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- [00:00]
A
Hey, it's PVSB with the CPG Guys. You know, we talk a lot about this on the show. For CPG marketers today, it's not just about reaching consumers. It's about connecting with them meaningfully at every touch point. Here's the reality. Shopping isn't just an event anymore. It's woven into daily life. And with consumers spending over 90 minutes streaming content, daily entertainment has become central to the shopping journey. Amazon ads unifies commerce, entertainment and open Internet to reach 86% of US households, turning trillions of consumer signals into powerful results both on and beyond Amazon. So visit advertising.Amazon.com to learn more.
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B
Hi, I'm Chris Riegel, founder and CEO of Stratacash and you're listening to the CPG Guys Podcast.
- [00:57]
A
Hello and welcome to the CPG Guys Podcast. Set at the intersection of commerce and tech. Your hosts Sree Rajagopalan and Peter V S Vaughn explore how brands and retailers engage consumers in a digitally driven world. And now, here are the CPG Guys.
- [01:15]
C
Hello and welcome to the CPG Guys Podcast. I'm of course sri, your co host and also CRO and co founder at ThinkBlue Consulting, your trusted partner in your omnichannel development journey. Get in touch with me at sri@thinkblueconsulting co I'm recording this episode from my travels to India and the Maldives this holiday season and this is our New Year's Day opening special episode of 2026. Can't actually think of a better theme to kick off the year. Please listen to my older daughter's music@ww.rhea raj.com who just completed a five city tour, the Commotion Tour. Thanks to all the followers. We love you sold out shows and of course follow laraj. My younger daughter is a member of the world's fastest growing global girls group, Cat's Eye. Now a proud winner on MTV VMA and two Grammy nominations which you can't wait for early February. The year was just featured on Vogue India this month and that's why we're here. Unable to join me today is my co host and co founder Peter V S Bahn, who also moonlights as head of industry and client engagement at Flywheel, the commerce acceleration division of Omnicom. He's away in Los Angeles with his family and daughter Nadia. Make sure you're subscribing to our podcast on your preferred listing platform where you can get our latest episodes and even go back to consume some of the 500 plus episodes we've already published. Now let's get to Our guest. We are joined today by the founder and CEO of stratacash, Chris Riegel. This is his second appearance on the CPG Guys. Last time we hosted him we covered the early intricacies of in store retail media. He also has appeared on the FMCG Guys with a amazing slogan and episode name. It's called the seven Deadly Sins of In Store Retail Media. You can find both those episodes simply by going to Google and type in Chris Regal either Space CPG Guys or Chris Regal Space FMCG Guys. Now why are we doing this today? Because Strata Cash is holding an all day retail media event just nine days from today, right before NRF kicks off on January 10th. Amazing panels, keynotes and a focus on the fast growing phenomena of in store retail media. Here on the CPG guys, we've said many, many times for RMNs to continue to grow. The next bastion is of course off site where there's been a lot of energy and in store. We've also said the day merchandisers, merchants realize this is monetizable in ways they never have as the model for end caps and display in stores. Outdated traffic monetization in stores completely outdated and they need themselves to move to traffic and impressions. So CPG brands better be ready. It's happening one way or another and that is in store retail media is best. So let's get into it and Discuss what the Jan10 event holds for us and what what's going on with stratacash. Join me in welcoming Chris Riegel to the show. Chris, a warm welcome hello on the CPG Guys.
- [03:49]
B
Thank you so much.
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C
In the digital liner notes of this episode, we'll of course include links to Chris's LinkedIn profile, Stratacash's corporate websites for our listeners to access while we go on with our conversation. So here we go. Chris, you're hosting a full day focused on retail media inside the physical store, which is of course a deliberate choice given how much attention off site and digital retail media have gotten in the past year. What convinced you that the store deserved its own momentum right now?
- [04:14]
B
So when we look at In Store, we've been in the in store practice for digital display in store now for 25 years. This is our third event in partnership with the National Retail Federation. So it's the Strata Cash what's in Store event on Saturday, January 10th. We see that there's a huge opportunity on in store digital media. Specifically an average retail store in a big box footprint might have up to 100,000 printed paper points of messaging to Customers within that store, from price tags to department signs to other promotional material throughout that store. In moving that to a digital format, not all of it, but a percentage of that, you're unlocking a huge opportunity for retailers to serve customers better, serve brands better, and to monetize the store in an environment where now you're starting to see shifts in online and on site because of agentic AI starting to have an impact. But the customer going into a retail store is still a very privileged moment for that retailer and in the opportunity to not only build and direct sales, but to also drive substantial new revenue opportunities. And we think that that in store.
