Could Session-Based Analytics Be the Key to Winning Big in Retail Media?

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Retail media is reshaping the advertising landscape for CPG brands, with spending on retail media channels poised to surpass traditional TV advertising in Europe and around the world by 2026. With this shift, retail media networks (RMNs) have become a strategic focus, allowing brands to reach consumers directly at the point of purchase, where intent to buy is highest. By 2026, retail media ad spending in Europe is expected to reach €25 billion, surpassing the €24.8 billion earmarked for TV. This trend signals a new era of opportunity for CPG leaders in digital marketing and consumer engagement, urging brands to rethink their approach to media investments.

However, navigating this fast-evolving landscape requires a clear, data-driven understanding of how consumers interact with ads on these networks. Regional dynamics add complexity, as retail media investment trends vary significantly across markets.

Europe, with its 125 active RMNs, offering brands access to a wide variety of platforms, from Carrefour to Amazon. North America follows with 72 networks centered around key players like Walmart, CVS, and Target. Meanwhile, regions like APAC, LATAM, and MENA are emerging with new RMNs that reflect a global push towards retail media adoption. As CPG brands expand their presence across these regions, understanding each network’s consumer reach and engagement potential is critical for maximizing returns.

To seize this opportunity, CPG brands need advanced analytics solutions that can deliver precise, session-based insights—helping them track each consumer interaction and optimize their retail media investments.

Session-based analytics, as offered by solutions like Portal Analytics, GA4, and Adobe Analytics, enables brands to dive deeper into consumer behavior, measure engagement, and refine strategies based on data from each consumer session.

The Critical Role of Session-Based Analytics in Retail Media

Session-based analytics provides unique advantages for brands in tracking consumer interactions across RMNs. Unlike user-based analytics, which aggregates consumer data over time, session-based analytics focuses on individual sessions, giving brands a clear view of each consumer journey without mixing unrelated visits. This approach offers a fresh, privacy-compliant way to understand consumer intent, optimize marketing efforts, and deliver relevant messages precisely when needed.

The global customer analytics market size was estimated at USD 14.57 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 19.2% from 2024 to 2030. The proliferation of digital platforms has transformed the landscape of data generation and availability, fueling market growth. In the digital age, consumers interact with businesses through many channels, generating significant data. These channels include social media platforms, e-commerce websites, mobile applications, customer service interactions, and the Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Each interaction leaves a digital footprint, contributing to a vast pool of structured and unstructured data.

A robust and real-time consumer analytics portal can offer CPG brands an intuitive and powerful solution that aligns with current data privacy standards. Capturing each session as a distinct journey enables brands to view and analyze consumer behavior on a granular level. Many session-based platforms like GA4, Adobe Analytics, Amplitude, Mixpanel, and Portal provide these capabilities, helping brands understand and optimize consumer interactions with RMNs. However, there are important differences across these platforms.

While traditional analytics solutions like GA4 and Adobe Analytics typically require direct integration with retailer systems to deliver session-based insights for CPG brands, a robust and new-generation session-based analytics platform can stand out by offering comprehensive, in-depth session-based analytics without the need for such integration. This means CPG brands can access valuable consumer journey data effortlessly, enabling a quicker and more seamless way to understand, measure, and optimize their presence on retailer sites without complex setup or dependency on retailer cooperation.

Several Solutions Offering Real-Time Session-Based Analytics

Several leading analytics platforms support session-based insights, each bringing unique capabilities to help CPG brands optimize their retail media strategies:

