This episode is sponsored by Kevel and features Ellie Prendergast, Retail Media Lead at Co-op Media Network and Founder of Women in Retail Media, in conversation with Colin Colburn, Vice President of Commerce and Retail Media at IAB, recorded live at Retail Media Summit UK.
Convenience retail is often treated as an extension of in-store retail media, but Ellie Prendergast believes it should be considered a distinct and highly influential environment of its own. In this conversation, she explains why small-format stores deliver different missions, different shopper behaviors, and, as recent research shows, greater visibility and attention than larger formats.
Rethinking Convenience as a Core Retail Media Channel
Prendergast emphasized the unique role convenience plays in shoppers’ lives. “We are the UK’s number one convenience retailer, so we really know convenience,” she said. Stores are embedded in every postcode, missions are fast and needs-based, and customers shop across multiple retailers. Because of that, she argued, convenience should sit alongside big box rather than be grouped into a single in-store bucket.
“Why would you advertise the same in a big-box retailer as you would in a convenience store when the customers and the mission are completely different?” she said. Convenience missions often lend themselves to spontaneity and new product discovery. Shoppers grab what they need in the moment, making them more open to unplanned choices.
Proving the Power of Attention in Small Stores
Prendergast shared results from a recent Co-op x Lumen eye-tracking study, which followed shoppers through convenience stores without prompting them to look at media. “We actually saw double the visibility, triple the attention, and quadruple the recall compared to large stores,” she said. Shoppers cover more of the store, move through more categories, and encounter more touchpoints—all of which increase media exposure.
She also described halo findings from work with Circana. “Advertising in Co-op delivered benefits in surrounding retailers as well,” she said, noting that one beer brand saw more than four times the sales volume linked to activity in Co-op stores. For her, it reinforces a simple principle: big box and convenience perform best together.
Elevating Women Across the Industry
Prendergast closed by discussing Women in Retail Media, the community she founded to create greater support, visibility, and career opportunities. “There are topics people don’t always feel comfortable talking about,” she said, and the group has intentionally built a space where women can share openly and access peer-to-peer support. Upcoming plans include public speaking masterclasses, career bootcamps, and expanded online access.
The bottom line
Convenience retail offers distinct missions, higher attention, and complementary impact. The brands that win will integrate both big box and convenience into a connected, multi-mission retail media strategy.