Nick Johnson talks ‘Retail Media Networks’ for Supermarkets and Convenience Stores

With the rise of in-store Retail Media Networks, Nick Johnson, CEO at NowSignage, explores what makes them such an exciting proposition for retailers, and talks about why 6 of the UK's Top 10 Supermarkets and Convenience stores have chosen NowSignage as their preferred digital signage technology supplier.

Retail media networks represent a significant shift in the media landscape, as brick-and-mortar stores increasingly leverage their physical spaces and customer data to offer targeted, digital advertising opportunities. By installing networks of connected digital displays throughout their stores, retailers can now serve personalised product recommendations, location-based promotions, and immersive brand experiences tailored to individual consumers as they navigate the aisles. This not only generates new revenue streams for retailers through advertising fees, but also enhances the shopping journey by providing added value and relevant information to customers.

Ultimately, the rise of in-store retail media networks represents a strategic pivot for the industry, transforming physical stores into dynamic digital platforms that benefit both retailers, brands, and indeed the shopper themselves too.

So what’s the difference between Retail Media Networks and DooH?

On the face of it Retail Media Networks and Digital-out-of-Home (DooH) networks may appear to be one of the same. Both are mechanisms for monetisation, and both offer brands opportunities to connect with their target audiences in a digital advertising format… BUT… the distinction is that the value proposition and strategy of these two formats are completely different.

The way Nick Johnson describes it is, “In-store retail media networks focus on the final few steps of the consumer journey, where the shopper is in the store environment and immersed in the buying process; whereas DooH casts a wider net across public spaces to capture the attention of the general public at various touch points throughout their day, and is therefore much earlier in the buying process.”

Why is the uptake of Retail Media Networks so prevalent across Supermarkets & Convenience stores?

Nick Johnson, states, “Retail media networks thrive wherever there’s a competitive market place of similar brands all in close proximity, which makes Supermarkets and Convenience Stores the ideal environment. Smart retailers understand the value of a customer centric experience. It’s all about the Retailer, Brands and Customer working in alignment. So therefore, if a shoppers' behavior can be influenced, then sales will increase and brands will invest.”

If we take a deeper look at the grocery sector, then the numbers also speak for themselves, with 91% of the UK adult population still shopping in stores, and 79% making a visit at least once per week.

So it’s clear to see why a store with a customer centric experience and high footfall creates the ideal environment for media networks to thrive. In these environments, shoppers are already in a receptive mindset, actively engaged in the shopping experience and so, presenting them with relevant content will influence shopper buying decisions.

Due to the high cognitive overload in supermarkets and being surrounded by multiple options at your finger-tips, shoppers are 3x more likely to deviate from their shopping list vs an online purchasing process. So, intelligently positioned digital signage around the supermarket aisles and shelves, provides the retailer and advertised brands with a captive canvas to grab the attention of consumers as shoppers navigate the store and add items to their shopping trolley.

SPAR demonstrates why there’s so much hype around Retail Media Networks…

At NowSignage we have many customers across the retail space rolling out and implementing effective Retail Media Networks, however, some of our most successful case studies can be seen across the grocery sector.

In this sector we’re seeing two types of networks being installed, ‘retailer owned’ (owned and ran by the retailer with advertising slots sold to brands) and ‘brand owned’ (brands making long term agreements with the retailer to purchase real-estate within their stores and install their own retail media network, ran and controlled by the brand directly).

A fantastic example of a ‘retailer owned’ retail media network is the global convenience store franchise SPAR. Since working with NowSignage to implement a Retail Media Network, SPAR has seen a 14.8% increase in sales in locations where they’ve installed aisle screens and POS screens, compared to those with no media. Interestingly, those stores with multiple in-store screens located throughout the shopper journey within the in-store environment, performed 7% better than those with just a single point-of-sale display in location. SPAR has also stated that the advertising revenues generated in the first year of operation will cover the cost of their entire expenditure into the Retail Media Network outlay, again demonstrating why there is so much appetite for retailers to install these digital signage networks within their prime real estate locations.

At NowSignage, we’re also working with many other retailers, and the thing they all have in common is that they’re always focussed on creating a customer centric journey to add value to the shopping experience. For example, if a shopper is purchasing eco-friendly toothbrushes from the toothbrush aisle within a store, then it would be a logical conclusion for a retailer to use a digital signage screen to upsell toothpaste on this aisle display. However, we’re finding that in fact, the intelligent ‘customer centric’ retailer, can analyse customer buying patterns and data insight, and make calculated assumptions based on buyers behaviour, that if the user is interested in eco-friendly toothbrushes, they may also be interested in purchasing other eco-friendly products within the store, so therefore target the advertising to raise awareness of these products helps support the customer, and increase sales.

Why does analytics play such an important role in the success of Retail Media Networks?

At the heart of an effective retail media network lies a robust analytics framework, which enables retailers to deeply understand their customers' behaviours. Performance measurement allows retailers to continually refine their placements that deliver the strongest results, along with giving brands visibility of which adverts and campaigns maximised sales, to ensure repeat spend.

Retail Media is much more than just an in-store digital signage offering, so we’re also finding that retailers who are able to collect and analysing data from other online and offline sources, allows them to build customer profiles and offer highly targeted, personalised advertising content that resonates with individual shoppers, driving engagement and, ultimately sales.

To discover more about NowSignage’s Retail Media capabilities and advanced data analytics, please contact us for more information and a full demo.