1. Portal – Portal provides CPG brands with full-funnel visibility, allowing access to key metrics like bounce rate, add-to-basket, and purchase data that were previously unavailable to non-DTC brands. Its integration with Google Ads & Meta enables real-time campaign optimization focused on conversions rather than clicks, driving increased sales without additional ad spend. By capturing actionable shopper insights, the solution empowers brands to enhance innovation and refine their brand strategies—all while ensuring privacy compliance.
2. Google Analytics 4 (GA4) – GA4, Google’s latest analytics solution, moves beyond the pageview-centric model of its predecessor by focusing on events, which can capture detailed insights on user behavior. This event-based framework complements session-based analysis by offering brands a nuanced view of consumer actions within each session, allowing marketers to measure engagement at each step in the funnel. GA4’s session-focused approach, combined with Google’s integration capabilities, makes it a valuable tool for brands looking to refine their targeting on retail media platforms.
3. Adobe Analytics – Adobe Analytics provides deep, session-based insights into consumer behavior across digital channels. Its robust segmentation capabilities allow brands to categorize consumers based on behaviors within each session, making it easier to tailor marketing strategies to specific consumer needs. Adobe Analytics also integrates with major RMNs and e-commerce platforms, enabling CPG brands to track ad performance across channels and adjust messaging based on session data.
4. Mixpanel – While traditionally known for product analytics, Mixpanel’s session-based capabilities allow CPG brands to track how consumers interact with their ads and products in real-time. Mixpanel’s intuitive dashboard and funnel tracking provide marketers with a comprehensive view of engagement metrics, helping them identify drop-off points, high-interest products, and conversion drivers in each session.
5. Heap Analytics – Heap’s session-based analytics uses automatic event tracking to capture every user interaction within a session, providing brands with comprehensive behavioral data without needing manual tagging. This platform’s simplicity makes it ideal for CPG brands aiming to understand session behaviors with minimal setup, offering insights into conversion paths, engagement, and user intent.

"Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning." Bill Gates, Co-Founder of Microsoft

Key Insights for Leveraging Session-Based Data in Retail Media

1. Deepening Customer Journey Insights: Session-based analytics unlocks insights into the specific journey each consumer takes, allowing brands to understand what drives engagement and what causes consumers to drop off. Solutions like Portal Analytics and GA4 allow CPG brands to map these journeys and make informed adjustments to their marketing strategies. By analyzing each touchpoint, brands can focus their resources on the interactions that deliver the highest returns.
2. Personalized, Precise Targeting: With session-level data, brands can identify specific consumer behaviors and tailor messages accordingly. For example, if a consumer frequently browses a particular product category but doesn’t make a purchase, brands can target them with offers that address this interest. Using tools like Adobe Analytics or Mixpanel, brands can refine targeting strategies based on real-time data, ensuring campaigns are timely, relevant, and aligned with consumer intent.
3. Product Innovation and Inventory Optimization: As session data reveals emerging consumer preferences and demand patterns, brands can use these insights to guide product innovation and manage inventory effectively. Solutions like Portal Analytics and Heap make it easy for brands to track which products are trending, helping them plan inventory to meet consumer demand and align new product developments with market trends.
4. Privacy-Compliant Data Collection: In an era of increasing data privacy regulations, session-based analytics offers brands a compliant way to gather actionable insights. Solutions like Portal Analytics, GA4, and Heap focus on anonymized session data rather than personal identifiers, aligning with GDPR and other privacy frameworks. This ensures brands can gather meaningful data while maintaining consumer trust.
5. Retail Collaboration Through Shared Insights: Sharing session-based insights with retail partners can enhance collaboration and improve ad performance. When brands use tools like Adobe Analytics or Portal Analytics to track ad interactions and engagement on retail sites, they can provide valuable feedback to partners on how consumers are responding to their ads. This allows for optimized placement, improved product visibility, and more effective joint promotions that benefit both brands and retailers.

How Can CPGs Expand Session-Based Analytics with Advanced Features

Today’s leading session-based platforms offer a range of advanced features that empower brands to drive actionable insights:

• Propensity Scoring: Few session-based analytics platforms now offer features to predict the likelihood of purchase based on session behavior. With these advanced platforms, CPG and FMCG brands can create propensity models that help prioritize high-intent consumers, enabling more focused marketing efforts.
• Cross-Channel Attribution: Attribution has become more complex with the growth of RMNs. These solutions allow brands to track the full consumer journey across channels, attributing conversions accurately to each session. This clarity enables brands to make smarter budget allocations, focusing on high-performing channels and optimizing underperforming ones.
• Conversion Signal Passback: Portal offers this unique feature, “Conversion Signal Passback,” that allows brands to send conversion signals back to advertising platforms. This is invaluable for optimizing ad spend in real-time based on session performance, as it informs platforms like Google Ads or Meta about which sessions are converting, thus improving the effectiveness of campaign targeting and retargeting.
• Advanced Segmentation and Funnel Analysis: Real-time session-based analytics platforms offer powerful segmentation capabilities that help brands dissect their audiences into meaningful groups based on session data. This allows CPG brands to identify patterns within consumer segments and refine strategies to target each segment more effectively.

