Advertima is a Business Reporter client.

In the ever-evolving retail media landscape, businesses are constantly on the lookout for game-changing solutions that can propel them forward. While digital technology provides many opportunities, there is one critical component that will deliver a substantial competitive advantage: using real-time audience data and measurement within physical stores.

Matching online media’s power

Most retailers are experts in online media: advertising online is an extremely powerful way to reach relevant audiences and generate sales. It was not always so. Imagine if online media had remained stuck in the era of static-looped banner ads and brochure-like content. Using online media 20 years ago was a shot in the dark, a guess. But technology has moved on: no one would think of buying online advertising campaigns that way anymore.

Yet in an age of lightning-fast digital advertising, in-store retail media lags behind, burdened by the limitations of legacy infrastructure and an inability to keep pace with innovation.

Current in-store media frequently relies on historical data, such as customer purchase histories, point of sale (PoS) reports and loyalty programs. While digital screens have brought digital out-of-home capabilities to in-store, content delivery has not advanced beyond static loops, unable to recognise or target the actual audience in front of the screen. It’s still a shot in the dark, hoping the message will resonate with whoever’s present.

What’s missing

Many retailers fail to recognise or understand WHY real-time in-store customer data is so important. It’s as if they believe they have no choice but to rely on historical data.

However, they do have a choice. Companies such as Advertima provide advanced in-store retail media solutions that capture real-time anonymised shopper data as shoppers move through stores. Retailers who embrace the provision of dynamic real-time experiences in their stores can create levels of customer engagement that match, and exceed, online advertising. They will reap significant benefits for their brands, shopper audiences and overall business.

Closing the online and in-store divide

In the past, there have been tensions between merchants and retail media teams. Merchants are, naturally enough, focused on product sales while retail media teams want to generate advertising revenue. Instead, online and in-store advertising must align to create an omnichannel retail media offering that brings brands unprecedented media opportunities.

Thankfully, technology is closing the gap between online and in-store shopping. It enables retailers to deliver more relevant and engaging omnichannel experiences using audience-based targeting via digital screens – experiences that rival the very best of the online world. When retailers communicate directly with in-store shoppers, they heighten shopper engagement. This translates into longer dwell-time, greater brand recall and, ultimately, increased sales.

By reaching a valuable high-volume audience – in-store shoppers – retailers can also offer their advertisers a unique media opportunity to stand out and be seen as innovative and customer-centred. This is key to business growth.

Today, in-store media can be even more powerful than online media, with in-store audiences 84 per cent greater on average than digital audiences. It’s the old adage of right person, right time, right place and, now, right context.

In-store mirroring online

Technology provides retailers a way forward with solutions designed to integrate with existing ad-serving platforms and digital screen networks, scaled across multiple stores and locations. For example, Advertima Audience AI uses cutting-edge sensors, advanced AI and real-time data to help retailers transform their aisles into real-time digital spaces that mirror online environments.

Advertima captures and transforms shoppers into lucrative real-time segments for retailers to address while still in-store. Significant benefits include accurate real-time audience targeting and campaign measurement. Audience segments can be further enriched with contextual information (time, place, behaviour) and affinity data (checkout and loyalty programs) to increase their relevance and value. And all of this is done anonymously so that shopper privacy is maintained.

Analysing and measuring in-store media performance benefits retailers, who have access to real-time metrics around impressions, engagement and conversion rates, increasing their in-store media’s incremental value. Media agencies and brands buying in-store media benefit from a brand-safe environment while opening up new actionable audience insights. This applies to key endemic brands and creates non-endemic brand opportunities, such as cars, insurance and travel.

Enhancing the customer experience

With the right approach, in-store retail media will also enrich the in-store shopper’s experience. Real-time solutions such as Advertima Audience AI enable retailers and brands to develop more effective creative treatments and more finely targeted media.

Real-time audience segments can be used to offer shoppers relevant and targeted advertising across their in-store journey, from entry to exit, devoid of distractions and annoyances. Improving shopper reach and engagement at the point of purchase will result in decisive sales uplift, while providing shoppers with a more satisfying experience that encourages greater loyalty.

Omnichannel media integration

AI-powered in-store media allows retailers to create a cohesive, measurable, closed-loop connection between brands and customers as audiences move between onsite, offsite and in-store. Cross-selling and upselling across different sales channels becomes possible. A unified brand experience can be provided across all customer touchpoints, substantially magnifying the effectiveness of advertising campaigns.

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A powerful engine for growth

By embracing dynamic, real-time experiences in their stores, retailers can bring online advertising’s success factors to the in-store environment, closing the online and in-store divide, and transforming their in-store retail media into a powerful engine for growth, brand building and customer loyalty. And as retailers and brands know, loyalty pays.

The future of in-store retail media lies in real-time audience engagement. By seeking out and embracing real-time audience-based ad-serving technology, retailers will unlock new opportunities for growth and differentiation in an increasingly competitive market. It’s time to revolutionise in-store retail media and unleash the full potential of real-time audience reach and measurement.

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Europe-based Advertima is a leading in-store retail media technology specialist, bringing the power of real-time audience data, campaign analytics and performance measurement to physical stores.