Why iROAS Metrics Are So Inconsistent (And Why Debate Is Good For The Industry)

Retail Media Breakfast Club · May 5, 2026 · 7m · transcript

Today I unpack the intense industry reaction to a piece of Albertsons Media Collective, Ovative Group, and Kellogg School of Management research that challenged how we measure iROAS in retail media. When a single campaign’s return can swing wildly — up to 6.5x — based purely on methodology, it raises some uncomfortable but necessary questions. I walk through the biggest critiques that surfaced from practitioners and academics, and why this debate matters more than ever for brands trying to make sense of their performance data.

I also share how the authors of the study responded to the…