Retail media networks need to shift their focus from scale and impressions to measurable outcomes if they want to earn sustained brand investment, according to Jake Kaiser, general manager at Par Retail.

Speaking on CSP's "At Your Convenience" podcast in May at the RMN Forum in Chicago, Kaiser emphasized that while loyalty programs provide valuable customer data, they typically capture only approximately 25% of transactions—creating a significant ceiling for proving ROI to CPG partners.

"Scale does not equal value necessarily," Kaiser said. 

Kaiser outlined how identity resolution technology and AI can help retailers expand visibility beyond loyalty members, enabling them to identify and measure outcomes across their entire customer base. This approach allows retailers to prove that specific campaigns drive incremental sales at individual locations.

"The aspirational goal should be 100% of our customers are people we can prove are individual human beings," Kaiser said, adding that AI-powered orchestration will enable faster, more intelligent campaign execution while maintaining quality.