In-store retail media screens: what the audience figures describe and what to check before booking

What to take away

In-store screens are a separate retail media channelthe 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.

Screen formats and measurement limits

Large-format digital screen

Typical position: entrance, atrium, aisle end
Measurement offered: footfall-modelled impressions
What it misses: whether anyone read it

Shelf-edge or aisle strip

Typical position: beside the category
Measurement offered: share of category buyers
What it misses: attention at decision point

Checkout queue panel

Typical position: till queue, self-checkout
Measurement offered: estimated dwell time
What it misses: the sale after the visit

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.

Five questions before booking

Site list, screen size, position, installation date
Hardware owner, maintenance and downtime
Audience figuremodelled or observed, over what period
Creative identifier needed, then CAP codes check
Sensor data control, written into contract

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.