{"id":9792,"date":"2026-05-27T16:14:27","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T15:14:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/colateral.io\/en\/?p=9792"},"modified":"2026-06-09T12:10:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T11:10:09","slug":"retail-media-didnt-fail-its-growing-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/colateral.io\/en\/blog\/retail-media-didnt-fail-its-growing-up\/","title":{"rendered":"Retail Media Didn\u2019t Fail, It Was Built on Incomplete Store Understanding"},"content":{"rendered":"

Retail media is going through a moment of reflection. <\/span>Over the last few weeks, we\u2019ve seen headlines about Stratacache UK collapsing just months after major retailer partnerships were announced. For some, this becomes evidence that retail media is overhyped or fragile.<\/span><\/p>\n

But I’m certain that’s not what\u2019s really happening.<\/span><\/p>\n

Retail media isn\u2019t failing, i<\/span>t\u2019s maturing. <\/span>And like most maturing markets, it\u2019s starting to expose an issue that has been there from the beginning: most of the time it<\/span>\u00a0has been built on an incomplete understanding of the store.<\/span><\/p>\n

The real constraint was never screens or software<\/b><\/h2>\n

There\u2019s a natural instinct in retail media right now to equate progress with investment w<\/span>ith more screens, m<\/span>ore networks, m<\/span>ore ad inventory. I<\/span>ncreasingly, more capital is being deployed into in-store digital screen networks as the default starting point.<\/span><\/p>\n

But this is where things get interesting. <\/span>Because in several cases, including recent high-profile retail media partnerships that have since been reconsidered or unwound, the assumption has been that infrastructure alone creates value.<\/span><\/p>\n

Install the screens, plug in the network, and demand will follow. <\/span>But retail doesn\u2019t work like that. <\/span>Not sustainably, at least.<\/span><\/p>\n

You can\u2019t monetise what you don\u2019t fully understand<\/b><\/h2>\n

The fundamental issue isn\u2019t the idea or impact of in-store media. <\/span>It\u2019s the lack of visibility into what makes each store perform in the first place.<\/span><\/p>\n

Too often, retail media is built on top of p<\/span>artial store data, g<\/span>eneric audience assumptions, f<\/span>ragmented estate knowledge a<\/span>nd \u201caverage store\u201d planning models. <\/span>When that happens, investment naturally flows to the most visible layer, the screens, rather than the most important layer, the store itself.<\/span><\/p>\n

Screens don\u2019t create understanding. <\/span>They amplify whatever understanding already exists. <\/span>And, if that foundation is weak, scale only makes the inefficiency bigger.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The overlooked opportunity: existing physical assets<\/b><\/h2>\n

In the rush to digitise stores, it’s often missed that r<\/span>etailers already own powerful in-store assets. <\/span>Endcaps, gondolas, high-footfall zones, category adjacencies, promotional hotspots, seasonal flexibility, category depth differences by location.<\/span><\/p>\n

These are not abstract concepts, they are monetisable retail media surfaces and i<\/span>n many cases, they are still not fully mapped, understood, or optimised at a store-by-store level.<\/span><\/p>\n

So we jump to digital screens as the default \u201cmodern\u201d solution\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

In reality, many retailers haven\u2019t yet exhausted the value of the physical environment they already control.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The hierarchy of retail media maturity is upside down<\/b><\/h2>\n

The current pattern in the market often looks like this: i<\/span>nstall digital screens, b<\/span>uild a media network, t<\/span>ry to layer in measurement and then a<\/span>ttempt to understand store performance.<\/span><\/p>\n

But, the sequence should be:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Understand every store in detail<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Map all physical, digital and audio opportunities within it, including what products are ranged in that location and what products are top sellers<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Build a unified view of how location factors drive performance<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. Then decide where, and if, digital screen investment actually adds incremental value<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    This is really important because not every store needs the same media solution, a<\/span>nd not every store needs screens to monetise effectively.<\/span><\/p>\n

