What Brands Are Buying In-Store Media Advertising in 2026?

Who's Buying

CPG and Packaged Goods

Consumer packaged goods companies are the largest buyers of in-store media advertising. Brands like Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Nestlé, and Mondelez have decades of experience with in-store merchandising and are extending that investment to digital and audio channels. In-store media offers CPG brands proximity to the purchase decision, the ability to influence brand switching at the shelf, and measurement capabilities that connect ad exposure to actual purchases.

Beverage Companies

Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Anheuser-Busch InBev, and other beverage brands are active in-store media advertisers, particularly in convenience stores, grocery, and QSR environments. Beverage purchases are highly influenced by in-store visibility and impulse, making the point-of-purchase environment especially valuable.

Beauty and Personal Care

L'Oréal, Estée Lauder, and other beauty brands use in-store digital screens for product education, tutorials, and promotional content. In beauty retail, the in-store experience is critical to discovery and conversion, making digital media a natural extension of the merchandising strategy.

Financial Services

Banks, insurance companies, and financial technology brands are increasingly buying in-store media in retail environments to reach consumers during shopping missions. Credit card promotions, loyalty program partnerships, and fintech offers are common ad formats.

Entertainment and Media

Movie studios, streaming services, and gaming companies buy in-store audio and signage placements to build awareness around new releases. These campaigns are often tied to retailer partnerships (exclusive content, promotional bundles).

Retail's Own Brands

Retailers themselves are significant buyers of their own in-store media inventory — promoting private-label products, loyalty programs, seasonal events, and store services. This first-party demand helps fill inventory and demonstrates the channel's effectiveness to external advertisers.

What They're Buying

In-Store Audio Ads

Short audio spots (15-30 seconds) played through the store's speaker system between music tracks. Particularly effective in grocery and convenience store environments where audio reaches shoppers throughout the store regardless of where they're standing.

Digital Screen Placements

Video and display ads on screens at checkout, end caps, aisles, deli counters, pharmacy areas, and entrance/exit zones. Placement determines effectiveness — screens near the relevant product category outperform general awareness placements.

Sponsored Content

Non-traditional ad formats like recipe content featuring specific ingredients, product education screens at the point of decision, and interactive displays that let shoppers explore brand stories or product details.

Why In-Store Media Is Growing

Retail Media Momentum

As retailers build out retail media networks, in-store is the natural extension of their onsite (website/app) advertising business. Brands already buying online retail media are adding in-store to reach the same shoppers at the physical point of purchase.

Attribution Improvement

The ability to connect in-store ad exposure to POS transaction data — measuring actual sales lift rather than just impressions — is making in-store advertising accountable in ways it hasn't been before. This attracts performance-oriented media budgets.

First-Party Data Value

In a post-cookie world, retailers' first-party data (loyalty programs, transaction history) becomes increasingly valuable for targeting. In-store media leverages this data in the physical environment, offering targeting precision that traditional out-of-home advertising cannot match.

For Retailers Building RMNs

If you're building in-store media advertising capabilities, focus your sales efforts on CPG and beverage brands first — they have the largest budgets and most experience with in-store activation. Build case studies and attribution data from early campaigns to attract additional categories. Start with endemic advertisers (brands that sell in your stores) before pursuing non-endemic advertisers.