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C
Opportunity is now that said, Chris, what about the highly monetizable, kind of forgotten in store circular becoming digital? Is that part of the conversation? Are y' all giving a lot of attention to that?
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B
It's part of the conversation. I think it's, it's typically now what you're seeing in many stores is early journey having some form of a, of a digital totem where those promotions can be in a digital format. So you're getting rid of the print aspects of it. You're also then incentivizing customers and many retailers to have some loyalty card. So you could walk into that particular grocer, walk into that particular DIY environment, self identify through loyalty or through a mobile app, and then that screen will bring up the products that are relevant to you to help you on your journey, the particular offers. So think of it as a personalized digital circular in those store environments.
- [06:06]
C
Now, Chris, you probably heard of the CPG guys, you've been here on the show, you've heard that we are big proponents of in store retail media. We are convinced off site and in store is the next passion for retail media network. I've said it at the beginning of this episode, but the big thing that's held the industry back, you know what we hear from CPG brands that we're interacting with all the time is is it fair to say that the industry is moving from speculation to proof? Cause that may be the one Achilles healer And if so, what triggered the shift? Are y' all aware of it? Are y' all measuring it?
- [06:34]
B
Yeah, absolutely. So there's a shift that's happening in store, very specific. Specifically where many retailers globally had some pretty esoteric models for tracking impressions in store. If you bought a Gillette razor, they would attribute back to say, well, you are in that razor aisle or in the men's personal care aisle in the grocery store for X amount of time, which is kind of a guess. Now you're getting to very, very precise measurement through things such as millimeter wave or IR or other where you can attribute back to specific transactions, specific transaction times, customer path. So the measurement in store has evolved extremely rapidly in the last kind of two, two and a half years. You're seeing some of the leading companies like Walkbase really push into that very, very heavily and say, hey, the audiences in store are bigger, they're taking more time, they're lingering in particular areas. And in many cases retailers were dramatically under counting the impressions that were being served in that retail environment. Now you're able to attribute that, get very precise and know much more about that customer's experience.
- [07:36]
C
Now, Chris, this event that we're going to be there together on the 10th, and you know, you and me along with Peter, CPG guys, we're going to close it out with you. We're going to recap the old day. This is one way to educate the industry that the in store retail media world has arrived. Marketing exists, measurement exists. Are there other things stratacash is doing that the industry should know? Our listeners should know how you're bringing education and awareness to the industry that in storytelling media is real.
- [08:00]
B
Absolutely. So this being our third event, in the first two events we were very, very successful and are continuing the path that this is different than a normal kind of trade event. It's different because there's no product pitches. Pitches are strictly banned in the room. Meaning that you have industry leaders From Boston Consulting, McKinsey, Salomon Partners, ourselves, others talking about in dozens of retailers that are presenting as well, key points to the retail experience, the brand experience. It's very, very direct, topical discussions of what's working, what's not working. So it's a learning opportunity. Unfortunately, too many trade show events are just product centric. This is the absolute opposite. This is about those who are in the retail media space, in the in store space, talking about what works, what doesn't work, so that others can learn from them. The success of the industry is the key empiric here to make sure that everyone is successful and can learn from others what has worked and what has not worked.
- [08:57]
C
No doubt about that, Chris. So this event, we're going to have voices from PCG, McKinsey, eMarketer, Salomon Partners in the room. I noticed something very interesting here. We're going to get to all the RMN participants and the brands that are going to be in the room. But when consultant, analysts and investors all start participating in an event in a Similar fashion with a similar story. What does that signal to you?
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B
To me, it signals critical mass. I think the figure that is seen very broadly throughout industry now is, let's say retail media in the Walmart environment is plus or minus 1% of total sales and it's plus or minus 30% of profitability. When you have these large public companies that are saying, hey, wait a minute, we're able to monetize these audiences in new and compelling ways, Wall street takes notice, investors take notice in their competition takes notice. The numbers that are coming from retail media, especially the in store piece of that, are growing extremely rapidly. So retailers are now starting to have that very direct discussion internally. Hey, we need to have a strategy here because we don't want to be left behind. We don't want to miss out on this opportunity competitively. And now is the time.
