Coming out of the IAB Connected Commerce Summit, in its third year, I left with one overwhelming impression: retail media has matured from when this conference launched in 2023.
But that maturity doesn’t mean room for growth has ceased. Far from it. One thing was loud and clear: brands are calling out for in-store retail media, and North American retailers need to catch up.
What struck me was how universal the message was across the sessions. Albertsons Media Collective’s Nik Rochnik reminded us of the state of in-store: “Screens aren’t new,” he said, “but it’s the precise way of measuring things that’s come up recently—and that’s what makes it ready for the market.” On the other hand, GroceryTV’s Marlow Nickell was quick to point out that measurement is already possible at the campaign level, with “an average of 14% sales lift.”
For me, the most interesting idea came from dunnhumby’s Michael Schuh, who described the store as a “heads-up environment.” Online, shoppers are buried in their screens. In contrast, in-store shoppers are “heads up:” alert, receptive, looking for inspiration. That’s an incredibly valuable mindset, especially for brand-building objectives, and one that too often gets ignored.
And yet, despite all of this, in-store has been deprioritized in the North American market. SaltXC’s Jordan Witmer didn’t mince words: “In-store’s not new, but it’s been squashed in the past five years, which is a shame. If you’re inside a brand or retailer, it’s acknowledged that in-store is a huge business driver.” Liquid Death’s Benoit Vatere went further, admitting the frustration many brands feel: “Do I want to get in front of shoppers in-store? Yes. Can I plan it? No. There’s a disconnect between the media side and understanding the audience through planning, and the infrastructure isn’t there yet.”
That disconnect is costing everyone, and it’s time for everyone to get on the same page. Meanwhile, in the UK, retailers have made strides of move past these hurdles. As SMG’s Matt Claisse explained, retail media in Europe, and in the UK in particular, grew in-store first, making it the cornerstone of retailer-brand partnerships. And when it comes to measurement, they’ve abandoned the impossible quest for perfection because of how beneficial in-store is as part of an omnichannel retail media strategy. “In the U.S., people get stuck on ‘can you measure this impression to immediate purchase?’” Matt said. “That’s a crazy objective—you can’t even do that with digital.” Instead, Matt explained how SMG approaches in-store measurement via robust test vs. control methodologies that enable brands to see how in-store media performed against campaign objectives.
The challenge is cultural as much as technical. Open Gate Consulting’s Chelsey Alexander summed it up: We know it’s a huge opportunity to reach millions of shoppers, but we can’t measure so we don’t do it. We need to get comfortable not letting perfection get in the way of good enough.
That’s the heart of it. The tools exist. The evidence exists. The shopper’s attention is there. As legacy channels like TV and OOH decline, in-store has the potential to pick up the mantle for scale, awareness, and impact. But retailers here need to lean in.
The brands are ready. The budgets are ready. The question now is whether North American retailers are ready to answer the call.
How can SMG help you achieve your in-store media goals?
This is our dedicated North America site. It looks like you might be in the UK.
