Loblaw Media has launched the first phase of its Digital Screen Network, the latest addition to its expanding retail media network as it builds towards a fully omnichannel offering.
The 65-inch video screens run a mix of internal and external video ads, with General Mills Canada and P&G signed on as launch partners. The first screens are located at store entrances, which Quin Millar, director of sales and client services for Loblaw Media, says is a strategic choice to “connect with customers as they begin their in-store shopping journey and the basket-building process.”
The retailer has been rolling out the screens at the rate of roughly 25 stores a week since the spring, prioritizing its highest-traffic locations across the Real Canadian Superstore, Loblaws, Maxi, Zehrs, Independent Grocers and Atlantic Superstore banners. The signage is currently in roughly 185 stores, with a goal of scaling up to and beyond 500 stores by the end of this year.
The retail signage network is currently available through Loblaw’s Managed Service Solutions. In the future, it will be accessible through MediaAisle, Loblaw’s DSP, which targets over 200 audience segments based on first-party purchase data and offers measurement that includes actual sales in its reporting. This allows for the OOH inventory to be integrated with campaigns on the broader Loblaw Media network, covering on-site and off-site ads on digital, ecommerce and social platforms.
Millar says the new screen network is a key piece of building out Loblaw Media’s omnichannel offering. Although the majority of purchases are still made in store, Canadian consumers are omnichannel. They shop and research online, and shop in stores and are active across many platforms. The retailer’s internal research shows that 53% of customers across Loblaw banner will engage with at least one of the company’s digital platforms before shopping in store, whether it be a store website to look at a digital flyer or opening the PC Optimum app to load their weekly offers.
What comes next, says Millar, is screen across more banners and enhancing the network’s capabilities.
“We’re striving to have best in class capabilities for our digital out-of-home network,” Millar says. “That includes granular targeting and different opportunities to build omnichannel solutions. There are other in-store announcements coming in the future, which is going to be a big part of our growth and our offerings. We’re really in phase one.”
Retail media is one of the fastest growing ad channels around the world in 2023. GroupM’s mid-year “This Year, Next Year” predictions show that retail media, now defined as including ad revenue from last mile delivery services, will grow 9.9% to reach $125.7 billion USD globally this year. The report also predicts that retail media is forecast to exceed linear TV revenue by 2028.
