Why In-Store Media Is Retail’s Enduring Power
The Perception Problem: Digital Dominance
Retail media is often discussed as though its future is purely digital. This, I believe, is partly due to the exciting and beguiling mar‑tech innovations that seem to be announced at least weekly...
It’s as if digital retail media is the glamorous younger sibling of the older, more modest, less extraverted, less interesting, in‑store media.
I’m sure if you measured all the “column inches” (showing my age here!) dedicated to digital retail media, they would eclipse the exposure in‑store media attracts.
An extra‑terrestrial arriving on planet earth with the task of learning all about earthlings’ retail media activities could be forgiven for believing that digital media was pretty much the only channel of interest.
However, we earthlings who actually work in retail media very much know that’s not the case.
The Reality: Where Sales Actually Happen
It may seem pretty obvious, but just look at the numbers. Central Statistics Office figures for March 2026 show that online sales were only 5.6% of total retail turnover in Ireland, or 7.2% excluding motor trades.
Taking food businesses, online sales accounted for just 3.1% of total revenue, and for non‑specialised stores, including supermarkets, it was 2.7%. Electrical goods were higher, but still only 14.2% online, meaning the great majority of category turnover remains outside pure online transaction.
Now, those could be mic‑drop statistics in favour of in‑store retail media...
The Complexity of Shopper Behaviour
But it’s important to remind ourselves that human behaviour is rarely simple.
In certain retail sectors shoppers will research online… electrical goods spring to mind… be open to influence by on‑site retail media, and then complete the purchase in‑store. Then there are hybrid behaviours, such as click and collect, where a digital journey still leads the shopper physically back to the store.
KPMG’s latest Irish shopper research adds some useful human texture to this. It found that 85% of all Irish adults purchase groceries in‑store, a figure it says has remained stable across three consecutive waves.
The same research found that 64% prefer shopping in physical stores because they can touch and see products before buying, while 40% are using hybrid click‑and‑collect for clothes, electronics and appliances.
So, even where online is more developed, the picture is not simply “online versus store”.
The Store in the Modern Customer Journey
It is much more interesting than that.
Shoppers research online and buy in‑store. They buy online and collect in‑store. They compare in‑store and then later buy online. They browse passively, then suddenly become active. They build a basket, abandon it, revisit it, switch brand, trade up, trade down, substitute, discover and decide.
The store remains woven through all of this.
The UK tells a similar story, albeit with higher overall ecommerce penetration. ONS data for Great Britain shows that internet sales accounted for 27.9% of total retail sales in March 2026, meaning around seven in ten retail sales still happened outside the online transaction.
For predominantly food stores, the ONS figure was just 10.2%, so roughly nine in ten sales were still not online.
Digital Still Matters (But Not in Isolation)
None of this is to diminish the importance of digital retail media. Far from it.
On‑site search, sponsored products, app placements, email, social matching, off‑site display and connected TV all have important and growing roles to play.
And perhaps this is where my own role as Head of Digital at ReAction is relevant.
Because in retail media, “digital” is not simply about screens, formats or channels. It is also about data, measurement, attribution and optimisation.
The very nature of retail media is that it is connected to shopper behaviour and purchase data.
Retail Media Should Reflect Reality
But that is exactly the point. Retail media is strongest when it reflects the reality of the customer journey, not a convenient industry diagram.
And the reality, particularly in grocery, pharmacy, DIY, homeware and many everyday retail categories, is that the physical store remains the highest‑exposure environment in the journey.
It is where the shopping mission becomes real.
The Power of the Store Environment
It is where intent becomes physical.
Where the shopper is no longer merely thinking about a purchase, but standing in the environment in which that purchase will happen.
Where they are holding the basket, pushing the trolley, comparing the shelf, noticing a promotion, spotting a new product, being reminded of something they had forgotten, or making a final decision between two brands.
That gives in‑store and at‑store media a very particular power.
Reach, Context, and Proximity
Reach
Stores still deliver large, repeated, high‑frequency audiences. In grocery especially, they are habitual destinations. Weekly destinations. Sometimes several‑times‑a‑week destinations.
Context
The shopper is in buying mode. The store is full of mental shortcuts, emotional cues, practical pressures and small moments of inspiration.
Proximity
A great at‑store format can create awareness and frame a brand before the shopper enters… and support conversion at the shelf.
In‑store is not one blunt instrument. Planned properly, it works across the full funnel.
Industry Recognition and Growing Investment
The wider retail media industry is increasingly recognising this.
IAB Europe’s 2025 Attitudes to Retail Media report found that the share of respondents prioritising “reaching shoppers at the point of sale” rose from 74% in 2024 to 79% in 2025.
Yet 29% of buyers are still not allocating investment to in‑store activations, suggesting a gap between the opportunity and current planning behaviour.
The Evidence for Effectiveness
That gap matters, because the evidence for effectiveness is becoming harder to ignore.
A 2025 SMG report, based on Plan‑Apps analysis of more than 12,500 in‑store campaigns, found that the average campaign delivered 6.75 million impressions across 221 stores at an average CPM of £2.52.
More importantly, in‑store ads delivered:
28.3% sales lift for the advertised SKU
12.0% uplift for the overall brand
Moving Beyond “Posters in Shops”
This is where in‑store media becomes more strategically interesting.
It is not simply “posters in shops”. The best in‑store media works because it combines reach, timing, context, creative and proximity.
Each format plays a different role.
Planning Around Shopper Moments
That means we should be helping advertisers think less in terms of isolated formats and more in terms of shopper journey moments.
What is the job to be done?
Awareness
Discovery
Consideration
Trial
Conversion
Repeat purchase
Discovery, in other words, does not only happen high up the funnel. In many categories, it happens in the aisle.
The Real Opportunity: Connecting the Journey
This is why the future of retail media should not be framed as digital replacing physical.
That is the wrong debate.
The real opportunity is to connect the journey:
Use digital to target and measure
Use in‑store to influence at the moment of truth
Use data to optimise continuously
Final Thought: The Store Still Matters
In‑store media may not always have the glamour of the latest retail media tech announcement.
It may be the older sibling in the room.
But older siblings can be useful.
They understand that not every shiny new thing changes the fundamentals.
And the fundamental truth of retail media is this: the store still matters. Hugely.
Where Next
For many retailers, it remains:
The place where most customers visit
Where most sales happen
Where the most decisive moments occur
In‑store media is not a legacy channel waiting to be replaced.
It is one of retail media’s most enduring sources of power.
The task now is to plan that power better, measure it better, connect it better, and give it the strategic attention it deserves.