16 August, 2023 | Dublin, Ireland — UK shoppers propensity to be influenced by ads at the shelf-edge is growing, as consumer demand and retailer adoption of retail media networks in-store increases, the latest research from ADvendio, the leading omnichannel advertising solution provider, shows.
Original research of over 1,000 UK shoppers by ADvendio revealed that over half (51%) would be more likely to buy a product if they were served digital ads in-store, rising to 62% of Millennials. Almost two fifths (36%) said immersive digital adverts in-store would make them more likely to try a product they hadn’t bought before, driving up confidence, consideration and conversions at the shelf-edge.
UK grocer, Tesco, for example, has invested in its closed-loop grocery media platform, including media screens in 500+ stores, powering over 6,500 campaigns a year. Across the pond, Walmart – already a first-mover in the retail media space – announced this week it would extend its in-aisle ad capabilities. It will now offer 3rd party ads served on 170,000+ digital screens and 30second in-store radio spots, opening up brand promotions to what Ryan Mayward, SVP at Walmart Connect, describes as “Super Bowl-sized audiences”, based on the footfall its drives to its stores each week.
38% of those UK shoppers polled by ADvendio said they had already bought something in a supermarket as a result of seeing it advertised on a digital screen. This was 6 percentage points higher than the 32% who had bought products advertised on Instagram, and 10 percentage points higher than those who had bought items as a result of TikTok advertising (28%).
Bernd Bube, Founder and CEO of ADvendio, commented: “We often talk about consumers in the store being more ‘conversion-ready’ compared to online – and that’s because they are in ‘operation buy’, rather than ‘operation browse’, mode at the point of purchase, making in-aisle and shelf-edge engagement all the more effective. Add to this the sizeable footfall of these conversion-ready shoppers, and it’s easy to see why many retailers are now looking to invest in leveraging their store estates to open up new revenue and shoppers engagement channels.”
“However, whilst highly effective, it is important to remember that the store is not the silver bullet for building a successful retail media network,” he added. “As with other engagement strategies, an omnichannel approach is needed, bringing in digitally owned platforms and ecommerce sites as part of the campaign, to effectively drive up higher levels of engagement and ROI.”
