In-Store Signage Goes High Tech: Five New Types of Ads to Look For | Left Hand Agency CPG High Five
I talk a lot about retail media online (Amazon Ads , Instacart, Walmart Connect), but the physical store is still where 80% of CPG sales actually happen, and it's finally catching up on the tech front. The old-school stuff, printed shelf talkers, laminated endcap signs, isn't going anywhere completely, but a lot of it is getting a digital upgrade. And the upgrade isn't just "ooh, a screen." It actually changes what brands can do: swap creative by season without reprinting a single thing, target by time of day or region instead of blasting the same message everywhere, and cut down on the literal cardboard waste of tearing down a display every six weeks.
Here are five formats of new types of ads doing that right now.
Digital LED Endcap Displays
Nabisco and The Coca-Cola Company are both running versions of this, and it's a great example of digital doing something print never could. Instead of printing a new Easter endcap and then a new Halloween endcap six months later, the screen just gets new content pushed to it. Same physical unit, completely different creative depending on the week. Coke has reportedly gone as far as running polar bears and holiday content leading up to Christmas, then flipping the same screen back to plain logo branding the day after the 25th. No new signage getting printed, shipped, installed, and then thrown out a few weeks later. I am a sucker for cool in-caps and in-store displays and a digital one has tons of potential if executed properly!
Digital Cooler Doors
Cooler Screens is the big name here, and you've probably walked past one without realizing it, they're in Walgreens, Kroger, Walmart, and CVS Pharmacy. I'll say up front, I'm not a fan of the dynamic pricing angle some of these systems can technically do (nothing like watching your ice cream get more expensive in real time while you're standing in front of it). But the smarter use case is content, not price. Serve caffeinated drink ads in the morning rush, and shift to hydration and recovery drinks by midafternoon. Same door, same shopper base, completely different message depending on what time you happen to be standing there. In general, I love the tech and it’s a great place to run ads for items that are often impulse purchases.
In-Store Audio Ads
Vibenomics is running this inside Kroger, Hy-Vee, and Ahold Delhaize stores, and honestly, this is the format I think has the most room to be used well instead of just used a lot. Because it's digital, a brand doesn't have to run the same script nationwide. You could focus your in-store audio spend only in the regions or store clusters where you're actually trying to grow distribution, or even localize the message by part of the country. No point paying to run an ad in a market where you're already the category leader and everyone already knows who you are. I’m also not 100% sold on in-store audio ads. Stores are often loud and somewhat chaotic - so I’m rarely able to actively listen to what’s being played overhead. But, if we remember anything from “blue light special” announcements its that these in-the-moment audio interruptions can be valuable.
Smart Cart Ads
Instacart's Caper Carts are the most obviously "digital-native" format on this list, since the cart itself is the screen. What makes it smart is that the ads are aisle-aware, so you're not getting a random ad the second you walk in, you're getting one when you're actually standing near the relevant category. It's the retail version of not showing someone a diaper ad until they're actually in the baby aisle. I have written a bit about smart carts before and personally don’t like them, they feel a bit invasive and creepy and I don’t expect them to ever be mainstream. Carts are already extraordinarily expensive without digital tech and maintenance on them is a headache already for retailers - so the results would have to justify that additional expense. Showing someone an ad for a product while they are in the aisle for it also makes incrementality tough to validate. Were they going to buy it anyway? Show me the math.
Digital Checkout and Front-End Screens
This is the modern version of the ad rack that used to sit at the register, except it's now a real programmatic network (Grocery TV alone is on 20,000-plus screens across 4,000-plus stores) and it's expanded well past the checkout lane into entryways and other departments. The old version was a printed insert that sat there whether it was relevant or not for a month straight. The digital version can rotate by daypart, by region, or by whatever's actually moving that week, no reprint required. I also question the effectiveness of checkout ads - if you are already in the checkout it’s unlikely you’d return to grocery shopping from seeing an ad, and unlikely you’ll remember that ad next time you’re at the store. But: they are popular and if you think of them more like a billboard vs. a “last mile impression” then they do have value.
The common thread across all five new types of ads
digital in-store isn't just "a screen instead of paper." It's the difference between committing to one message for months at a time and being able to actually react, to the season, the clock, the region, or the shelf, without a printer or a landfill getting involved.
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