Ad Nerds: A Better Way to Measure Meta Ads for Retail
I’m going to nerd out for a second because this matters if you’re selling in retail and supporting it with paid social.
When you’re running ads for direct conversions, it’s simple.
You spend X, you make Y. ROAS tells the story.
You spend X, you make Y. ROAS tells the story.
But retail doesn’t work like that.
There’s no clean line from ad → purchase.
Someone sees your ad… maybe they click… maybe they don’t… maybe they buy it three days later at Walmart.
Someone sees your ad… maybe they click… maybe they don’t… maybe they buy it three days later at Walmart.
So instead of looking for one perfect metric, we’ve started triangulating.
We look at multiple signals and ask: are they all pointing in the same direction?
Here’s one specific example:
When we run Meta ads to support retail (specifically Walmart), we often optimize for:
- Video through plays
- Reach and awareness
- Engagement
But we ALWAYS include a link to the Walmart brand page.
Not because we expect perfect attribution.
But because we’re watching for something more important:
Are people going out of their way to click?
Meta will find you people who watch videos.
Meta will find you people who click links.
Meta will find you people who click links.
But when someone is served an ad optimized for views…
and they STILL click through to Walmart?
and they STILL click through to Walmart?
That’s intent.
That’s demand being created.
And this is where the bigger picture comes in:
We think of Meta as demand generation.
And retail media networks (like Walmart) as demand capture.
And retail media networks (like Walmart) as demand capture.
Meta plants the seed.
Retail converts it.
Retail converts it.
So while we can’t perfectly track every sale, we’re layering signals:
- Clicks to Walmart
- Retailer data and performance
- Broader attribution tools and blended metrics
None of these are perfect on their own.
But together, they tell a very clear story.
But together, they tell a very clear story.
