From New-to-Brand to New-to-Category

Executive Summary

New-to-Brand (NTB) has become a central KPI in retail media. It offers accessible, directional value by showing when campaigns recruit first-time brand buyers. But NTB has limits: it often overstates novelty, and it doesn't capture true category growth. To unlock sustainable demand, brands must pair NTB with a more powerful lens—New-to-Category (NTC).

The Value of New-to-Brand

NTB is popular because it's easy to measure and interpret. It provides:

• A proxy for acquisition: signaling when shoppers buy a brand for the first time.
• A benchmark for media efficiency: useful for comparing campaigns, audiences, and tactics.
• A recapture signal: showing when lapsed shoppers re-engage after a gap.

These insights are valuable for tactical optimization. But NTB shouldn't be mistaken for the ultimate measure of growth.

Where NTB Falls Short

NTB has structural limitations that make it incomplete as a growth lens:

• Re-entry vs. true acquisition: A lapsed buyer looks "new" but isn't truly incremental.
• Window dependency: NTB is only as reliable as the retailer's lookback horizon (12–24 months).
• Brand-centric, not market-centric: It shows brand switching, but not if the category itself is expanding or contracting.

The Power of New-to-Category

NTC goes deeper. It identifies shoppers entering the category itself for the first time, a much higher-value audience. Why?

• Category growth > share shift: Bringing in true first-time category shoppers grows the pie, not just redistributes it.
• Early loyalty effects: Winning at the point of category entry often locks in repeat behavior.
• Portfolio strategy: NTC framing clarifies which products serve as "on-ramps" for the category.

NTB vs. NTC: A Comparative Lens

The Practical Challenge

Retailers rarely hand brands clean NTC metrics. But while direct measurement is hard, directional signals exist:

• Search and discoverability: Growth in generic queries reflects new category interest.
• First observed baskets: Data platforms like AMC can sometimes surface these patterns.
• Proxies: Trial packs, starter SKUs, or low-price formats often over-index with NTC entrants.

Brands that triangulate these signals can begin to approximate NTC dynamics, even without perfect visibility.

A Balanced Growth Lens

The smartest approach is to use NTB well, but not stop there:

• Use NTB for tactical media benchmarking: Which campaigns drive the most first-time brand purchases?
• Layer in proxies for NTC: Identify and track entry SKUs, trial packs, and category-level search.
• Build a trade-up journey: Move NTB or NTC shoppers up the price-pack ladder over time.
• Push for better retailer data: Advocate for NTC signals to become part of retail media reporting.

The Bottom Line

NTB is a useful KPI, but it's not the full growth story. Brands that rely only on NTB risk mistaking share shifts for incremental growth. The next frontier is understanding and capturing New-to-Category entrants—the shoppers who expand the pie.

The most effective growth strategies will balance NTB for tactical decisions today with NTC thinking to shape tomorrow's opportunities.

"The most effective growth strategies will balance NTB for tactical decisions today with NTC thinking to shape tomorrow's opportunities."