Vericast and Intel have created a programmatically enabled digital in-store retail media network to deliver contextually relevant advertising and product information throughout the shopping experience.
The collaboration, powered by Vericast's intelligent targeting technology and Intel's Edge software platforms, is part of a larger effort to modernize retail and tap into the digitization of the physical store, noted as the next advertising industry "megatrend," according to Hans Fischmann, VP of product management at Vericast.
"The digitization of in-store signage and its use in programmatic advertising is a natural extension of Vericast's commitment to relevant, responsible and measurable omnichannel impact," he said in a press release. "Vericast provides the technology and know-how to engage with any consumer at any point on the path to purchase, whether online, on-the-go or in-store — all while adhering to and respecting consumer privacy demands."
Vericast recently tested the network by piloting an advertising campaign for a globally recognized beverage company across 50 individually operated convenience stores in Dallas and New Orleans. The two-week test featured eight advertisements deployed on in-store digital displays and beverage cooler screens. The purpose was to validate the technologies and system, capture data and discover learnings in a real-world environment.
The campaign delivered an estimated 350,000 verified customer impressions; captured zero-party data which is what a consumer intentionally shares with a brand; tracked sales by SKU; measured consumer sentiment; and more. About 85% of consumers who visited a custom landing page created for the pilot opted in to provide data.
The in-store network leverages Vericast's privacy-centric contextual advertising solution to deliver relevant digital ads to consumers as they shop and measures their behavior with proprietary campaign data analytics, according to the release. The hardware consists of multiple-sized display and cooler screen panels that transformed traditional surfaces into digital smart screens. These surfaces utilize IoT sensors and computer vision technology to capture anonymized analytics and enable Vericast to measure consumer engagement in real time.
Recent figures estimate retail media has grown into a nearly $40 billion market reaching primarily digital audiences, but in-store audiences are even larger. Among 13 leading brick-and-mortar retailers in the U.S., 11 had bigger in-store audiences than online, with the average store audience being 70% larger, according to Placer.ai and Comscore Media Metrix Multi-Platform data.