Insights

Summary

  • Interactive Advertising Bureau’s new playbook highlights the untapped potential of in-store retail media as a major growth area for advertising technology, particularly at the intersection of Retail Media Networks (RMNs) and Digital Out of Home (DOOH).
  • Unlike big box stores with robust first-party data, many smaller retailers struggle to compete due to limited resources and data collection capabilities.
  • Vericast’s nCountR technology aims to democratize in-store retail media by offering solutions focused on transparency, depth of screen placement, and cost efficiency, enabling retailers of all sizes to participate effectively.
  • nCountR is designed to provide comprehensive customer journey insights through dynamic in-store ads and precise analytics, allowing retailers to measure ad effectiveness and influence shopper behavior, ultimately connecting ad exposure to return on ad spend (ROAS).

In a recent publication, Interactive Advertising Bureau | Digital Out of Home & In-Store Retail Media Playbook, the IAB set the stage for the next growth curve in advertising technology. At the intersection of Retail Media Networks (RMNs) and Digital Out of Home (DOOH), the IAB introduces its expectations for a nearly undiscovered opportunity: in-store retail media. As stores continue to command in-store presence, the opportunity for retailers to increase foot traffic, while increasing time spent within a store and influencing spending, lies within in-store retail media. This is rapidly becoming a revenue opportunity for all retailers. For brands, it is a new world of performance marketing.

For several years, industry leaders in advertising technology, finance, and retail have proclaimed the rise of the RMN. Retailers of all sizes have heard the call from the likes of big box stores and online giants:  “We have first-party data! We established a retail media network and now we watch the money flow in!”

But is the “new” RMN as simple as it’s proclaimed to be?

While a majority of retailers expect a meaningful online presence, few non-big box retailers have programs for collecting strong first- or zero-party data and cannot compete with the largest RMNs. These retailers operate at small margins, have limited resources, and avoid risks. Conversely, particularly in the grocery space, brick-and-mortar locations continue to purchase 80% of goods. The largest RMNs capture advertising dollars by leveraging their overall marketing strength for product placement, purchase price, and numerous other tactics. Is this new revenue stream reserved exclusively for the largest retailers? 

With the introduction of nCountR, Vericast aims to leverage technology to drive revenue for retailers of any size, and for brands to buy across retailers, without silos. Vericast has prioritized three key areas that align with IAB’s guidelines as follows:

  1. In-store transparency
  2. Depth
  3. Cost

Technology disruptors have challenged conventional methods for monitoring foot traffic to and from stores for years. There are incredible insights to be gathered from these technologies. However, what happens when the person enters the store? This question remains largely unanswered because in-store transparency does not exist. Without precise analytics within the aisles and departments the shoppers visit, it has been nearly impossible to determine how consumer behavior can be influenced for increased sales or brand awareness, and how to conduct agile test-and-learn. It’s like having a webpage without web analytic tools. With measurement and dynamic ads on screens, nCountR provides visibility into the full customer journey, from the moment they enter the store, to their confirmed ad exposure, and finally, the completed transaction. With so many technology options, nCountR has carefully curated the right technology to drive this visibility.

Though screens inside physical stores are not new, nCountR is focused on creating a depth of screens within the store. This depth is a critical balance between too many, which drive up cost and distract from a seamless customer experience, to not having enough screens to effectively influence behavior. nCountR will align this depth to zones and comply with store guidelines that the IAB has noted as critical to maintaining consistency across retailers. This depth allows retailers to influence shopper behavior, including increasing time spent in-store, or persuasion toward specific purchases. With in-store transparency and depth, nCountR begins connecting ad exposure to return on ad spend (ROAS).

nCountR helps reduce the largest barriers for retailers to enter the in-store retail media space, CapEx and OpEx. This empowers each retailer to test and learn their strategy and technology in collaboration with nCountR. Given the fragmented technologies and a rising tide of players in the space, the challenges are enhanced.

Vericast has dedicated the past 24 months to developing nCountR to be a powerful and effective model for diverse retailers. Will this model work for your store or brand? Contact us to learn more.