Much of today's Retail Media investment is focused on online channels. Retailer websites, ecommerce platforms and audience targeting all play an important role. In fact, over 90% of Retail Media revenue is currently invested online, with Amazon and Alibaba accounting for around half of total spend (Source: GroupM, Statista, KPMG analysis). However, the most effective Retail Media campaigns are no longer confined to digital environments.
Consumers move constantly between physical and digital touchpoints throughout the day. They discover products while travelling, research brands online and ultimately make purchasing decisions both online and in-store.
This is why Streets to Store planning is becoming increasingly important.
By connecting OOH advertising, supermarket DOOH and online Retail Media activity, brands can create more connected campaigns that build awareness, reinforce consideration and influence purchase decisions closer to the point of sale.
At its simplest, a Retail Media campaign uses advertising within or around retail environments to influence shoppers and drive sales.
Traditionally, Retail Media referred primarily to advertising on retailer websites, apps and ecommerce platforms. Today, the category is much broader. Retail Media now includes:
The goal is to influence consumers at multiple stages of the buying journey rather than relying on a single interaction. This shift is why Streets to Store thinking has become so important.
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One of the biggest mistakes brands make is treating Retail Media as a single-channel activity.
In reality, consumers encounter brands across multiple touchpoints before making a purchase. A shopper may:
Each touchpoint contributes to the final decision. The strongest Retail Media campaigns recognise this and create consistency throughout the journey - rather than focusing solely on conversion, they connect awareness, consideration and purchase into a single strategy.
OOH plays an increasingly important role within the Retail Media ecosystem because it connects brands with consumers in real-world environments. Unlike many digital channels, OOH reaches audiences while they are moving through everyday life.
This allows brands to:
Importantly, OOH also provides a bridge between broader brand-building activity and retail environments, helping move consumers closer to purchase before they even enter a store.
One of the most influential moments in the shopper journey happens when consumers enter a supermarket. Unlike category-specific advertising, supermarket entrance screens reach every shopper regardless of what they plan to buy - creating an opportunity to influence decisions before shoppers reach an aisle.
Supermarket DOOH can help:
This ability to combine reach with proximity to purchase makes supermarket DOOH a valuable component of modern Retail Media strategies.
A successful Streets to Store campaign considers how consumers move through the entire decision-making process.
At the awareness stage, large-format OOH placements help brands build visibility and familiarity.
As consumers move closer to retail environments, more contextual formats become important. Retail destinations, transport hubs and supermarket environments provide opportunities to reinforce messaging and increase relevance.
Closer to the point of purchase, supermarket DOOH and other Retail Media formats can help reinforce decisions while consumers are actively shopping.
Consistency across these stages helps create a more effective customer journey.
Before selecting channels or locations, establish what success looks like. Objectives may include:
Clear objectives help shape planning, creative and measurement.
Effective Retail Media planning starts with understanding real-world behaviour. Consider:
This helps identify where and when consumers are most likely to engage with messaging.
Retail Media works best when channels complement one another. A connected campaign may include:
The objective is not simply visibility - it is consistency throughout the shopper journey.
Location remains one of the most powerful tools in Retail Media. For grocery brands in particular, supermarkets represent one of the most influential moments in the path to purchase. Campaigns should consider:
Bauer Media Outdoor's supermarket network comprises 1,500 digital screens across more than 1,100 stores, providing brands with national scale at the point of purchase (Source: Route v57).
Consumers should recognise a campaign wherever they encounter it. Creative does not need to be identical across every channel, but it should feel connected. The strongest Streets to Store campaigns use consistent visual assets and messaging throughout the journey.
Research from the Moments of Truth study by Bauer Media Outdoor, JCDecaux and Posterscope found that contextually relevant DOOH creative delivers a 17% uplift in advertising effectiveness, highlighting the value of tailoring messaging to the environment in which it appears.
Modern Retail Media offers a growing range of measurement capabilities. These may include:
Measurement should be considered from the outset rather than as an afterthought.
Bauer Media Outdoor's supermarket network reaches 20% of the UK population every fortnight and delivers an estimated 53.6 million fortnightly impacts, providing planners with robust audience measurement alongside campaign performance metrics (Source: Route v57).
Data is helping Retail Media become more precise, flexible and measurable. Brands can increasingly use:
to improve planning and optimise campaigns. Programmatic DOOH is also helping advertisers respond dynamically to changing conditions, creating more relevant and contextual experiences for consumers.
Even strong campaigns can underperform if the strategy is not properly connected. Common mistakes include:
Treating OOH purely as awareness media
OOH can support awareness, consideration and conversion when connected with Retail Media activity.
Ignoring the supermarket environment
Many campaigns focus heavily on digital channels while overlooking the influence of physical retail environments. Together, Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons account for 35.2% of the GB grocery market, making supermarkets an essential touchpoint for brands looking to influence shoppers at scale (Source: Worldpanel by Numerator).
Inconsistent creative
Disconnected messaging reduces the cumulative impact of multiple touchpoints.
Treating measurement as an afterthought
Measurement should be built into planning from the beginning.
Retail Media will continue to evolve, but one thing is becoming increasingly clear: the future is connected. The most effective campaigns will combine:
By connecting OOH, supermarket DOOH and online Retail Media, brands can create stronger customer journeys and more effective outcomes.
Bauer Media Outdoor helps brands connect attention and intention through OOH and the UK's largest supermarket DOOH network.
Whether you're looking to launch a new product, support Retail Media activity or influence shoppers closer to purchase, we can help create campaigns that connect consumers throughout the journey from streets to store.
Get in touch to learn more.
Out of Home is a tried and trusted method for reaching large and diverse audiences and the new wave of DOOH formats has expanded our network's offering - enabling you to amplify your brand's message with data-driven campaigns.
Our position as market leaders ensures that we can provide expert guidance on choosing the right formats, locations and environments to deliver tangible results. Fill out the form to start your OOH advertising journey with Bauer Media Outdoor.
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As Retail Media continues to grow, brands are increasingly looking for ways to influence consumers closer to the moment they buy.
While much of today's Retail Media conversation focuses on online channels, physical retail environments remain one of the most influential parts of the shopper journey. For many categories, particularly grocery, the point of purchase still happens in-store.
In fact, while over 90% of Retail Media revenue is invested online, only 8% of UK shoppers buy groceries exclusively online. The majority still shop in physical stores, with 55% shopping exclusively in-store and a further 37% combining online and in-store shopping.
(Source: GroupM, Statista, KPMG analysis. Toluna Audience In Focus Survey, January 2026)