- [10:07]
C
So, Chris, speaking of retailers and retail media networks, could you give us a broad spattering of Strata Cash's partnerships in the retail world? Are you partnering with Walmart? Are you partnering with others? You know, because each retailer, depending on the size, could be of 500 points of, you know, messaging to over 4,000 points of messaging. So please do tell our audience who you are already partners with and where can they see Strata Cash's assets in action?
- [10:31]
B
Yeah, so we're very careful about our customer base with known customers that we have on stage at the event who have announced, such as Costco, cvs, Albertsons, Loblaws, those are all household names. We run roughly 60 retail media networks across the globe today, principally being North America, Western Europe. You're starting to see those emerge in Latin America and Asia as well, but principally the Western markets, about 4 and a half million screens within those networks as a whole. What we're seeing within that base is the Tier one retailers are now all actively, either engaged or actively deploying across the globe. And you're starting to See now Tier 2 and Tier 3 take it much more seriously as that opportunity is scaling.
- [11:13]
C
Four and a half million is a lot of screens. It's national. What in CPG world, my old world from General Mills, we'd have called national distribution. So are you for the biggest world's largest national brands who want that kind of distribution, or would you work with some who are only seeking, do a pilot in like 40 stores at a given retailer?
- [11:32]
B
It's a great question. So in our environment, in working with retailers and working with global brands, we act as a facilitator within. The key thing to remember is that it's always the Retailer, store, you're a guest in that store. And making a flawless customer experience is incredibly important from the brand side, every brand, even to the, you know, the most powerful brands out there have to understand and align to how does your brand strategy work within the category, merchant work within the store strategy work within that entire ecosystem. So it's aligning discussions, aligning opportunities that work for both sides of that equation. The retailers have the audience, the brands have the money. How do we build the proper partnerships and the proper executions, whether that's one store, a thousand stores, 5,000 stores to show a proper result. And that proper result being increased product knowledge, increased conversion, increased profitability for all those involved.
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C
Chris the big theme we'll be exploring through the day is that the traditional funnel has collapsed. Influence is of course, much closer to the moment of purchase. Especially when a consumer is already on a retail website. They're coming with the intent of either learning or in many occasions purchasing. Why is the store uniquely resilient in that new influence model versus just the website?
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B
Store is incredibly interesting in that environment because the store is much more of a discovery point for customers. One of the most effective points of digital retail media in store is helping the customer find or understand or evaluate a new solution. So the discovery is very powerful. As you're now seeing agentic AI and agentic search really start to influence, there's a great question out there and it'll be a great debate to say how does retail media on websites or mobile start to change? If agentic AI is more and more of a guidance point for consumer in store is free of that burden. And when you have that customer in the detergent aisle trying to pick between product A or B, having a visual indicator, a visual display that is informing them and encouraging them on one of those two products is extremely influential.
- [13:37]
C
No doubt about it. Chris and so take us through how this model will actually work in reality. Right, so customer walking in store, they see a screen, is it interactive? Is it an ad, is it an actual message? Can there be QR codes to learn more from their phone? What all other types of offerings stratacash works with retailers on.
- [13:57]
B
So as that customer starting their journey, you want to think about that journey in store as multiple points of contact. That could be a display in the window as the customer is walking up to the store. That could be a podium type display in a decompression zone in store. That could be activated, end caps activated, shelves activated right at product point. So it's potentially multiple different touch points throughout that journey. Generally Speaking that is a direct call to action. It's a conversion message. You know that the customer's in store, you know that they're on a mission, you know that they're trying to accomplish something. So it is quick, direct and informative messaging to help sway their choice in that retail environment. Doesn't have to be long form storytelling. Things like QR codes are possible but also have to be governed to be make sure that we're being careful with that consumer's environment, with that retailer's rules as to whether they'll allow it or not. But it's how am I guiding that shopper on her path to purchase and making sure that she's having a better experience and finding what she wants better, faster, cheaper to accomplish her mission.
- [15:00]
C
No doubt, Chris, that at the end of the day, those that are able to guide the shopper with the user experience in store are the ones that are going to win from a brand perspective along with the retailer. Right. So several speakers from academia to retail indeed will be talking about trust, recall and intent being higher in the physical environments, which is the experience combined. At the end of the day, why do you think shoppers still trust in store media more than online media? Is that trust something retailers can scale without breaking it? Especially since experience is going to make all the difference.
