# IAB/Grocery TV data: 43% of marketers underuse in-store retail media despite full-funnel recognition

*The awareness gap signals an open lane for physical brands willing to test screens, endcaps, and shelf-edge placements now.*

By **Jenny Huang Goodman MPA MSc MHSA, Principal** — The Stash Edge, Hako Shikin LLC.
Published 2026-10-09.

Canonical: https://www.pops4.com/stash/articles/in-store-retail-media-iabgrocery-tv-tracking-2026-10-09t06-7
Subject: In-store retail media (IAB/Grocery TV tracking)
Tags: retail media, in-store marketing, grocery, shelf placement, point of purchase, conversion

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According to research from the Interactive Advertising Bureau and Grocery TV cited in The Shelby Report, **43 percent** of marketers admit they underutilize in-store retail media—even as they recognize its full-funnel impact from awareness through conversion. The gap between belief and deployment opens an arbitrage window for physical-product brands willing to move while competitors hesitate.

The study documents a shift in how marketers perceive retail media networks. Where in-store screens, shelf-edge displays, and endcap placements once registered as point-of-purchase tactics, brands now credit them with top-funnel awareness and mid-funnel consideration alongside bottom-funnel conversion. The IAB/Grocery TV research shows marketers see the channel as viable across the entire customer journey, yet investment lags perception.

The mechanism turns on proximity and context. A shopper standing in the beverage aisle with a cart and a decision window differs from a commuter scrolling Instagram on a train. In-store retail media intercepts the buyer at the moment of highest intent, in the environment where the product sits on the shelf. When a screen above the cooler promotes a new sparkling water flavor and the SKU is stocked two feet below, the loop from awareness to purchase compresses to seconds. That proximity collapses the funnel in ways digital display cannot replicate.

The underutilization statistic—**43 percent**—suggests structural inertia, not performance doubt. Marketers may lack internal familiarity with retail media network buying processes, or media plans may still default to social and search without reserving budget for in-store activation. The research indicates the channel works; brands simply have not reallocated spend to match the conviction.

A small physical-product brand runs the play by approaching a retail media network directly or negotiating in-store placement during a buyer meeting. Start with a single-store test or a regional cluster. Request shelf-edge talkers, cooler clings, or endcap signage—low-cost, static formats that do not require video production. If the retailer operates digital screens, request a two-week rotation with a simple product shot, a benefit line, and a price. Track velocity during the test window and compare it to the same SKU in control stores without the placement. Document the lift and use that number in the next buyer conversation to secure broader deployment or incremental shelf space.

For brands with budget, in-store retail media scales through programmatic buys on networks like Grocery TV, Cooler Screens, or Kroger Precision Marketing. A **$5,000** test across twenty stores in a single metro delivers measurable lift data in four weeks. Layer in a mobile retargeting pixel to capture shoppers who saw the in-store ad but did not convert, then remarket to them on Instagram or Google within seventy-two hours. The sequenced exposure—screen in aisle, ad on phone—compounds the awareness effect and pulls forward the next purchase.

The broader pattern: retail media is moving from a conversion-only lever to a brand-building channel, and in-store placements sit at the intersection of both. The **43 percent** underutilization figure will not persist. Brands that test now, document lifts, and build relationships with retail media network reps will secure better inventory and rates before the channel saturates. The arbitrage is live, and it closes as soon as competitors read the same IAB report and move budget from Meta to the grocery endcap.

## The takeaway

**43%** of marketers underuse in-store retail media; test a single-store placement, track velocity, and scale before the arbitrage closes.

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## Publisher

**Hako Shikin LLC** — Virginia Beach, Virginia. Founded 1997. ASI 217876 · DUNS 18-204-6339.
Principal and author: **Jenny Huang Goodman MPA MSc MHSA**.

- Author: https://www.huanggoodman.com/about
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