Here's what retailers should know about Mastercard's new Commerce Media network

"Mastercard's first-party data (from card transactions and purchase history) could give its Commerce Media network an edge, but whether it's enough to attract advertisers remains to be seen. First-party data allows Mastercard to see what consumers actually buy, not just what they click on, giving advertisers a clearer picture of real-world behavior. With its card-linking technology, Mastercard can track and close the loop between ad impressions and sales, whether purchases happen in-store or online, while also measuring incrementality, or the lift that ads add beyond what would have happened organically."

"The financial services provider has entered a crowded landscape to pitch itself as a bridge between retailers, advertisers, and consumers with smarter targeting, cleaner attribution, and real return on investment. While most retail media networks only see what happens inside their own stores, Mastercard sees where and how people actually spend."

"This kind of closed-loop measurement addresses a core challenge in retail media: advertisers often struggle to know whether their campaigns truly drive sales or just generate clicks. But even the most precise measurement can't guarantee success-retail media networks still need to prove they can turn insights into actionable campaigns that actually influence consumer behavior and justify advertising spend."

Mastercard launched Commerce Media, a retail media network built on 160 billion annual transactions with access to 25,000 merchants and 500 million consumers. The network leverages first-party card transaction and purchase history data to enable targeting based on actual purchases rather than clicks. Card-linking technology allows tracking and closed-loop measurement of ad impressions to sales across in-store and online channels and enables measurement of incrementality. The offering promises cleaner attribution and clearer ROI for advertisers, but success depends on converting measurement insights into actionable campaigns that influence consumer behavior and justify advertising spend while addressing customer acquisition cost challenges.

Read at Retail Brew