- [15:31]
B
I think customers see in store digital as an investment in the relationship and also because they're at that point of decision, the proximity to the decision, the ability to pick up the product, see the product, see materially about material about the product. Right at that decisioning point, you're literally at that last point of decision for the consumer before they take something off of the shelf and put it into their cart or basket. So media is incredibly influential there. It does not take a huge, it doesn't have to be a very large display. It doesn't have to be a high production value. It simply has to be how am I trying to reach out to that customer and sway their opinion inconsistently. And we'll have one of the speakers talk about it. That consistency of messaging can drive a 4 to 8% differentiation in product decisioning at that point of purchase or at that point of decision. So it can have a very, very substantial effect on that decision.
- [16:22]
C
No doubt about it, Chris. But it's very important to preserve that user experience. You talked about a metric right there and we're going to jump into more of metrics and how it's measured pretty soon. Can you give a rough idea for our audience from traffic and impressions, which is the Screen and the messaging and the user experience down to basket and conversion. Have you all been able to track the path to purchase and been able to clearly attribute a sale to the screen?
- [16:47]
B
Absolutely. So within our footprint we're able to understand the path of that customer, the dwell of that customer, whether customers then picking a product and putting it into their basket. And again that typically averages a 4 to 7%, 4 to 8% direct impact on customer behavior. Then you also have a brand halo around category or particular brand. When a customer sees a digital display, they see that messaging, it shows that the brand is investing in that customer relationship. So you have a halo effect around the entire brand as well.
- [17:17]
C
No doubt about it Chris. And that halo effect is going to serve for a long time for the brand and also more importantly build CLTV the customer lifetime value which is why they'll keep coming back to the brand. So I'm going to get into one of our favorite words. Some say it's a buzzword. We believe it's real because it's already impacting shopping. Especially when some of the great retailers of the world, we've heard of Instacart, we've heard of DoorDash, we've heard Walmart, we've heard of Target. So many more have announced that agentic AI is on its way and they're already assisting guided shopping today through ChatGPT we'll hear that it's compressing margins in digital retail media help connect the dots for audience. Why does that dynamic actually elevate the strategic value of physical stores?
- [18:01]
B
Absolutely. So think of physical stores as being much more experiential. I'm going to that store, I want to pick a particular product, I'm on the journey for discovery. I might be dealing with a particular problem looking for a particular solution in that footprint whereby which I have digital to influence. I as the consumer making the decision. When you get into the agentic AI, use cases to say hey I'm trying to find the best XYZ. That AI might go out search 10, 20, 1000 different sources for information and give you a recommendation back. But it's a bit hollow at times. Maybe right, maybe wrong, maybe search bias or artificial intelligence bias towards a product based on those brands knowing how to manipulate the algorithm. But when you're in the store and you're looking at that product, you're on that journey, that digital interface, that digital messaging right at that point of decision can help you make that decision. There's a number of key topics in in store digital that come to as the customer gets later and later in the day how they're looking for guidance on a particular product, how they're looking for help and assistance in that shopping trip. And that's a perfect opportunity for digital to influence that consumer.
- [19:08]
C
And we're going to cover that spectrum. So if AI is making digital media more efficient but less differentiated, does the store become one of the few environments where context still matters more than targeting? And you can indeed create differentiation?
- [19:22]
B
I think you can create differentiation. You can also create new opportunities. Tell me the last time that you went to the grocery store to buy three things that didn't walk out with 15, or the last time you went to the DIY environment to get one thing and end up with three or four. So that path of discovery, that path of being able to open up the consumer to new ideas, new concepts, new problems to be able to solve is key in that retail environment. And thinking of retail as theater and that being a tightly choreographed opportunity to serve the customer better, digital as part of that methodology and part of that approach is very, very helpful.
- [19:58]
C
No doubt about that one. Chris, as y' all work with brands to enable this in store, you know, over a million distribution points are y' all experiencing that brands are getting the plot. They are int for this sort of a differentiation, and they understand that what you're helping them do is build CLTV through experience.
- [20:15]
B
I think brands tend to understand that very well. I think they understand that the in store point is a unique messaging and a very clear point because the getting to audience is so fragmented today with the millions of different streaming channels, the changing in the consumption of media. So the kind of traditional media model to get to a consumer is continuing to fragment. But that in store is a key and unchallengeable construct because, you know, you're in front of the customer at the time of purchase and at the right point. The only challenge I think brands face is that retailers are still not rolled out in digital at enough scale yet for many of the brands to say, hey, I can spend the amount of money in this channel that I wish to be able to spend. So it's a scale opportunity. Retailers are about incrementalism in many of their use cases. Media companies are about scale. So getting these networks to the scale point that it is compelling for brands to give them enough audience to make sure that it's really a key part of their budget and their planning process is critical.
