At Code3, we help brands look beyond the traditional metrics. Because if your only measure of success is immediate return, you’re missing the role awareness, consideration, and engagement play in driving those sales down the line.
Why Retail Advertising Is Different
Retail advertising is powerful because it targets people at the exact moment they’re shopping, researching, or browsing. But here’s the challenge: how do you take a consumer who’s never heard of your brand and move them toward clicking “buy?” Spoiler: it takes more than one perfectly timed ad.
That’s where programmatic advertising comes in. Think of it as your full-funnel toolkit: video and display ads that meet consumers across the web and across every stage of their journey. And for retail brands (especially those on Amazon), Amazon’s Demand-Side Platform (DSP) is a game changer. It leverages Amazon’s unmatched shopper data so you can reach consumers based on what they’re buying, searching for, or even just considering.
The catch? Too many brands apply the same performance expectations to every tactic. Spoiler alert: that’s not how consumers behave.
Top-of-Funnel: The Awareness Builders
Let’s start with In-Market and Lifestyle audiences. Defined by Amazon's first-party data, using proprietary machine-learning models to analyze customer behavior and infer a high purchase intent for products within a specific category, these consumers are just starting their shopping journey. They’re exploring, not buying. Expecting high returns from these campaigns is unrealistic. Instead, the smarter play is to measure:
- Branded Searches: Are more people looking specifically for your brand after seeing your ad
- Detail Page View Rate (DPVr): Are impressions leading to product detail page visits, even if the purchase happens later?
Awareness campaigns plant the seed. Retargeting campaigns usually get the credit for the sale, but without awareness, that conversion likely wouldn’t happen.
Mid-Funnel: The “In the Aisle” Moment
Consumers who are actively shopping behave like they’re in a store aisle:browsing options, comparing products, and deciding what makes it into the cart. Programmatic helps influence those decisions with contextual targeting strategies:
- Defensive Tactics: Ads on your own product detail pages (PDPs). These protect your turf from competitors and can even upsell bigger packs or bundles. Expect strong returns here, but keep an eye on CPMs to make sure you’re not overpaying.
- Conquesting Tactics: Ads on competitor PDPs. It’s like placing your product on the shelf next to theirs. These campaigns often influence consumers who are right on the edge of deciding. Look at both ROAS and DPVr to measure impact.
Upper-Mid Funnel: Consideration Boosters
Then there’s broader conquesting:serving ads to people who’ve looked at similar products recently but aren’t necessarily shopping at the same moment. Think of it like reminding someone about tuna while they’re scrolling the sports section online.
These strategies might not lead to immediate purchases, but they build familiarity and keep your brand in the running. Metrics like Branded Searches, DPVr, and CTR show whether the ads are sparking interest.
So, What Does This Mean for Brands?
Every strategy in the funnel plays a role in driving sales, but not every strategy can (or should) be judged by the same KPI. At Code3, we look at how each tactic contributes to the larger path to purchase:
- Awareness tactics = growth in branded searches and DPVr
- In-aisle tactics = strong ROAS plus efficiency checks (like CPMs)
- Consideration tactics = engagement lifts through CTR and DPVr
When you connect the dots across the funnel, you see how the pieces work together, not just who gets the last-click credit.
If your reporting starts and ends with ROAS, you’re missing the story. Success in programmatic retail advertising means zooming out, recognizing the role of every tactic, and applying the right KPIs to measure each one’s impact.
At Code3, we don’t just run ads, we guide brands through the nuance, making sure every impression has purpose. Because when you look at the whole funnel, you don’t just optimize for today’s return - you build tomorrow’s growth.