Retail media elevates the role of the physical store as an advertising vehicle, says Christian Bönnelyche, senior advisor at BizLab. Traditional in-store advertising—often referred to as Below the Line (BTL) or promotional advertising—is no longer hidden away. On the contrary, retail media gives BTL new recognition as a potentially powerful revenue stream for retailers facing margin pressure.
“I believe retail has long underestimated the potential of its own store environment. There has been a lack of confidence, frankly. Now it’s time to take pride in the physical store as a media channel—where purchases happen and decisions are made,” Christian explains.
He continues: “With the right technology, in-store advertising becomes more than just displaying a message—it means measuring exactly who saw it, when, for how long, and even how customers reacted. That’s a game-changer for an industry operating on tight margins.”
Retail media enables retailers to sell audiences rather than just ad space, offer programmatic buying, and build a new in-store advertising ecosystem. This combination of physical presence and data-driven advertising opens fresh revenue opportunities for the retail sector.
There are strong examples both internationally and in Sweden, allowing more retailers to develop their own retail media initiatives. “But success requires both strategy and operational focus. The opportunities alone don’t guarantee results. By combining infrastructure, audience packaging, programmatic sales, and maintaining relevant messaging for customers, retailers can not only boost sales but, importantly, increase media revenues,” Christian adds.
” This is just the beginning. We will see more examples where in-store advertising stops being viewed as a dull complement to traditional marketing and digital ads and becomes an integral part of modern media strategies. Retail media will increasingly be a natural component of the media mix because the real value is created in-store,” concludes Christian Bönnelyche.