An IAB study cited by PPC Land and Sixteen:Nine found that nearly half of retail media buyers report underutilizing in-store media placements, suggesting a gap between available channel capacity and advertiser confidence or knowledge.
ReadingThe steal: if 43% of marketers are underspending on in-store media, that means 57% are spending, and they're capturing disproportionate shelf velocity and basket lift in their categories. Audit your current retail partners and ask what point-of-sale placements are available (shelf edge, endcap, checkout, digital display). Get the inventory list. Measure your baseline weekly velocity. Then produce three in-store creative variants (shelf talker, endcap banner, checkout sign) and test one placement per store for two weeks. Track the delta in units moved. The measurement is manual but immediate. If velocity lifts 10%+, scale the creative to all doors that will take it. Measurement: units moved, not impressions.
MY STASH TAKEThis is asymmetric opportunity. Most DTC brands spend 100% on digital media where everyone else is also bidding. In-store media is inventory your retail partner is actively trying to fill. If you can produce a quick shelf talker and get it to 20 stores, the cost is nothing compared to a paid-social push, and the audience is captive. The lag time between creative production and seeing results is measured in days, not weeks. This is the move for brands already in retail that haven't systematized their point-of-sale creative. Spend two weeks making three great shelf-talker designs, ship them to your top 10 accounts, and measure what happens. Most teams skip this step entirely.
WatchWatch for retail platforms like Instacart and Amazon Fresh to roll out more dynamic in-store media offerings — they'll start measuring and benchmarking this lift, and the data will force brands to compete on in-store creative as aggressively as they do on paid social.