store retail media refers to advertising displayed within a physical store, rather than online or through other digital channels. In-store retail media can take various forms, including signage, displays, kiosks, and other interactive elements.
Inventory	The total available ad placements across a platform or channel, which can include spaces on webpages, search results, or other digital environments where ads can be displayed.
Invoiceable amount	The total cost that will be charged to the advertiser based on delivered results, adhering to the agreed terms.
Media type / ad format	The format or method of delivering ads across different channels and platforms. These media types are categorized under onsite (sponsored products, banners), offsite (Meta, Google) & in-store (digital screens), creating a seamless and integrated experience for an audience.
Network (AKA retailer)	A network is a business that sells products or services to consumers. Retailers can operate in a variety of settings, including brick-and-mortar stores, online platforms, or a combination of both. Retailers may sell a wide range of products, or they may specialize in a particular category. Examples include specialty retailers, department stores, and e-commerce retailers.
Offsite	Off-site retail media refers to advertising that is displayed on media properties not owned by the retailer. Off-site partners include Meta, Google and The Trade Desk, supporting a variety of media placements like social, display, video and connected TV.
Omni-channel retail media	Omni-channel refers to the practice of creating a seamless shopping experience for customers across all channels, including online, in-store, and mobile. Customers should be able to start a shopping journey on one channel and seamlessly continue it on another.
Onsite / on-network / on-platform retail media	Onsite media refers to advertising placed on a retailer’s own digital properties (website or app) on behalf of a brand. This can include sponsored product listings, brand pages, hubs, and email inclusions. Targeting is often informed by the retailer’s first-party data. Commonly refers to digital media opportunities (contrasted with in-store, which can be digital or physical).
Onsite search	Optimizing elements on a web page or retailer site to drive more web traffic and improve rankings on a search engine.
Orders	A record of ad campaign transactions, detailing the placement, budget, duration, and specifications of campaigns booked by an advertiser. Orders track the execution and fulfillment of advertising commitments within the platform.
Placement	The specifications of the ad unit implemented within a plan. These include surface context, media sizing, and sometimes targeting criteria such as keyword or audience segment.
Plan	Collections of ad sets from an advertiser intended to run on a retail media network.
Rate	The price or cost associated with advertising on a particular platform, network, or media type, often defined as cost per impression (CPM), cost per click (CPC), or cost per acquisition (CPA).
Schedule	The timeline or period during which an ad campaign will run. Fixed tenancy: a pre-determined and fixed time slot. Flexible: scheduled with a start and end date.
SKU (Stock-Keeping Unit) / product	A unique identifier used by retailers and advertisers to track and manage individual products. The SKU code helps in identifying specific products for advertising or sales purposes.

Other Retail Media Terms

Term	Definition
At-home sampling	An example of off-network retail media, in this case physical media. A box of free samples delivered at home to a retailer’s customers, commonly used for products in the health and beauty, personal care, and baby categories.
At-shelf coupons	An example of in-store retail media. At-shelf coupons are coupons placed on or near products on retail store shelves. They can take many forms, including tear-pads, machines, and dispensers.
Attribution	The process of evaluating and assigning credit to the marketing touch points that a consumer encounters on their path to the desired outcome. Attribution helps marketers understand the impact of their advertising campaign, especially in the context of closed-loop measurement to determine incrementality.
Agency	A media agency specializes in planning, buying, and placing advertising for clients on various forms of media (TV, radio, print, online, out-of-home). They determine the best way to reach target audiences, negotiate rates, track campaign effectiveness, and may provide services such as research, analytics, content creation, and social media management.
Average cart / basket size	The average revenue generated by a campaign’s sales, calculated by dividing total revenue by total orders over a given time period. Most commonly tracked as a moving monthly average.
Brand store / brand page	A centralized online destination where an advertiser lists its products on a retail media network.
Brand safe environment	A media platform or ecosystem free from content that could damage a brand’s reputation. Ads are placed only alongside appropriate content aligned with the brand’s values and standards.
Catalog / sales catalog	A regular (often weekly) booklet containing special deals and featured products, distributed in stores or delivered via mail or newspaper inserts.
Catalog / shopping feed	A data source containing product information used for dynamic product ads. Includes product ID, name, description, category, image URL, and product URL on the brand’s site.
Channel	A specific medium through which content is promoted and distributed to an audience.
Category share	The percentage of all products in a category that a brand sells, or the share of a segment within that category.
Click-Through Rate (CTR)	A response rate measure, calculated as clicks divided by impressions (clicks ÷ impressions).
Checkout dividers	An in-store retail media example: plastic bars used by cashiers to separate grocery items at checkout. These can be branded to display promotions or advertising.
Click	A response event where the viewer clicks your ad and is redirected to the retailer’s website.
