Five questions every retailer should answer before starting with in-store Retail Media

In-store Retail Media is creating new opportunities for retailers to generate value from their physical store environments. With established digital touchpoints, access to first-party insights and customers already making purchase decisions in-store, the potential is significant. But having a network of digital screens does not automatically mean having a Retail Media network.

There are important decisions to make before introducing advertising into the in-store environment. Retailers need to understand where Retail Media belongs in the customer journey, what inventory they can make available, how commercial and retailer-owned communication should coexist, and how campaigns will be operated and measured.

At Dise, we believe in-store Retail Media should be retailer-owned, customer-first and integrated into the wider digital in-store experience. Monetization should strengthen the value of the store without compromising the experience that made the channel valuable in the first place. This means Retail Media readiness starts before the first campaign is sold.

Here are five questions retailers should consider when moving from digital screens to an in-store Retail Media offering.

1. What role should Retail Media play in the customer experience?

The first question isn’t how much advertising inventory a retailer can create. It is where Retail Media can genuinely add value within the customer journey.

Digital touchpoints already serve many purposes in-store. They can inspire customers, communicate promotions, support product discovery, provide information or help customers navigate the store. Introducing Retail Media creates another use for those same touchpoints, but it shouldn’t replace the reasons they were introduced in the first place.

Different locations within the store also serve different customer needs. A display at the entrance has a different role from one positioned close to a product category or at the point of purchase. The type, frequency and relevance of commercial content should reflect that context.

This is why we see Retail Media as part of In-Store Experience Management rather than as a separate advertising channel. The objective should be to integrate commercial communication into the wider experience in a way that feels relevant to the customer and remains consistent with the retailer’s brand.

Not every screen needs to become advertising inventory, and not every available second needs to be monetized. The customer experience should define the Retail Media strategy, not the other way around.

2. Do you understand the inventory you actually have?

Once the role of Retail Media within the customer journey is clear, the next step is understanding what can realistically be offered to advertisers.

A network of 2,000 screens isn’t necessarily 2,000 identical media opportunities. Screens exist in different locations, store zones and formats. They reach customers at different stages of the journey and under different circumstances. Audience potential can vary by store, time of day and day of the week. Some touchpoints may be suited to commercial communication, while others should remain focused on the retailer’s own content.

Building a Retail Media offering therefore requires retailers to think about their digital estate as structured inventory rather than simply a collection of screens. That includes understanding where each touchpoint is located, the context in which it is viewed, the formats it supports and how much of its available airtime can reasonably be made available for Retail Media.

A strong digital in-store foundation makes this easier. Within the Dise IXM platform, digital touchpoints can be structured and managed across locations and screen environments. AdConnect extends that foundation into the Retail Media ecosystem by connecting the in-store environment with external advertising platforms and enabling relevant inventory and metadata to be used across that ecosystem.

The objective isn’t to maximize the amount of inventory available. It is to create inventory that retailers can understand, govern and offer with confidence.

3. How will Retail Media coexist with your own communication?

Retail Media introduces a new commercial opportunity, but it also introduces competition for something retailers already use every day: the attention available across their digital touchpoints.

Retailers still need to communicate their own campaigns, products, services and brand stories. Stores may also require local communication, operational messaging or content that responds to a particular context. Retail Media therefore cannot be managed in isolation from the wider content strategy.

Retailers need to decide how much space commercial content should occupy and how it should coexist with other communication. Those decisions may differ between store zones, formats, campaigns and periods of the year. 

This is where content orchestration and Share of Voice become important. The Dise IXM platform enables different types of content to be managed within the same digital environment, including percentage-based Share of Voice. Retailers can maintain control over how available airtime is distributed while integrating advertising content alongside their own communication.

That distinction matters. The advertising layer should work within the retailer’s digital in-store environment rather than taking control of it. The retailer should remain responsible for the experience customers encounter in-store, including how much commercial communication appears and where it belongs. Retail Media should add another dimension to the experience, not create a separate experience competing with it.

4. Do you have the right operating model and partners in place?

Technology is only one part of an in-store Retail Media network.

Someone needs to define the commercial proposition, structure the inventory, manage advertiser relationships, execute campaigns, integrate the relevant systems and provide reporting. There also needs to be clear responsibility for protecting the retailer’s brand and customer experience.

The right operating model will differ between retailers. Some capabilities may sit internally, while others may be provided by agencies, technology providers, system integrators or other specialist partners. What matters is that these responsibilities are clear before the network begins to scale.

This is also why the partner ecosystem is central to Dise’s approach.

Dise is partner-only. We provide the Dise IXM platform as the foundation for managing and orchestrating digital in-store experiences, while our partners bring the services, integrations and expertise needed to build solutions around each retailer’s requirements.

Retail Media can create further opportunities within those long-term relationships. As retailers develop their networks, partners can expand their offering through integrations, services and ongoing operational support, creating opportunities to build recurring business around the platform.

Our business model is designed to support that independence. Dise offers one product at one price and takes no share of Retail Media revenue. We provide the platform that enables the opportunity without competing for the retailer relationship or the media revenue generated through it.

A sustainable Retail Media model therefore isn’t simply a technology decision. It is an ecosystem decision that brings together the retailer, the platform and the right partners around a shared operating model.

5. Can you reliably deliver and report what was promised?

As soon as media inventory is sold, transparency becomes essential. Advertisers need confidence that campaigns have been delivered as agreed, while retailers need visibility into what is running across their network. This becomes increasingly important as more campaigns, locations and external advertising platforms are introduced. Reliable delivery and reporting should therefore be part of the foundation rather than something added once the commercial model is established.

With AdConnect, the Dise IXM platform can integrate with external advertising platforms, allowing advertising assets to enter the existing content environment while the retailer retains control over the overall in-store experience. Actual playouts can be reported back to the advertising platform, providing Proof of Play data for campaign validation, reporting and optimization.

This creates an important connection between the in-store experience and the wider Retail Media ecosystem. The objective is not to replace the systems advertisers and media teams already use, but to enable those systems to connect with the retailer’s digital in-store environment in a controlled and measurable way.

As in-store Retail Media matures, alignment around industry standards will also become increasingly important. More consistent approaches to formats, measurement and campaign reporting can make it easier for retailers to connect their in-store inventory with the wider media ecosystem and build trust with media buyers.

Retail Media starts with the digital in-store foundation

The opportunity around in-store Retail Media is compelling, but successful monetization requires more than an existing screen network. Retailers need to understand the role Retail Media should play in the customer experience, structure their inventory, balance commercial and retailer-owned communication, establish the right operating model and ensure campaigns can be delivered and reported reliably.

These questions all point back to the same principle: Retail Media works best when it is built into the digital in-store strategy rather than added alongside it.

At Dise, we see the Dise IXM platform as the foundation for that approach. It enables retailers to orchestrate their digital touchpoints and integrate Retail Media into the wider content environment while retaining control over the customer experience. AdConnect connects that foundation with the wider advertising ecosystem, while our partner community brings the expertise and services required to implement, integrate and scale the solution around each retailer’s business.

The result is an approach where Retail Media can become a monetization layer on top of an already valuable digital in-store ecosystem, rather than turning the store into a collection of advertising screens. Because the goal isn’t simply to create more media inventory. It is to create more value from the store while keeping the retailer and the customer experience at the center.

Contact us today 

If you’re exploring how to get started with an in-store Retail Media network, the Dise IXM platform and our partner community can help you build the right foundation. We’d love to start the conversation.