- [21:14]
C
So, Chris, one of the tricks here or one of the, I would say, sticky, wicked situations we're going to face Together in the industry. You and I have been talking about it for quite some time is a big theme of the event is educating the industry, especially retailers, that you have to move away from tenancy based thinking to impression based media economics. Merchandisers absolutely do not have a clue what that word impressions means yet if you think about the store and you think of a display, when people walk past a display, not everyone buys what's in the display. So it's actually traffic that's getting an impression. But merchandisers don't use that language. How do you think we're going to get there and why is that shift so foundational to unlocking retail media scale in stores?
- [21:54]
B
We're getting there with much, much improved measurement and much better ability to target and vary a message. And when I say that as the systems for people counting and audience measurement at the point of media play are becoming much stronger as we get more data back from profile on customer based on loyalty to be able to know that the customer that's in the grocery store at 10am on a Tuesday is different than the customer that's there at 7pm on a Friday, then you're able to bring in things such as artificial intelligence to vary the message, vary the offer, vary the conditions, vary the points at which would be compelling for a different consumer at a different time time. You're moving more and more towards a world where and again, to use the highly overused analogy, the Minority Report, hyper targeted advertising on a customer. But once a customer has that loyalty, buy in and they say hey, I might want to shop based on these goals. You're seeing customers embrace that. Maybe I'm coming into the store to say hey, it's a quick trip, it's a Tuesday. I need to get in and out and get these three things help me get through that journey faster. Maybe it's a Friday and I just got paid and I'm willing to spend more on some premium items. Maybe it's a Wednesday and I'm low on cash based on pay cycle and I need to try to find a more budget friendly approach, the ability for digital to vary that messaging give those customers options for the retailer. The key is to keep the customer happy and keep the customer coming back to the store because it gave them a great experience for the brand. It's to show new ideas, new opportunities to serve the customer.
- [23:20]
C
Well said indeed Chris. So in the day as we go through the January 10th and we have attendees from bands, they'll be listening to measurement, they'll be fine tuning to measurement. You Know what's new, what's going on. But the most important question they're going to struggle with is between RMNs. Are they standard? So IAB will be in the room and other measurement leaders will talk about those very standards. From your perspective, how important is measurement alignment and standards to making this credible to brands and CFOs? And the reason I ask you that, Chris, is we've completely failed the industry on the website and digital piece of the retail media from a standard standards perspective.
- [23:56]
B
Yeah, completely agree. So I'm on the IAB connected commerce committee and we're doing a lot of work there to work through. It doesn't have to be an ironclad standard to say here's exactly how you count an impression. But the point to be able to know that you're using one of multiple technologies to measure that impression, to be able to count it. If you say that in the online world you're dealing with 35% fraud as table stakes. You know, when you're in the retail world because that brand and that retailer have a trusted partnership that goes back to decades in many cases that that retailer is a square partner. They might be tough, they might be very aggressive, they might be very sharp retailers, but they're not going to fake traffic in store. They're giving you true and accurate transactional numbers and you see that with your product moving through the store. So the, the transparency to measurement, the accuracy to measurement and showing that back through the brand to say, hey, if you do X, here's the result, Y or Z ubrand can see that in systems that we work with in the measurement environment, the ability for a retailer to show a brand in real time, hey, how many people are in the store in this aisle that are considering that ad or considering that product? The ability to give that transparency helps the retailer and helps the brand to know how to serve that customer better.
- [25:09]
C
Part of the reason, Chris, I believe we're stuck in this world of not having standards. The desire to have in standards and the digital world got lost in that from a retail media perspective is a too much experimentation. The word pilot gets thrown, thrown around like a used handkerchief during the day. We're actually going to hear from a lot of operators. Those could be Costco spurts, law blogs and others who are actively scaling in store media networks. What separates retailers who are moving from this buzzword of pilots to actual platforms versus those who are still using the word pilot and saying, yeah, in store meal retail Media, let's pilot 40 stores.
