Retail media isn’t one channel — it’s a family of channels. Understanding the distinctions between on-site, off-site, and in-store formats is essential for building an effective strategy. Each has different mechanics, different audiences, and critically, different margin structures.
On-Site: Where Retail Media Started and Still Dominates
On-site retail media covers all advertising within a retailer’s owned digital properties — website, app, and search results. Formats include sponsored product listings, promoted search results, display banners, branded landing pages, and video ads. The appeal is straightforward: you’re reaching consumers at peak purchase intent, on the exact platform where transactions happen. Attribution is relatively clean, conversion rates are high. The limitation is reach — on-site only reaches people already on the retailer’s platform.
Off-Site: Taking Retail Data to the Open Web
Off-site retail media uses the retailer’s first-party data to target advertising across third-party inventory: publisher websites, social platforms, connected TV, and streaming audio. The audience is the retailer’s, but the placement is elsewhere. This is where retail media becomes genuinely disruptive — by exporting retailer data (in privacy-safe, aggregated form) to the open web, brands achieve relevant targeting based on actual purchase behaviour without the privacy problems of cookie-based infrastructure. Margins for off-site are lower than on-site (20–40% versus 50–80%), reflecting the cost of third-party inventory, but reach and full-funnel potential are significantly greater.
In-Store: The Next Frontier
In-store retail media — digital screens, audio, and interactive displays within physical locations — is the most nascent format. Companies like Cooler Screens are pioneering personalised in-store advertising using proximity sensors. The technology exists; the challenge is perceived intrusiveness slowing widespread adoption. Watch this space over the next three to five years.
Getting the Mix Right
Current on-site/off-site splits in the US are approximately 70%/30%, with Europe skewed more heavily toward on-site. The direction of travel is clear: off-site will grow as data infrastructure matures. For brands, the right mix depends on funnel objective: on-site for lower-funnel conversion, off-site for upper-funnel reach, in-store for contextual moment-of-purchase influence. Used together, they deliver a genuinely full-funnel capability built on verified purchase data.