Top 7 In-store Retail Media Trends in 2025

Published, April 15, 2025

Retail Media Trends are reshaping the way brands and retailers engage with consumers – especially in physical stores. From AI-driven experiences to real-time audience targeting, 2025 is set to unlock powerful opportunities that merge digital capabilities with the in-store environment. Curious to see what’s ahead? Let’s dive into the 7 key trends defining the future of in-store retail media.

1. Generative AI Transforms Retail Creativity

Generative AI redefines how retailers create, adapt, and deploy visual content in-store. In 2025, this technology will become a key pillar of creative efficiency and contextual relevance.

The Role of Generative AI in Retail

According to Salesforce’s Connected Shoppers Report, over a quarter of consumers prioritize engaging in-store experiences. To keep them returning, retailers must deliver fresh, compelling visuals. Generative AI changes the game by allowing retailers to rapidly create high-quality assets without extensive resources.

This approach not only reduces production time and cost but also ensures that content is always relevant and engaging.

2. Real-Time (Generational) Targeting through AI

Retailers are gaining the ability to detect and respond to in-store audiences in real-time. By leveraging AI and computer vision, content can now be dynamically tailored to the demographic in front of a screen – creating more relevant and effective shopper experiences.

Tailoring Content to the Audience in Front of the Screen

Modern digital signage powered by computer vision technology enables retailers to detect and analyze demographics, behavior, and shopper group composition – all anonymously and in real-time. This empowers in-store media to match content with the shopper profile.

As noted by the NRF, this level of targeting increases sales by making every interaction feel intentional.

3. Omnichannel Retail Media Experiences

Shoppers engage with retail media across digital and physical environments. Connecting these touchpoints creates opportunities for cohesive storytelling, more accurate audience measurement, and campaign optimization.

Bridging the Gap Between Channels

Shoppers interact with retail brands across multiple platforms, including eCommerce websites, apps, in-store displays, and more. This creates fragmented data unless unified through smart technologies.

Retailers can build unified profiles and serve consistent, relevant messages across all touchpoints. According to Econsultancy, this seamless integration leads to better audience measurement, campaign optimization and clearer ROI.

4. Real-time In-store Programmatic Ad Buying

As digital programmatic advertising becomes the norm online, retailers are bringing the same speed and precision to their physical spaces. In-store programmatic ads are poised to revolutionize real-time campaign execution and efficiency.

Bringing Online Precision Into Physical Stores

In-store programmatic advertising merges real-time data with automated ad buying – bringing the speed and scale of online advertising into the retail aisle. As explored in our blog on audience-based programmatic activation, this model allows retailers to serve the right message to the right audience at the right moment.

5. Performance Advertising & Closed-Loop Attribution

Retailers are unlocking new ways to prove the impact of their media investments. With advanced sensors and AI, they can now map shopper behavior and attribute in-store engagement to real outcomes.

Measuring What Matters in the Physical World

Retailers have long struggled to link in-store media exposure to actual sales. Today, computer vision and sensor technologies are bridging this gap. As highlighted by the IAB, 54% of US buyers are increasing investment in performance-focused advertising.

As Forbes reports, these insights can be enriched with PoS and loyalty data to build a complete picture of the shopper journey – enabling reliable ROI and ROAS measurement.

6. The Growth of scalable Retail Media infrastructures

Retailers are no longer required to build in-house solutions from scratch to benefit from media monetization. Instead, they can now rely on scalable platforms to get started faster and stay competitive.

Democratizing access to Retail Media

Creating and managing a retail media network requires significant investment and expertise. However, scalable third-party solutions are now enabling faster deployment and seamless integration.

This shift transforms the retail media ecosystem by opening doors to more participants, not just the biggest players.

7. Full-Funnel Measurement Across Channels

Marketers are demanding more transparency across the entire purchase journey. Thanks to new technologies, retailers can now offer detailed insight into what happens before, during, and after in-store engagement.

From Awareness to Conversion, in Real-Time

Gone are the days of the “black box” retail store. Today’s AI-powered measurement tools provide metrics like impressions, views, and dwell time – mirroring the transparency of digital media.

MarTech reports that this full-funnel visibility is a major driver for media investment in physical retail.

Integrating Online and Offline Journeys

Innovative retailers are merging in-store behavior with online interactions to form a holistic view of their audience. This omnichannel measurement enables seamless shopper experiences and sharper campaign insights.

What these Retail Media Trends Mean for 2025

The ripple effect of these trends is reshaping the entire retail landscape. In-store retail media is becoming more dynamic, measurable, and accessible – enabling retailers of all sizes to deliver engaging experiences and demonstrate true business impact.

As demand for real-time targeting and seamless omnichannel experiences continues to grow, 2025 marks a turning point in the evolution of retail media.

Explore more about In-store Retail Media and how retail is merging online precision with physical impact.