- [25:41]
B
Yeah. So we had a what's in Store conference in London earlier this year and we had a speaker from McKinsey who was very, very sharp gentleman and he said to retailers, everything that makes you great about being a retailer makes you shit about being a media company. The word media loves scale. And in that retailer environment, the move towards incrementalism, well, we'll do 10, we'll do 20, we'll do 50. You want to do 10 to test the execution in store without question. But once you have done those 10 and you figure out how to do it properly, scale it out, don't dip your toe in the water. You have to dive all in to be able to get to that scale that makes it compelling to the brand. The brands are spending money in a media model where you retailer are not competing. If I'm Walmart, I'm competing with Kroger. If I'm Kroger, I'm competing with Albertsons. Yes, that's part of it. But in reality in these retail media networks, your Walmart, you're competing with TikTok, you're competing with Google, you're competing with Apple TV, you're competing with other forms of media and having that scale to be able to say, well wait a minute, I'm consequential. I can deliver you X number of millions or tens of millions of impressions per week. In this environment where I'm putting your impression in front of the product in the aisle where the customer can buy it and directly action it, it's having sufficient scale to be able to make it a compelling argument to the brands. The brands are extremely sharp, they know what works, what doesn't work. But retailers, you have to give them scale to get them to buy in.
- [27:05]
C
Yep, no doubt about it. Scale is important because at the end of the day, you know, for a given retailer while in a given environment, a given demographic, while work for the retailers successful as a whole, they actually apply insights they learn from one part of the country to another part of the country and adjust for those demographics. And that's how they build scale within their environment and it also works towards their profit models in a meaningful way. So I'm going to jump into back to user experience for a moment here. During the day we'll explore how the store is becoming a fully expressive media environment. Not just screens, but we've used the word experience a couple of times now for brands listening. Let's talk about a very important word that we're going to kind of coin here, leave here, you've used it before and it's Going to become a very important word in the industry is my guess. Store, native creative. The media world doesn't know what that means. How can we get them there? And why is this such an important word?
- [28:01]
B
I think in understanding that in store is different than broadcast, is different than other forms of media, that the customer is on a mission and that you can use very simple tools from artificial intelligence or other to tailor a message towards a consumer, towards the right point of decision. Knowing more and more about the type of consumer that's in that environment, knowing more and more about the conditions in that store, towards economic tier or language or weather or other in the big brand environment, being able to trade off some level of control, but still making sure that messaging is appropriate for the store and is appropriate for the brand, but trying to help target that customer better with better messaging. More relevant messaging. Hey, it's 10 degrees today in Minneapolis, but it's 80 in Miami. Do I need to show the same message to both customers if I'm at a target? No, absolutely not. Could be different products, different choices, bringing in more of those variables that help the messaging be more relevant, more on point to that particular consumer and knowing more about how to serve them better, getting to a better native messaging system.
- [29:03]
C
Do you think from a brand perspective, your experience with the CPG industry has shown that they understand store native consumers. They're the best of the best off digital creative, but they've also been best of the best at billboards, print, a lot of analog creative. This is digital and analog, analog traffic, digital environment, user experience. Do you think they understand what that.
- [29:24]
B
Means in store today? They do, not to be very, very blunt about it, they understand that on mobile in terms of how to more personalize a message and get that to a consumer and with the analogy to say hey, in store can be much more like mobile in terms of tailored messaging and multivariate messaging that helps educ them and bring them up to speed more. But it's also not only about the brand side, but unlocking that knowledge to the agency creative side to say, hey agency, I get your model, I understand how you work and there's more opportunity for you in building 100 variants of this that can use artificial intelligence to vary messaging in and very target messaging in and out based on your creative and still keeping a proper brand presentation messaging strategy in place for the consumer.
- [30:06]
C
And Chris, so how do we educate them together? This day is obviously going to be a big part of that. Any other ideas for this?
- [30:11]
B
I think there's a number of studies we're going to present one of the studies about that experience and what that relevancy of messaging is in store, how it impacts the customer. You'll see other test cases from some of the retailers talking about what they're very good at and what they're seeing in success. But I think it's really just collective learning, collective discussions throughout the industry to help push that along.
- [30:32]
C
And Chris, the studies you refer to, are they white papers, are they POVs, are they thought publishing your thoughts? And how can our audience actually get access to those?
- [30:41]
B
Absolutely. So we'll be presenting a study that we saw last year or this year in 2025 in the Netherlands and the US specifically towards the behavior of customers in store as it comes to digital messaging. We'll post those at the show and we'll post those from the show website as well. Awesome.
