How to drive recurring in-store revenue with retail media networks

Creating innovative, engaging, and immersive shopping experiences while driving sales and fostering loyalty — it’s something retailers do best. And with retail media networks making industry headlines for a while now, this exciting revenue generator is embarking on a new frontier … bringing retail media networks into the store. 

It’s no wonder retailers are on a mission to maximize margins by generating greater foot traffic, increasing customer “dwell time,” increasing basket size, and ultimately enhancing their profitability. 

Where are they looking? One technology that is making a tremendous impact on that mission is in-store retail media displays. Contextual marketing, in the form of a “conversation” — between a retailer’s products and in-store shoppers — can provide customer engagement that builds brands, increases cart size, and grows revenue. 

In the areas of pharmacy, not only is there a new revenue stream, but now the ability to educate clients on products and food choices that lead to healthier outcomes, as well as awareness of programs offered for healthcare services via the 340b federally funded program serving underserved populations. 

How can in-store media advertising create incremental revenue?

Leveraging in-store media advertising to create an incremental revenue stream is a much simpler proposition than you might think … especially considering other tactics retailers often use to accomplish the same goals. Broadcast media-driven tactics, such as television and radio, can be effective. However, these are complex and costly, and their effectiveness is challenging to measure. 

By contrast, in-store media advertising drives measurable increases in both conversion rates and basket sizes. This is probably why CPGs (consumer packaged goods) manufacturers are expected to spend more money on advertising in retail media networks than connected TV, digital audio, and traditional TV combined by 2027. By providing in-store retail media displays you can offer your CPG suppliers, vendors, and partners with a new advertising channel for which they’ve already allocated budgets. 

In-store media advertising can engage and influence shoppers

You’ve undoubtedly had an in-store display experience yourself. These displays can easily capture the customer’s attention (and when done right, sometimes their imagination, too), showcase new products, create cross-selling opportunities, bring sales and promotions to life, and, in short, influence a shopper’s purchasing decision at the moment. 

Remember, in-store media advertising is a conversation

And it’s a conversation you can have with your most loyal shoppers. As a retailer, you’re probably working extremely hard to capture and compile the mountains of loyal shopper data that, you hope, will increase your chances of engaging those customers on a more personal level. The question becomes: Now that you’ve gathered that data, how do you make the best use of it? 

Gain insight through in-store interaction

With an in-store retail media network or in-store media advertising, you can turn those customer insights into increased ROI, tailoring your digital content to present relevant products, promotions, and recommendations to customers based on their previous behaviors and loyalty data. How is this possible? 

Retail media displays — touchscreen enabled—do more than simply display information. They create conversations. When a loyalty program member enters their member number, they can answer survey questions, submit their email address for future marketing campaigns, or even help train AI-based recommendation engines by providing their opinions on chosen products. 

And here’s another thought: how about providing much-needed feedback that will improve the overall customer experience in-store and possibly lead to a subscription-based service for regularly purchased items ... It’s all possible. 

Increase in-store “property values”

In-store retail media displays can drive shopper behavior and increase the value of individual areas in your planogram. Why is this important? 67% of in-store purchasing decisions are made “at the shelf.”

Retail media-enabled endcaps, for example, increase shopper dwell times, and that dwell time increases significantly when the display is interactive. This is one of the many shopper behaviors influenced by in-store retail media networks, making in-store media placements even more valuable to product makers and driving incremental revenue to retailers. Because of this, your suppliers will view retail media-enabled planogram space as premium shelf space worth a premium price. 

Grow customer loyalty with informative content

The use of in-store digital displays goes far beyond the delivery of traditional advertisements. Forward-thinking retailers are leveraging the power of in-store displays to educate customers and, with that education, create greater loyalty.  

Keep employees informed in real time

Beyond customer-facing applications, retail media screens can also be deployed to streamline employee communications. Grocers, mass merch retailers, pharmacies, distribution centers, and more — installing digital screens in their breakrooms, meeting rooms, or any back-office location where employees gather — can leverage these centrally-managed displays to push internal communications to all employees in real time. Using retail media screens for employee engagement and communications can help streamline processes, foster transparency, and strengthen morale across the entire organization. 

Source:  RICOH USA