Don’t get distracted: Online retail media is still the powerhouse
In-store retail media is having a moment.
Think of the use of screens, endcap placements and smart carts in brick-and-mortar stores. In-store real estate offers high shopper attention and tangible opportunities to monetize.
But as the hype grows, retailers risk losing sight of where the majority of retail media impact happens: online. While in-store activations can complement your retail media strategy, they aren’t the ideal foundation.
The vast majority of shopper journeys begin online, even when they end with an in-store checkout. Globally, 62% of shoppers — and 78% of European consumers — use online research before making in-store purchases, highlighting the growing importance of digital touchpoints in shaping purchase decisions.
This online behavior presents a strategic opportunity for online retail media. By engaging customers early in their journey, you can influence their choices and steer them toward specific brands or products. These early interactions not only boost brand awareness but also increase the likelihood of conversion — making retail media an essential lever for performance.
So, if you want to drive performance, scale your advertiser base and build a retail media network that actually works for your business, then start with digital. More specifically, lead with on-site media.
Online retail media scales better than in-store
Online retail media delivers value in ways in-store can’t. For one, it offers higher margins for retailers and ROI. Campaign performance is trackable in real time, giving retailers and advertisers visibility into what drives results.
Even better, you can launch an onsite retail media campaign in minutes, you can optimize it in real time, and you can run thousands of campaigns at once across product categories, audience segments and advertiser tiers.
Conversely, with in-store, every activation is a mini logistics project:
Lead times are longer.
Creative production is more expensive.
Distribution is localized and fragmented.
Measurement is harder (or, often, impossible).
In short: in-store is difficult to scale while online scales easily.
That scalability is what allows you to serve not just a few major brands, but your entire advertiser ecosystem, including long-tail marketplace sellers.
Self-serve and AI make online retail media even more powerful
With platforms like Mirakl Ads, online retail media becomes even more performant and radically more accessible.
Advertisers can launch campaigns in self-serve, with one-click automation or advanced manual controls. AI handles the heavy lifting (think: product matching, targeting, bidding, even forecasting). Marketplace sellers can start advertising instantly, without needing big budgets or complex onboarding.
In-store activations, while valuable for brand awareness and in-the-moment influence, often require more time, budget and operational resources. As a result, participation may skew toward larger advertisers with the capacity to support it. Further, they offer fewer opportunities for personalization and granular targeting.
If your goal is to grow retail media revenue by tapping into a broader base of advertisers — including long-tail brands and marketplace sellers — ease of access matters. Online is still the best place to deliver that scale and simplicity.
In-store media amplifies a strong online foundation
In-store media can play a valuable supporting role to an online foundation. Done well, it reinforces messaging that began online and helps brands show up consistently across touchpoints.
Think of in-store as an amplifier:
A brand launches a sponsored product campaign on your site
The same brand activates in-store signage or endcaps
Shoppers encounter a consistent message, increasing recall and driving purchase
Building a modern retail media business means leading with digital. Especially when using a self-service platform like Mirakl Ads, it’s in the digital space that brands have the most control over placements, pricing and campaign performance. But in-store makes both halves of the equation stronger.
Customers move seamlessly between online and offline. So should you.
Consistency matters. Disjointed messaging between digital and physical channels confuses shoppers and dilutes brand trust. Retailers who deliver unified experiences across eCommerce and in-store will be best positioned to win shopper loyalty and advertiser budgets.
In-store retail media is worth exploring, but online is where scale, speed and performance live. Keep digital at the core. Let in-store amplify it.
Learn more about how retail media can help you unlock new levels of growth, download our ebook here.
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