    This isn\u2019t an argument against digital screens.<\/b><\/h2>\n

    There is absolutely a place for new in-store digital technology in retail media. <\/span>But it works best when it comes after understanding of stores, not before it.<\/span><\/p>\n

    When retailers have a clear, granular view of how each store actually performs, where attention naturally sits, and what opportunities already exist within the physical environment, then decisions about digital screens become far more grounded.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Once this has been completed, screens stop being a speculative rollout and start becoming a targeted and intentional layer within a wider in-store strategy.<\/span><\/p>\n

    In other words, digital screens don\u2019t need to lead the conversation.<\/span><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    The value of the store\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

    Every conversation about retail media eventually ends in the same place: <\/span>We need to understand the store better.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Stores are not interchangeable inventory points. <\/span>They are complex, variable systems influenced by c<\/span>atchment and footfall, c<\/span>ategory mix and space allocation, l<\/span>ocal demand patterns, p<\/span>hysical layout and asset positioning, o<\/span>perational constraints a<\/span>nd increasingly, digital and physical interaction points<\/span><\/p>\n

    Until those variables are understood at a granular level, retail media will always be optimising in the dark.<\/span><\/p>\n

    What the recent market signals are really telling us<\/b><\/h2>\n

    In my opinion, there is too much focus on activation and n<\/span>ot enough focus on understanding. T<\/span>oo much investment in delivery mechanisms, and n<\/span>ot enough investment in the intelligence that tells you what to deliver, where, and why.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Start with the store. Then decide on the screens.<\/b><\/h2>\n

    The opportunity ahead is not to slow down retail media investment. <\/span>Before retailers commit significant capital to digital screen rollouts, they should be asking a simpler question:<\/span><\/p>\n

    Do we actually understand what is already happening in our stores?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

    In many cases, the biggest untapped retail media opportunity is not a new network. <\/span>It\u2019s the optimisation of what already exists: p<\/span>hysical space, s<\/span>tore layouts, p<\/span>roduct adjacencies, p<\/span>romotional structures, l<\/span>ocal performance differences etc etc. <\/span>Once that is understood properly,\u00a0 in-store technology investments become a choice, not an assumption. <\/span>And that is a very different starting point.<\/span><\/p>\n

    I’m confident that the retailers who win the next phase won\u2019t be the ones with the most screens, t<\/span>hey\u2019ll be the ones who understand their stores best.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Dorian Spackman, Founder and CEO of Colateral<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Learn more about how Colateral is bridging the gap between physical and digital retail media.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Retail media is going through a moment of reflection. Over the last few weeks, we\u2019ve seen headlines about Stratacache UK collapsing just months after major retailer partnerships were announced. For some, this becomes evidence that retail media is overhyped or fragile. But I’m certain that’s not what\u2019s really happening. Retail media isn\u2019t failing, it\u2019s maturing. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":9802,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6,9],"tags":[488,492,491,487,486,484,106,477,493,490,479,349,485,480,483,478,177,438,481,482,489],"class_list":["post-9792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-people","category-news","tag-digital-screens-vs-physical-assets-in-retail","tag-digital-signageil-media","tag-granular-store-data-for-retail-media","tag-how-to-measure-in-store-retail-media","tag-in-store-advertising-challenges","tag-in-store-digital-screen-roi","tag-in-store-marketing","tag-in-store-retail-media-strategy","tag-optimising-existing-physical-retail-assets","tag-optimizing-existing-physical-retail-assets","tag-physical-store-optimization","tag-retail-media","tag-retail-media-hype-vs-reality","tag-retail-media-infrastructure","tag-retail-media-market-correction","tag-retail-media-network-maturity","tag-retail-tech","tag-store-intelligence","tag-store-level-data-retail-media","tag-stratacache-uk-retail-media","tag-why-do-retail-media-networks-fail","type-thought-leadership","type-retail-media","type-thought-leadership-retail-marketing"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nRetail Media Didn\u2019t Fail, It Was Built on Incomplete Store Understanding - Colateral EN<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Retail media isn't failing, it's growing up! 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