Rising costs may drive more shoppers into physical stores, boosting in-store retail media

In response to rising costs, retail in 2024 was dominated by consumers’ desire for deals and discounts. And as President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs will raise some prices even higher in 2025, consumers may turn to in-person shopping to control their spending.

• Over a quarter (28.7%) of US grocery shoppers say they’ve shopped in-store more in the past year, according to a September 2024 survey from Swiftly.
• Digital offers, preferred by 62% of US grocery shoppers, are the top method for saving on groceries. However, in-store sales follow closely at 55%, per June 2024 data from Ibotta.

There also may be an influx of click-and-collect buyers seeking to avoid delivery fees.

• 63% of US digital shoppers have used in-store pickup for online orders to avoid shipping fees, according to April 2024 data from Ryder System.
• There will be 152.9 million click-and-collect buyers in the US in 2025, up 1.4% YoY, per our forecast.

What does it mean for retailers? It’s time to ramp up in-store retail media efforts.

This year, a variety of retail media networks added in-store media elements, including audio, digital kiosks, and digital screens.

• Hy-Vee recently partnered with Grocery TV to power over 10,000 screens across Hy-Vee stores, including at the entrance, checkout, service department, aisles, and end caps.
• Stop & Shop will add digital Savings Stations kiosks in half of its stores this month, rolling it out to all locations by the end of January. These kiosks enable customers to activate weekly digital coupons and personalized offers—without a smartphone or internet access.
• “Having digital signage and screens in-stores makes it easier for retailers to push out content and promotions in-real time, as shoppers are journeying across the store,” said Ashley Nickell, head of marketing at Grocery TV.

However, implementing expensive digital screens across multiple stores isn’t feasible for every retailer, so Nickell recommends starting small and scaling up.

“Try low-risk surfaces that add to the customer experience, prioritizing high-traffic areas like the front entrance or pharmacy areas—places where everyone passes through,” she said.

In-store retail media investments will continue into 2025 as advertisers experiment with ways to extend their digital campaigns into physical stores.

• The Interactive Advertising Bureau has released the finalized "In-Store Retail Media: Definitions and Measurement Standards" to help advertisers and networks track, report, and analyze campaign performance across various in-store formats.
• Better measurement will likely lead to more ad dollars allocated to in-store formats—we expect US in-store retail media spend to grow 45.5% in 2025, outpacing retail media’s overall growth of 20.2%.
• Still, in-store retail media spend will account for less than 1% of total retail media spend in the US.

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