Retail media and branded search: separating shelf from query

Retail media often arrives with its own attribution clock and a generous view of assisted sales. Branded search, meanwhile, absorbs demand that retail placements may have sparked on the shelf.

In studies where both channels matter, we document the overlap explicitly and — when data allows — present a paired view: contribution with retail media as a distinct line, and a sensitivity that collapses retail into “marketplace demand” for leadership debates that only care about owned media.

There is no universal rule. There is only a written choice, agreed at kickoff, that your Campaign Attribution Study can defend in the room.