Circana and Ibotta partner to measure digital promotion impact

CHICAGO & DENVER - Circana, LLC and Ibotta (NYSE:IBTA) announced plans on Tuesday to form a strategic partnership aimed at measuring the effectiveness of digital promotions in driving incremental sales for consumer packaged goods brands.

The collaboration will combine Circana’s Household Lift studies with Ibotta’s item-level digital promotional campaigns to provide CPG brands with more precise measurement of campaign performance. Initial proof-of-concept studies showed Ibotta campaigns generated incremental sales that exceeded category benchmarks for other media investments, according to the companies.

"This partnership marks a significant step forward in our mission to provide the CPG industry with its first full-service performance marketing platform," said Bryan Leach, CEO of Ibotta, which operates what it describes as North America’s largest digital promotions network.

Through the partnership, Circana will apply its measurement tools and analytics to compare purchase behavior between consumers exposed to an Ibotta offer versus those who were not, allowing brands to assess the full impact of promotional campaigns beyond the initial promotional period.

"Our partnership demonstrates our commitment to bringing incremental measurement to all aspects of media and retail media," said Cara Pratt, president of Global Retail and Media for Circana.

The companies plan to begin rolling out Circana’s Lift Studies for Ibotta campaigns in late 2025, with availability to all brands expected by early 2026.

Ibotta, which went public earlier this year, connects CPG brands with over 200 million consumers through its Ibotta Performance Network. The company, which maintains a strong financial health score according to InvestingPro analysis, states that American shoppers have earned over $2.5 billion through its network since 2012. With a healthy current ratio of 2.37 and robust operational metrics, Ibotta appears undervalued at current trading levels.

The announcement was made in a press release issued by both companies. For deeper insights into Ibotta’s financial performance and growth potential, InvestingPro subscribers can access comprehensive analysis including 14 additional ProTips and detailed valuation metrics in the Pro Research Report.

In other recent news, Ibotta Inc has experienced a series of analyst downgrades following its second-quarter earnings report. The company reported revenues of $86 million, which marked a 2% decline year-over-year and fell short of analyst expectations by 5%. Additionally, its EBITDA was reported at $17.9 million, 12% below consensus estimates. Goldman Sachs downgraded Ibotta from Buy to Neutral, adjusting its price target to $30.00 from $58.00 due to challenges in the company’s platform transition and a shift toward performance-based marketing. Similarly, Evercore ISI downgraded the stock to In Line, lowering the price target to $38.00 from $65.00, citing disappointing quarterly results. Needham also reduced its price target to $33.00 from $70.00, maintaining a Buy rating but noting client losses and a salesforce reorganization. Citizens JMP further downgraded the stock to Market Perform, expressing concerns over product development delays and limited revenue visibility. These developments highlight the current challenges Ibotta faces amid its ongoing strategic adjustments.

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