- [30:55]
C
So we'll make sure to our listeners, we'll have links to those available research for you in the digital liner notes of this episode. So as you're listening to this episode on the go, you can simply click and get access to it. So if we're honest, despite all the momentum, there are misconceptions holding the industry back. What outdated thinking do you hope gets challenged during this event? Because the CPG guys sure will be challenging that outdated thinking is the biggest barrier today. Technology standard or simple retail internal politics or CPG internal politics? The above.
- [31:25]
B
I would say the biggest barrier today for the retailer, if I look at on the retailer side is understanding that in store is completely different than online, is completely different than mobile because it is a construction project. Building and operating in stores is challenging is difficult because of the physicality of these systems. Power data mounting infrastructure. In many cases, working tightly with those category merchants, working tightly with the store operations teams. When you're working in store, it's a different beast than working online. That's at the retailer side. On the brand side, the biggest misconception and biggest challenge is that a retailer will just take money to do anything without thinking it through. That it's an open field. No, no, no. From a brand perspective, we have to coordinate messaging. We have to work tightly with the merchants, we have to work tightly with the store teams to make sure that the great idea can be executed and done in a proper way. That is accretive that not just the brand wins, but the retailer wins and the customer wins. That it's right for the messaging and the style and the capability of the store so that it's a win across those platforms.
- [32:30]
C
A win indeed is what you and I both intend to deliver that day. Closing Chris when people walk out of nrf, RMN Day in particular is the Strata Cash RMN Day. What do you hope they understand about retail media that they didn't appreciate? Walking in and looking ahead to 2026, what do you think will define success for retailers who embrace in store retail media versus those who still are in that? Alex Veraman 20 stores, that kind of mode.
- [32:55]
B
What I think is key to understand is that retailers are executing this at scale successful and to make this material for the retailers results. And as you'll see people like Mark Boydman talk about how this is influencing the financial models of the retailers and the market caps of the retailers, that this is now a very substantial opportunity. It's a very real opportunity. As online and mobile have started to peak and really plateau. That in store is a big growth category that's wide open and it's time to act now. If you're waiting a year, two years, five years to see how it develops, you'll be too late. The tier one retailers are developing scale and then aligning those budgetary dollars that if you do not have a retail media network in your store, that money will go to your competitors and they will apply it to price if they wish to then win that bigger retail flywheel of bringing a customer in. So it is strategic. I use the use case to say work with several global scale grocers, Germans specifically. You can probably guess who they are. They said, well you know, retail media is not necessarily for me. And then you say, well wait a minute, look at the amount of profit that's driving in the Walmart environment. What happens when Walmart puts that product to price and then undercuts you on price? Then they start to say, oh wait, we didn't see that coming. So the revenue numbers are so large that they can have material impact. And that's one more arrow in the quiver for a tier one retailer to be able to outfox their competition.
- [34:20]
C
No doubt about it, Chris. And that's what the business is about. You have to stay one step ahead because it's a game of market share, whether it's a retailer or a brand. This has been a wonderful conversation I've been able to have with Chris. A reminder to our audience, if you want to know more about the event, you want to register for the event. The link to the actual website with all the details about the conversations, et cetera, will be in the digital liner notes of this episode. The next few days, from January 4th through January 8th, watch out for a post every single day highlighting the details of the events and what you can expect by being an attendee during that day. To our audience, I want to thank you for the clicks, likes, comments, direct messages, meeting us at trade shows, coming to our events, recording episodes with us and to all our sponsors. We're very grateful to you. The show doesn't exist with all of you. You work with us all year and we're grateful to have you as your audience and partners and for making us the number one declared podcast on feedspot for the CPG and retail industry. I can't thank you enough. Chris, thank you so much for joining us on this episode and uncovering the myths, the reality and how big in store retail media is going to be for the industry coming from one of the leaders shaping the space. So thank you for joining us.
- [35:31]
B
Thank you and we look forward to meeting members of the audience at what's In Store for Retail media on Saturday, January 10th in New York.
- [35:38]
C
Indeed. And a reminder again, you can find that link in the digital liner notes of this episode. Look out for our post Jan 8, 5 days in a row, which is going to give you much more details about the event. Let's join hands beat forces that write the future of this industry and deliver for our most important MVP in the room, which is the customer. And that's user experience. And this is one of the best ways we can do that. That's a wrap of this episode. See you soon on another episode of the CPG Guys Foreign.
- [36:16]
A
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