# Grocery TV data: 43% of marketers admit they underuse in-store retail media networks

*IAB survey reveals brands see full-funnel value but leave conversion dollars on the shelf at point of purchase.*

By **Jenny Huang Goodman MPA MSc MHSA, Principal** — The Stash Edge, Hako Shikin LLC.
Published 2026-10-12.

Canonical: https://www.pops4.com/stash/articles/grocery-tv-2026-10-12t18-2
Subject: Grocery TV
Tags: retail media, in-store advertising, point of purchase, grocery, conversion

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Grocery TV and the Interactive Advertising Bureau surveyed marketers and found that **43 percent** admit they underutilize in-store retail media networks, according to The Shelby Report. The same marketers report that they recognize the channel's full-funnel role—from awareness to conversion—but are not allocating budget or creative resources to match that belief. The gap is not philosophical. It is operational.

In-store retail media networks place digital screens at checkout lanes, endcaps, and high-traffic aisles inside grocery and mass-merchant locations. Brands buy ad slots that display while a shopper is already in the building, cart in hand, minutes from purchase. Grocery TV operates **thousands** of these screens across chains including Albertsons, Dollar General, and Family Dollar. The IAB survey shows marketers value the proximity to transaction but have not yet shifted budget from upper-funnel digital channels into the final fifteen feet of the buyer journey.

The mechanism is timing and context. A shopper scanning the cereal aisle sees a fifteen-second ad for a new granola flavor on the screen above the shelf. The product is three feet away. The decision cycle compresses from days to seconds. Unlike social or display, where a click leads to a landing page and a checkout form, in-store retail media collapses the gap between impression and transaction. The brand pays for attention at the moment discretionary spend happens, not when someone is scrolling at a bus stop.

Brands that have moved budget into the channel report measurable lift. According to industry case studies published by retail media network operators, campaigns paired with point-of-sale data show incremental sales increases in the low double digits during flight weeks. The Shelby Report notes that marketers see the value but cite internal budget inertia and lack of standardized measurement as barriers to reallocation. The opportunity cost is conversion that happens anyway—but for a competitor whose message was on the screen.

A small physical-product brand can run the same play without a six-figure media buy. Start by identifying a retail partner that operates an in-store digital network or allows co-op advertising funds to be applied to in-store screens. Many regional grocers and specialty chains offer screen inventory at rates starting around **$500** per store per month. Negotiate a test in five to ten locations where your product already has distribution. Create a single fifteen-second spot with one message: new flavor, limited time, or price promotion. No brand story. No founder journey. Just the product, the offer, and the aisle number.

Track sales in test stores against matched control locations during the same period. Use the retailer's point-of-sale data or your own shipment records to calculate lift. If you see a **10 percent** increase in units moved, the cost per incremental sale is often lower than digital acquisition cost, and the buyer is already holding your competitor's product when they see your message. Scale by adding stores in the same chain or replicating the test with a second retailer. The creative does not change. The message does not change. You are buying proximity, not eyeballs.

The broader pattern is that marketers over-index on channels they can measure in real time and under-invest in channels where attribution is harder but conversion is closer. In-store retail media sits at the last decision point before checkout. The **43 percent** who admit underutilization are leaving margin on the table, and the brands that move first in a category will own that screen real estate while rates remain accessible.

## The takeaway

In-store screens convert because they close the gap between ad and aisle; test five stores, measure lift, scale.

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## Publisher

**Hako Shikin LLC** — Virginia Beach, Virginia. Founded 1997. ASI 217876 · DUNS 18-204-6339.
Principal and author: **Jenny Huang Goodman MPA MSc MHSA**.

- Author: https://www.huanggoodman.com/about
- LLM context: https://www.pops4.com/stash/llms.txt
- MCP endpoint, for AI agents: https://mcp.pops4.com/mcp
- Client dashboard: https://dashboard.pops4.com/
- Catalogue: 70,000+ products, 200+ brands