Retail Is Moving Toward Video... Is Your Measurement Ready?

By 2027, roughly 50% of one major online retailer’s Instagram, Facebook and TikTok content could be UGC...

There’s just one problem...

This marketing already knows his internal measurement isn't ready for it.

“It’s going to be severely undercredited because it’s not clicky in nature.”    

You’re moving a meaningful piece of your media strategy toward the content you believe customers increasingly want...

While knowing the measurement you rely on to judge that strategy is going to make it look worse than it really is.

Retail Advertising Is Changing

Historically, this retailer leaned heavily on DPAs.

And for an attribution model, DPAs are beautiful.

They’re “inherently more clicky in nature.”

Someone sees the product.

Clicks.

Buys.

The path is visible.

The attribution works.

But social is moving somewhere else.

Video is winning.

Creator-led content is growing.

UGC is becoming a much larger part of the media mix because shoppers care about storytelling and connecting with the brand.    

The advertising changed.

The measurement didn't.

A View Is A Very Different Signal Than A Click

Someone can watch a creator talk about a couch on TikTok...

Never click...

See another video on Instagram a few days later...

And eventually buy.

The content may have done exactly what it was supposed to do.

But the clean click trail never existed.

That's exactly what this retailer expects to happen as video takes up a larger share of its full-funnel media mix.

Its internal MTA is heavily dependent on observable touchpoints.

Video creates a lot more viewing than clicking.

So the more the media strategy evolves...

The less complete the old measurement picture becomes.

That Creates A Much Bigger Problem Than Attribution

Because you still have to run the business.

Should UGC become 20% of the mix?

30%?

50%?

Which creator campaigns are actually contributing?

Which platforms have room to scale?

Where is video creating demand that eventually becomes revenue?

And when another million dollars becomes available...

How much of it should go into this new media strategy?

You can't answer those questions by simply waiting for more clicks.

This Is Why Blueprint Measures More Than Attribution

Blueprint was built around a simple idea:

Different kinds of advertising leave different kinds of evidence.

So they shouldn't all be measured the same way.

Blueprint starts with what's attributable...

Adds what's influential...

Then measures what's impactful across the broader business.

Those aren't three different words for the same thing.

They're different ways of understanding what the advertising actually did.    

And that distinction becomes much more valuable as retail moves toward video.

Influence: What Happened Before The Sale?

This is the first measurement gap video creates.

Someone watches UGC.

Doesn't click.

Eventually buys.

Traditional attribution can struggle to give that earlier exposure much weight.

Blueprint's Influence layer is designed to show more of the path that happened before the conversion...

Including advertising that was seen earlier in the journey even when another channel ultimately received the attribution.    

So instead of only asking:

Which ad got the sale?

You can also see:

What helped create it?

For a retailer moving heavily into UGC, that's an important distinction.

Because the video doesn't need to produce the final click to have played a meaningful role in the purchase.

Impact Score: Where Does Video Actually Have Room To Grow?

Influence helps reveal what happened in the purchase path.

But not every effect of video produces a customer-level trail you can follow.

That's where Impact Score becomes useful.

Blueprint looks at changes in advertising activity relative to changes in business results to identify which channels are having an impact...

Where there's still room to scale...

And where performance may already be reaching its limits.    

That's a very different question from:

Who got the conversion?

It's:

Where is the next opportunity?

For a retailer trying to substantially increase its investment in video and UGC...

That's the question that matters.

Then Optimizer Answers The Question Measurement Usually Leaves Behind

Let's say you now know video is influencing purchases.

You can see where it's having an impact.

Great.

What do you actually do Monday morning?

That's the third layer.

Blueprint's Optimizer can look across campaigns and ad sets, identify stronger and weaker performers and recommend where existing budget could be reallocated based on the outcome you're actually trying to improve.

Acquisitions.

CPA.

ROAS.

LTV.

Or another objective that matters to the business.    

So the progression becomes:

Influence tells you what helped create the result.

Impact tells you where the next opportunity is.

Optimizer tells you what to do with the money.

That's a measurement system built for a very different media mix.

You Don't Have To Rip Apart Your Existing Stack To Get There

This retailer already has a sophisticated measurement operation.

Its own MTA.

Internal marketing science.

Geo testing.

Other measurement methodologies.

Blueprint doesn't require throwing those systems away.

It connects to the environment already in place and brings the relevant advertising and outcome signals together.

No new Blueprint pixel.

No requirement to rip out the systems already running the business.

The goal is to fill the gaps that become increasingly important as the media mix changes.    

That's important because retail doesn't need another year-long measurement transformation before it can start investing differently.

The media strategy is already changing.

By 2027, The Measurement Gap Could Be A Lot Bigger

A major online retailer expects roughly half of its social media content to become UGC.

Its marketing leader already knows that content won't behave like the DPAs his measurement system was built to understand.

And he's not alone.

Video.

UGC.

Creators.

Storytelling.

View-heavy media.

Retail advertising is moving further away from the clean click-to-conversion journey.

The question isn't whether retailers should stop that shift because it's harder to measure.

It's whether their measurement can catch up quickly enough to tell them what's actually working once they make it.

Is Your Measurement Ready For Your Next Media Mix?

If more of your growth strategy is moving toward video, UGC and creator-led content...

But your measurement still works best when somebody clicks...

Blueprint can help you see what the old model is missing.

What influenced the sale...

Where there's room to scale...

And where your next dollar has the best opportunity to work.

FAQ

Why is video and UGC harder to measure than traditional ecommerce advertising?

Video and UGC can influence customers without generating an immediate click. In the retailer's case, its marketing leader expects its internal MTA to “severely undercredit” video because the content is less click-oriented than the DPAs that historically dominated its social advertising.    

Why are retailers moving more heavily into UGC and video?

Video-form content is increasingly winning on social because consumers care about storytelling and connectivity with the brand. His team plans to significantly grow creator-led content and expects roughly 50% of its Instagram, Facebook and TikTok media content to be UGC by 2027.    

How does Blueprint measure video and UGC beyond direct attribution?

Blueprint separates different measurement layers. Directly attributable activity forms one layer, while Influence helps reveal advertising that appeared earlier in the purchase path. Impact then provides another way to evaluate harder-to-attribute media through its relationship with downstream business results.    

What is Blueprint's Impact Score?

Impact Score helps marketers understand which channels are having an impact on business results, where there may still be room to scale and where performance may be reaching diminishing returns. It is distinct from direct attribution and Influence.    

How does Blueprint turn measurement into an advertising decision?

Blueprint's Optimizer can identify stronger and weaker performers and recommend how existing budget could be reallocated based on objectives such as acquisitions, ROAS or LTV. Impact helps identify the opportunity, while Optimizer helps determine what to do with the money.