Commerce data	Attributes of consumer data that help marketers understand purchase and intent behaviors.
Conversion	An action counted when someone interacts with an ad or listing and then takes a defined valuable action for the business (e.g., purchase, sign-up).
Cost per Click (CPC)	The price paid for each click in an ad unit. Can be a buying model or a reporting metric.
Cost per Mille (CPM)	The price paid for every 1,000 ad impressions. Can be a buying model or a reporting metric.
Creative vs Copy	Creative: visual elements of an ad (images, videos, graphics). Copy: the written content in an ad (headlines, taglines, descriptions).
Demand-Side Platform (DSP)	An ad technology platform that allows advertisers to buy inventory from multiple sources in real time through one interface, using programmatic advertising.
Dynamic (ad placement)	Personalized ads displayed in real time based on behavior, demographics, or context, with the goal of increasing relevance and engagement.
Endcap	An in-store display at the end of an aisle, often used for promotions. Endcaps capture high foot traffic and can drive awareness and impulse sales.
End date	The ending date of a campaign.
Endemic brand	A brand that fits naturally within a retail category (e.g., running shoe brands in a sporting goods retailer).
Gross Merchandise Value (GMV)	The total value of goods sold during a reporting period, calculated by multiplying units sold by selling price. Differs from net revenue, which accounts for costs and expenses.
Halo effect	The indirect impact of retail media that extends beyond a retailer’s ecosystem, such as increased brand awareness, loyalty, or sales at other retailers or channels.
Impression	The event when an ad renders on a page. Does not guarantee the ad was viewed.
Joint Business Plan (JBP)	A strategic agreement between a retailer and supplier to collaborate on shared business objectives, covering goals, actions, resources, and responsibilities.
Margin vs Profit	Margin: the percentage difference between cost and selling price. Profit: actual monetary gain after subtracting costs. Margin is a percentage, profit is a total amount.
Media kit	A set of resources that explain advertising opportunities, including audience data, placement options, pricing, and creative specifications.
Native ad	Ads designed to blend in with surrounding content (e.g., product listings, editorial-like content). Best practice is to label as “sponsored” or “promoted.”
Non-endemic brand	Brands not sold by the retailer but still relevant to its audience (e.g., travel services advertised on a grocery retailer’s site).
Objective vs Targeting vs Goal	Objective: broad aim (e.g., awareness). Targeting: selecting audience segments. Goal: measurable outcomes (e.g., conversions, impressions).
Out-Of-Home (OOH)	Advertising outside of the home, such as billboards, posters, and transit ads.
Personalization	Tailoring communication, products, or experiences to individual customer preferences or behaviors. Balances customer value with responsible data use.
Platform vs Web app	Platform: the overall digital ecosystem, including APIs. Web app: the browser-based interface for managing tasks in Zitcha.
Programmatic advertising	Automated ad buying using algorithms to purchase and optimize ads in real time based on performance and audience data.
Reporting vs Metrics	Reporting: presenting campaign performance data in dashboards or reports. Metrics: the individual data points (e.g., CTR, CPC, ROI).
Retail Media Platform (RMP)	Ad technology that allows retailers to sell ad space across owned and other channels, monetizing digital properties.
Retail Media Value (RMV)	The revenue a retailer generates from selling advertising products and services.
Return on Advertising Spend (ROAS)	A performance metric: total sales ÷ total spend.
Sales	The total quantity of items sold during a reporting period.
Shelf wobbler	A small, physical display (cardboard/plastic) attached to a shelf edge, designed to catch shoppers’ attention and promote products.
Space	An area on a retailer’s site where banner ads appear. Virtual: widget-based code that inserts ads. Embedded: bespoke code in retailer HTML. Both require base code installation.
Spend	The total gross campaign spend in the chosen currency.
Start date	The starting date of a campaign.
Supplier rebate	A rebate agreement to return part of the purchase price post-sale. Can be volume-based or percentage-based tied to sales targets.
Supply-Side Platform (SSP)	An ad technology platform for publishers/retailers to sell inventory in real time to multiple advertisers.
Trade spend	Budget allocated by suppliers for programs that promote sales directly to retailers, such as discounts, promotions, or in-store displays.
Walled garden	A closed ecosystem controlled by one company (e.g., Meta, Amazon) that restricts data access and controls monetization.
Wallet	A campaign-level budget container agreed upon by advertiser and network. Behaves like a pre-funded, auditable budget with pacing controls to prevent overspend.
Weight / priority	The level of importance assigned to an ad, audience, or element, determining prominence or frequency. Higher weight means more visibility.
Weighted ad delivery	A tool to control the order in which multiple ads appear in the same space by applying weights. Higher-weighted ads show first.