In-Store Media Vendor Evaluation Checklist

How to Use This Checklist

Score each vendor on a 1-5 scale for each criterion. Weight the categories based on your priorities — a franchise business might weight governance features heavily, while a retailer building an RMN would prioritize monetization capabilities.

Service Coverage

Does the vendor cover the in-store media services you need? Evaluate background music and playlist management, overhead messaging and announcements, digital signage content management, interactive kiosk support, scent marketing (if relevant), and retail media / advertising capabilities.

Content Quality & Curation

How is content sourced and curated? Assess music catalog size and licensing coverage, music curation approach (AI, human, hybrid), signage content templates and design tools, content scheduling flexibility, and daypart programming capabilities.

Technology & Platform

Evaluate the core technology platform by assessing the user interface and ease of use, mobile management capabilities, reporting and analytics depth, AI and automation features, and platform reliability and uptime track record.

Integration

How well does the vendor integrate with your existing technology? Check POS system integration, loyalty platform connectivity, CRM and CDP compatibility, existing AV hardware support, SSO and directory service integration, and API availability for custom integration.

Multi-Location Management

For chains and franchises, evaluate centralized content management and scheduling, role-based access controls, location grouping and hierarchy management, remote monitoring and troubleshooting, and compliance tracking and reporting.

Pricing & Contract Terms

Understand the full cost by examining per-location monthly pricing, hardware costs (included, leased, or purchased separately), implementation and setup fees, contract length and minimum commitments, cancellation terms and penalties, and price escalation clauses.

Support & Service

Evaluate the vendor's support capabilities including support hours and availability, response time commitments, implementation support and onboarding, ongoing account management, training resources and documentation, and escalation procedures.

Scalability

Can the vendor grow with you? Consider maximum location capacity, pricing breaks at higher volumes, performance at your target scale, and roadmap alignment with your growth plans.

Vendor Stability

Assess the vendor's long-term viability by examining company financial health, customer reference quality and quantity, leadership team experience, product roadmap and investment trajectory, and acquisition risk or parent company stability.

Making the Decision

After scoring all vendors, create a weighted comparison matrix. Then validate your top choice with reference calls to customers at similar scale and in similar verticals, a pilot deployment in 2-5 locations for 30-60 days, and a thorough contract review with attention to exit clauses and price escalation.