Unlocking the travel media opportunity with WHSmith North America and SMG

I’ve just returned from another whirlwind trip to Las Vegas for Shoptalk, where commerce media continues to dominate the conversation. You can read some of my overall takeaways from this year on LinkedIn.

While in Vegas, I had the opportunity to join Katie Blackburn, VP of Commercial Strategy & Operations at WHSmith North America, on stage at the Rezolve AI Executive Forum, presented by RETHINK Retail.

In 2025, SMG and WHSmith North America officially launched WHS Media, an industry-first Commerce Media Network designed to meet consumers throughout their travel journey. It’s been a strong first year of partnership, and WHS Media recently launched SMG’s Plan-Apps, simplifying orchestration across planning, activation, and measurement.

In our conversation, Katie and I explored WHS Media’s evolving proposition and the power of commerce media in the travel environment, where these spaces create a rare intersection of high intent, extended dwell time, and captive attention, making them one of the most powerful yet underutilized channels in modern retail media.

Connected Commerce: Taking Retail Media to New Heights

1. Travel is the next frontier of retail media.

Travel environments offer a rare combination of time, intent, and attention that traditional retail channels struggle to match. With dwell times averaging 80 minutes in airports versus 26 minutes in grocery stores, brands have a significantly longer window to engage consumers. This creates a powerful opportunity to capture the attention of over 1 billion annual travelers

2. Airport complexity drives high-intent opportunity.

The airport is often a congested and confusing area, with nearly half of airport travelers arriving at their gate 1–2 hours before boarding. Extra-dwell time provides a reason to browse in a high-intent mindset that is difficult to replicate elsewhere. This audience tends to skew higher income and is more open to discovery. As a result, the chaos of travel becomes an opportunity to drive impulse purchases and trial new brands.

3. Travel maximizes the power of in-store retail media.

In-store media remains an underappreciated force, with roughly 80% of transactions still happening in physical locations. This is even more relevant at travel hubs. At WHSmith, 100% of transactions are completed in brick-and-mortar stores with in-store media as a driving force of sales. Through high-visibility placements, digital screens, and in-store audio, WHSmith and other travel retailers can cut through the noise of busy terminals. These touchpoints directly influence key purchase drivers in airports: convenience, visibility, promotion, and proximity.

4. Terminals transform ads into immersive experiences.
Advertising is shifting from passive exposure to active engagement through experiential activations like pop-ups, product trials, and interactive games. Airport terminals provide an ideal setting to transform wait time into memorable brand experiences. Terminal activations can create a lasting halo effect beyond the moment itself. With travelers having the time and attention to engage, travel retail media can help drive trial where other RMNs cannot.

5. Travel hubs drive culture and event-driven activations.
Consumers travel with purpose, maybe for warmer weather or a major sporting event. Terminals are evolving into platforms for culturally relevant, event-driven marketing (think the upcoming World Cup in the New York City metro area or America 250 celebrations in Washington, D.C.) rather than broad, one-size-fits-all media buys. Brands can activate by city, season, or cultural moment, which produces more strategic, context-aware campaigns.

As retail media continues to evolve, travel retail stands apart as a destination before the destination. It’s where attention is highest, intent is strongest, and experiences shape purchasing decisions before travelers ever reach their final destination.

To learn more about working with WHS Media, send me a note at sean.crawford@smg.team, or fill out the contact form below.