Standard KPIs:

1. Sales by Channel: Tracks revenue generated from each sales channel, helping brands understand which channels are most effective.
2. Customer Funnel: Visualizes the customer journey from awareness to conversion, identifying where users drop off in the process.
3. Number of Items in Basket: Indicates the average number of items added to the basket per session, providing insights into purchasing behavior and upsell opportunities
4. Added to Basket: Measures the number of times products are added to the basket, signaling consumer interest and purchase intent.
5. Average Basket Value: Tracks the average monetary value of the basket, helping brands assess the success of cross-selling and bundling strategies.
6. Session Length: Monitors how long users spend on the site per session, an indicator of engagement and content effectiveness.

Advanced Features:

1. Propensity to Buy: Calculates the likelihood of a session leading to a purchase, allowing brands to identify high-intent users and target them with personalized offers.
2. Competitor Insight: Provides data on competitor products or categories viewed within the same session, helping brands benchmark performance and adjust strategies.
3. Out of Stock Notification: Tracks when consumers encounter out-of-stock products, highlighting missed sales opportunities and aiding in inventory planning.
4. Product Categories Viewed: Records which product categories are explored by users, offering insights into category-level interest and preferences.

These KPIs allow CPG brands to gain a granular view of consumer behavior, optimize product visibility, and tailor marketing strategies based on real-time, session-based insights. The combination of standard and advanced metrics provides a comprehensive understanding of consumer interactions on retailer sites.

Actionable Recommendations for CPG Brands

1. Integrate Multi-Platform Session-Based Analytics: Consider leveraging multiple real-rime session-based analytics platforms to gain comprehensive insights. By integrating Portal Analytics, GA4, and Adobe Analytics, brands can capitalize on each platform’s unique strengths, from Portal’s ease of use and privacy compliance to Adobe’s advanced segmentation.
2. Optimize Campaigns with Real-Time Insights: Use real-time session data to adapt campaigns quickly. Monitor which RMNs or ad creatives drive the highest engagement and allocate budget dynamically. With tools like Portal’s Conversion Signal Passback, brands can optimize campaigns on-the-fly, enhancing ROI.
3. Use Session Data to Improve Retailer Collaboration: Share session-level insights with retail partners to improve ad placements, product visibility, and joint promotions. Providing feedback based on session data strengthens retailer relationships and enhances mutual success.
4. Focus on Privacy-First Data Practices: In a privacy-conscious world, using session-based data allows brands to capture valuable insights while respecting consumer privacy. Solutions like Portal and Heap help brands maintain compliance with GDPR and CCPA by focusing on session identifiers.
5. Drive Innovation with Consumer Insights: Use session-based analytics to detect trends and guide product innovation. Platforms like Adobe Analytics enable brands to analyze which products attract the most attention, helping them create offerings that align with market demand and consumer preferences.

Conclusion

As retail media continues to grow, CPG brands must leverage session-based analytics to gain a deeper understanding of consumer behavior and make data-driven decisions. Solutions like Portal Analytics, GA4, Adobe Analytics, and Heap provide the tools needed to track each consumer journey with precision, allowing brands to refine strategies, improve retail media investments, and optimize partnerships with retailers. By adopting session-based analytics, CPG brands not only enhance their digital strategy but also position themselves for sustainable growth in an increasingly competitive market.

Stay ahead of the curve.

Mert Damlapinar

References and data sources: Google, Adobe, GroupM, WARC, Portal Grand View Research, ecommert research.

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About Mert Damlapinar

Mert Damlapinar is a Top Voice on LinkedIn and a multi-award-winning global digital commerce leader. He has worked in digital commerce, retail media, digital shelf, and artificial intelligence for over 16 years. He has held executive positions in global companies such as L'Oréal, Mondelēz, and Sabra/PepsiCo. He is also the author of the bestselling books "Analytics of Life" and "Agile Analytics for Start-Ups". As founder and the CEO of the ecommert platform, he applies global solutions, artificial intelligence tools, and frameworks for retail media optimization, digital shelf excellence, and actionable insights for CPG brands and advises Fortune 500 companies and digital commerce executives.

He holds a master’s degree in Applied Business Analytics from Boston University, a marketing degree from Cornell University, and two executive graduate degrees in Artificial Intelligence and Digital Transformation from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

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