A joint study by the Interactive Advertising Bureau and Grocery TV found that 43% of marketers acknowledge they are underutilizing in-store retail media, according to Supermarket News. The same research showed that brands increasingly view physical retail screens—the digital displays mounted in grocery aisles, checkout lanes, and endcaps—as a full-funnel tool, capable of both building awareness and driving purchase in the same visit. Yet adoption lags intent.
The research surveyed marketers and retailers on how they deploy retail media assets inside physical stores. According to the report, brands recognize that a shopper standing in front of a shelf with a screen showing a product demo or promotion is in a high-intent moment. The screen reaches the customer when the competing product is three feet away and the purchase decision is seconds from closing. That immediacy separates in-store retail media from social or search: the conversion window is the length of a grocery trip, not a retargeting cycle.
Why it works comes down to proximity and context. A shopper in the cereal aisle has already decided to buy cereal. A screen showing a new flavor or a recipe closes the brand choice, not the category choice. The IAB study noted that marketers see this environment as uniquely suited to full-funnel work—awareness for a new SKU and immediate conversion in a single exposure. The format collapses the gap between impression and purchase, a gap that costs brands weeks and multiple touchpoints in digital channels. In-store retail media delivers both the top and bottom of the funnel in the same four-second spot.
Yet 43% admit they leave the channel underfunded or unplanned. The gap is not belief; the gap is execution. Many brands still allocate the majority of their budgets to online retail media—sponsored product ads on Amazon, search on Instacart—while treating the physical store as a legacy environment. The study suggests that marketers have not yet built the creative, the measurement infrastructure, or the internal buy-in to shift dollars from digital placements to the aisles where most grocery volume still transacts.
The steal for a small physical-product brand is to treat the in-store screen as the point-of-sale asset it is, not as a brand awareness play you cannot afford. Start with a single retailer that operates its own in-store network—many regional grocers and large chains now offer self-service retail media platforms. Create a fifteen-second spot with one product shot, one benefit line, and one price or promotion. No brand story, no lifestyle montage. The screen is three feet from the shelf; the message is "buy this now, here is why." Budget per retailer ranges from $500 to $5,000 per month depending on store count and screen placement. Track with retailer sales data, not impressions. If the retailer does not offer programmatic access, approach the category manager and ask which in-store media vendor they use. Most will connect you. Run a four-week test in ten to twenty doors, measure velocity, and expand only if the product moves. The cost per incremental unit sold will typically beat online retail media because the audience is already in the aisle and the friction to purchase is ten feet, not a click and a shipping wait.
The broader pattern is that physical retail is not a declining channel; it is an under-bought channel. The 43% who admit underutilization are leaving margin on the table while competitors who master in-store execution take share at the moment of truth.
In-store retail media closes the funnel in seconds, yet nearly half of brands underfund the channel where most volume still converts.
Editorial & Disclosure Notice: This article was written with artificial intelligence from public sources and is published without individual human review. Artificial intelligence and other digital tools are also used for research, analysis, editing, formatting, and production. Errors, omissions, outdated information, or inaccuracies may occur. References to companies, brands, products, services, organizations, or individuals are for informational and editorial purposes and do not imply endorsement, sponsorship, affiliation, partnership, or approval unless expressly stated. All trademarks and other intellectual property remain the property of their respective owners. Opinions, analysis, estimates, and commentary are informational only and should not be construed as financial, investment, legal, tax, medical, procurement, or other professional advice. Information may be corrected, clarified, or updated after publication. Corrections or removal requests: jenny@pops4.com.
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