Convenience retail media boosts incremental sales in nearby stores also: study  

Co-op, which has launched of the UK’s first retail media network in the convenience sector earlier this year, said the service not only boosts sales in their stores, but also in surrounding grocery stores of up to fourfold the original sales conversion.

Research from the UK’s leading convenience retailer, in partnership with market research firm Circana, suggests a positive halo effect for brand’s overall awareness when advertising in Co-op shops, which can lead to longer term incremental sales uplifts in surrounding non-Co-op stores of up to four times the amount of the immediate sales.

As part of this study, Circana used its test vs control measurement solution (Media Lift), which uses Circana’s complete market sales data to evaluate the sales impact of in-store marketing activity in both Co-op’s own stores and surrounding non-Co-op stores.

“The results from our research with Circana is clear, when brands activate campaigns with Co-op there is an immediate positive sales impact in our store but also within the surrounding area with retailers that we would typically class as our competitors,” Dean Harris, head of Co-op media network, said.

“As a retail media owner, our main goal for the brands that advertise with us is to generate sales regardless of where that customer purchases the product.”

One of the retail media campaigns reviewed within the study – a global beer brand – generated a brand sales uplift of 12 percent in Co-op stores and Circana was able to identify that it drove a further three percent uplift in non-Co-op halo stores.

This uplift in the non-Co-op stores represented four times the total incremental sales value seen in the Co-op stores alone. Circana credited the huge impact on total sales to the high number of halo stores where the sales uplift occurred, and the larger pack sizes bought in those stores.

As convenience is a frequently shopped channel for top up missions and often in addition to a bigger shop. data showed that Co-op shoppers engage the most with other grocers, which provides convenience retail media with an extra amplifier effect on halo sales.

“The analysis of the beer campaign shows that by influencing brand purchase decisions in other non-Coop stores, the retail media activation is able to generate higher incremental sales by tapping into larger pack sizes available in supermarket stores,” Harris continued.

“This halo effect data is incredibly insightful and gives further confidence to talk to our clients about the power of retail media in the convenience setting.”

Mark Hurst, EMEA head of retail media at Circana added: “As the advertising industry continues to expand traditional retail media inventory and accelerate digital and addressable channels and privacy regulations limit traditional measurement methods, retailers are increasingly in need of more agile and accurate ways to measure campaign performance across channels and tactics.

“Being able to analyse media lift through a range of sales-based measurement approaches including Test & Learn, tactical comparisons and mid-campaign analysis, results in faster and more cost-effective decision making, enabling retailers like the Co-op to demonstrate brand impact and how it drives incremental value.”