The trend: In-store retail media is emerging as a key focus for many retailers this year as they step up efforts to monetize store traffic and attract advertiser interest.

• Kroger plans to bring digital screens to more stores in 2026 following a successful pilot with tech provider Barrows, demonstrating its commitment to in-store retail media, the company told Modern Retail. Those screens will be present in a “good portion” of locations nationwide.
• CVS Health aims to have roughly 11,000 digital screens in stores by year’s end and will add self- and managed-service buying options for its in-store audio network. That builds on investments the company made in 2025 to add nearly 500 front entrance screens and furnish roughly 2,000 stores with screens in pharmacy waiting areas.
• Ahold Delhaize officially rolled out Edge, its proprietary ad tech platform, which enables CPG advertisers to build, manage, and optimize campaigns across on-site display, sponsored search, and in-store digital screens.
• Albertsons will bring in-store advertising to roughly 800 additional stores this year. The retailer also introduced a measurement capability that it says can measure the “true incremental impact” of advertisers’ in-store campaigns by comparing performance in stores exposed to ads to sales in control stores without media exposure.

The big picture: Retailers are understandably bullish on in-store advertising because it is the one facet of retail media not dominated by Amazon and can lead shoppers to act at the point of purchase. But there are challenges to successful implementation, including the need for costly technical upgrades, the difficulty of accurate measurement, and the danger of degrading the customer experience.

• Most retailers are, like Kroger and CVS Health, relying on digital screens to increase in-store ad inventory and inspire shoppers closer to purchase. They can be highly effective: According to internal surveys, more than half (54%) of CVS shoppers have found the screens useful, while 1 in 5 report taking action after seeing one, Parbinder Dhariwal, vice president at CVS Media Exchange, told Modern Retail.
• However, placement matters. For example, Kroger decided against adding screens to refrigerated cases selling berries after concluding they were distracting for customers and of limited value to advertisers. Instead, it’s putting screens along end-caps, at the front of its stores, and in the frozen section—areas more likely to get shoppers’ attention and boost brand awareness.
• Ensuring accurate measurement remains a more challenging hurdle, one that many marketers cite as a major barrier to in-store retail media investment. Albertsons’ measurement framework, which looks at nearly 60 variables to help clients like Mondelez understand how in-store campaigns are driving sales, is likely to be emulated by other retailers attempting to gain advertiser confidence.

What retailers need to know: In-store will account for a fraction of retail media spending this year—just 0.8%, or $580 million, according to our latest forecast. But the category has growth potential, especially as declining linear impressions push advertisers to find new ways to get in front of large, engaged audiences.