What is Retail Media?
Retail media is an advertising channel that uses the physical spaces, communication channels and shopper data of retailers. It allows brands to reach shoppers with precision, tailor communication to their behaviour and shopping context, and measure campaign performance, including its impact on sales.
Retail Media covers three main areas:
On‑site – advertising across a retailer’s own digital channels, such as its website or shopping app.
Off‑site – campaigns delivered outside the retailer’s own channels, for example on social media.
In‑store – advertising within physical retail spaces.
Retail Media In-Store
In‑store retail media combines the capabilities of digital advertising with physical retail environments, enabling campaigns to be planned, delivered and measured directly in brick‑and‑mortar stores.
At the heart of this model are digital touchpoints strategically positioned throughout the store, from storefronts and entrance areas to aisles, product shelves and checkout zones. Each touchpoint serves a different purpose along the shopping journey, allowing tailored communication to support various marketing objectives, from building brand awareness and product consideration to driving sales.
The growth of retail media is also transforming physical stores into fully fledged media channels. Beyond displaying products and facilitating purchases, retail spaces are becoming environments for planned, scalable and measurable advertising campaigns that enhance the shopping experience and create additional opportunities for consumers to engage with brands.
What makes this channel different?
Unlike traditional forms of point‑of‑sale advertising, in‑store retail media uses digital technology and tools familiar from media planning. Content can be updated in real time and tailored to store location, time of day, product category or specific campaign requirements.
Retailer data plays a key role, including transactional information and insights from loyalty programmes. This data helps brands better understand shopper behaviour, build audience segments and plan more targeted advertising campaigns.
It also creates new opportunities for measuring campaign effectiveness. Beyond media metrics such as reach and advertising impressions, it becomes possible to analyse the impact of campaigns on sales.
