The Rise of Retail Media
Amazon started it. Walmart supercharged it. Now every major retailer is building a media business on top of their retail operation. Retail media — advertising sold by retailers to brands who want to reach shoppers in the purchase moment — has become one of the fastest-growing advertising categories.
In 2024, US retail media spend exceeded $54 billion, surpassing linear TV advertising for the first time. Industry analysts project it will reach $100 billion by 2027.
What Makes Retail Media Different
Retail media is uniquely valuable for three reasons:
First-party data: Retailers have purchase history, loyalty program data, and demographic profiles for millions of shoppers. This data is highly accurate, consensually collected, and directly correlates to purchase behaviour — exactly what brands need as third-party cookies disappear.
Purchase intent: An ad seen on a retailer's website or in-store screen reaches someone who is actively shopping. This is fundamentally different from a pre-roll ad on YouTube or a display ad on a news site, where purchase intent is unknown.
Closed-loop measurement: Retailers can directly attribute ad exposure to purchases. A brand can see exactly which shoppers viewed their ad and then bought their product — a level of measurement clarity unavailable in most other channels.
The In-Store Opportunity
While much attention focuses on the digital (e-commerce) side of retail media, the in-store channel is the largest and most undermonetised opportunity. Physical stores account for over 85% of retail transactions globally, yet most in-store advertising infrastructure — the screens, shelving units, and displays — has not been integrated into programmatic advertising systems.
Platforms like ABC Play are bridging this gap. By connecting in-store screens to content management and ad delivery infrastructure, retailers of all sizes can:
- Run brand-funded content on their in-store screens
- Sell advertising slots to national and local brands
- Deliver contextually relevant promotions based on store inventory and shopper data
- Measure the impact of in-store advertising on actual purchases
Who Benefits from Retail Media Networks?
Large CPG brands benefit from reaching shoppers at the precise moment of purchase decision with contextually relevant creative. A beverage brand can ensure its ad appears on screens in the drinks aisle during peak shopping hours.
Smaller brands benefit from the ability to compete with larger competitors at the point of sale without requiring national TV budgets. A regional food brand can promote itself in specific stores, cities, or regions.
Retailers benefit from a new, high-margin revenue stream that leverages an asset they already own. In-store screens that previously cost money to operate now generate advertising revenue.
Building Your Own Retail Media Network
For retailers considering launching their own media network, the core requirements are:
1. Screens and infrastructure: Commercial-grade displays connected to a CMS like ABC Play
2. Data capabilities: Loyalty program data, point-of-sale integration, or footfall analytics
3. Ad management: A platform for brands to book, deliver, and measure campaigns
4. Sales capabilities: Either an in-house team or a partnership with a media sales organisation
The minimum viable retail media network can be as simple as 5–10 in-store screens with basic scheduling capabilities. Start there, demonstrate value to brand partners, and expand.
The Future of Retail Media
The next frontier is true omnichannel retail media — coordinating messages across a shopper's journey from the moment they see a digital billboard near the store, to the time they browse the retailer's app, to the in-store screen they pass on the way to the product. This seamless experience, powered by first-party data, is the holy grail of retail marketing and will define the next decade of advertising.
Ready to put this into action?
ABC Play gives you everything you need to power professional digital signage, in-store music, and content production.