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Part of In-store retail media screens: what UK retailers need to know
In-store retail media screens: what UK retailers need to know
How digital screens in UK supermarkets and pharmacy chains are sold to advertisers, what the placements measure, and the checks to run before booking.
What to take away
- In-store screens are a separate retail media channel: the audience is standing in a shop, not browsing a website.
- Grocery, pharmacy and convenience retailers sell the space, often through a store-media partner that owns and maintains the hardware.
- Audience figures for screens are usually modelled from footfall counts, so they describe passers-by rather than viewers.
- Footfall is a commercial measure, not an official statistic, and the ONS publishes retail sales data instead.
- Camera or sensor measurement brings data protection duties, and screen advertising still has to be recognisable as advertising.
Why in-store screens sit apart from other channels
On-site retail media places a sponsored product on a retailer's website or app. Off-site retail media uses a retailer's audience data on other platforms. A screen in a store is neither: it reaches people who are already there and it produces no click of its own.
The choice between routes is a comparison of audiences and evidence, not of formats. Work through it before a screen booking is priced, using the route comparison in comparing on-site, off-site and in-store routes.
Creative adds another difference. Display built for a phone rarely reads well on a screen above a till, and production is a cost the booking has to carry.
What is being installed, and where
Digital screens in UK supermarkets, pharmacies and convenience stores now sit inside retail media offers. Tesco, Boots, Co-op and Asda are among the retailers whose media arms sell screen space, usually alongside other in-store formats such as radio or shelf promotions.
In-store advertising on those screens runs in a loop, so each brand shares airtime with others. Ask for the site list, because estates change and a headline store count rarely matches the sites on offer.
Format matters more than the fascia. A large screen by the entrance behaves differently from a checkout queue panel or an aisle strip, and the measurement available differs with it.
Estate size is not audience quality either. A small chain with a busy till queue can deliver more dwell time than a large estate where screens sit above eye level.
| Screen format | Typical position | Measurement usually offered | What it still does not tell you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Large-format digital screen | entrance, atrium or aisle end | impressions modelled from footfall | whether anyone read the panel |
| Shelf-edge or aisle strip | beside the category | share of category buyers in store | attention at the point of decision |
| Checkout queue panel | till queue or self-checkout area | estimated dwell time | the sale that follows the visit |
| Counter or click-and-collect screen | collection desk or pharmacy counter | exposure tied to transactions in some networks | effect on the basket |
| Window or external screen | store frontage | passing footfall | whether the passer-by was a shopper |
What the audience numbers really describe
Footfall figures quoted in a screen proposal are commercial estimates. The ONS publishes retail sales volumes and sector turnover for the retail industry, which shows how much spending stays in physical shops but says nothing about who looked at a screen.
A screen can be judged on opportunity to see, dwell nearby, or change in basket size, and each of those needs different evidence.
Screen measurement also rests on definitions. The IAB UK retail media standards set out shared terms for inventory and reporting, and they are worth checking before accepting any screen metric at face value.
If a screen counts people with cameras, sensors or app signals, personal data may be involved. The UK GDPR guidance from the ICO sets out the lawful basis, transparency and assessment duties a retailer should be able to demonstrate.
What to check before booking
Five questions separate a checkable proposal from a slide.
- Ask for the site list, screen size, position in store and installation date.
- Ask who owns the hardware and who handles maintenance and downtime.
- Ask how the audience figure was produced, over what period, and whether it was modelled or observed.
- Ask whether the creative needs an advertising identifier, then check the position in the CAP advertising codes.
- Ask who controls data from any sensors, and get the answer written into the contract.
Common questions
Are in-store screens classed as retail media?
Yes, when a retailer sells the space and reports on it as a channel. That is what brings screens inside retail media contracts and measurement standards rather than leaving them as store decoration.
Do supermarket screens collect personal data?
Only if the set-up uses cameras, sensors or app-linked signals to count or profile people. Where it does, the retailer needs a lawful basis under the UK GDPR and should be able to describe it.
Can screen impressions be compared with online impressions?
Not directly. Online impressions are logged events, while screen figures are usually modelled from footfall, so the two describe different things.
What makes a screen proposal checkable?
A site list, the format and position, the audience method, reporting definitions, and contract terms covering data and creative approval. If any of those is missing, the headline number cannot be tested.