In-Store Retail Media
In-store retail media has a currency problem.
Retail media budgets are moving into physical stores, but buyers cannot trust what they cannot measure. The industry standards stop at "likelihood to see". Pygmalios ScreenIQ measures the step the standard itself calls unresolved: the verified view.
Trusted by leading European retailers
US in-store retail media growth in 2025 — more than double the growth of retail media overall (eMarketer)
Share of retail sales that happen in physical stores vs the share of US retail media spend outside Amazon that reaches them — the gap in-store networks are built to close
European retail media spend forecast for 2026–2028 (Bain, IAB Europe)
European buyers who name lack of measurement standards as their main barrier to buying retail media (IAB Europe, 2025)
Unmeasured screens are unsellable inventory
A store is the largest audience most retailers own. But an advertiser buying that audience needs the same thing they get online: a number they can trust. The IAB and IAB Europe in-store standards (2024) define an impression ladder — ad play, gross impression, opportunity to see, likelihood to see — and openly note that confirmed viewing is not yet solved. That missing rung is where Pygmalios works. ScreenIQ verifies that a real person was present, facing the screen, while the ad played. We call it a verified view, and it turns screen inventory into something a media buyer can price.
The impression ladder — and its missing rung
Ad play
The player logged that the creative ran. Says nothing about people.
Gross impression
People were in the store zone while the ad ran, counted from traffic data.
Opportunity to see
People were positioned so they could have seen the screen. The rung where most in-store reporting stops today.
Likelihood to see
A modeled estimate of how many of them probably looked. Still a multiplier, not a measurement.
Verified view
Measured presence, facing direction, and dwell while the ad played — per screen, per daypart, per creative. This is what ScreenIQ by Pygmalios measures.
Built for Europe: measurement without surveillance
Pygmalios measurement is anonymous by design. No images or video are stored, no one is identified, and no biometric templates are created — detection happens on the device in real time and only statistics leave the store. That design supports a legitimate-interest basis under GDPR, with a documented DPIA and clear in-store signage. In a market where privacy is the first question, European retailers can answer it before it is asked.
For retailers: your store is an unpriced media asset
Retail media carries margins conventional retail cannot match — industry estimates put network contribution margins at 60–70%. What holds most networks back is proof: without trusted audience numbers, inventory sells at a discount or not at all. Pygmalios gives you the audience data to price screens by zone and daypart, the verified views to report to advertisers, and the delivery layer to run the content.
Get a monetization assessmentFor brands and agencies: demand verified views
In-store reach is real — most purchases still happen in physical stores. What has been missing is a number worth planning against. When a network reports verified views instead of loop plays, you can compare in-store to any other channel, hold it to a ROAS standard, and buy with the same discipline you apply online. If a network cannot tell you how its impressions are measured, ask why.
Book a measurement briefingFrequently asked questions
What is in-store retail media?
In-store retail media is advertising inventory inside physical stores — screens, audio, and connected formats — sold by a retailer to brands, planned and measured with retail data. It is the fastest-growing part of retail media: US in-store spend is forecast to grow from $370 million in 2024 to over $1 billion by 2028 (eMarketer).
What is a verified view?
A verified view is an ad exposure where measurement confirmed a person was present, facing the screen, and dwelling while the creative played. It is the measured step beyond "opportunity to see" and "likelihood to see" in the impression ladder defined by the IAB and IAB Europe in-store standards. The term is used by Pygmalios ScreenIQ.
How is in-store retail media measured today?
Most networks report ad plays or estimated impressions derived from store traffic multiplied by a modeled factor. The IAB and IAB Europe standards (2024) push toward viewable, audience-based metrics, and note that confirmed viewing remains an open problem. Sensor-based measurement such as Pygmalios ScreenIQ closes that gap with per-screen verified views.
Is camera-based audience measurement legal in the EU?
Yes, when designed correctly. Systems that process video in real time, store no images, identify no one, and keep no biometric templates are generally operated under a legitimate-interest basis with a DPIA and in-store signage. Pygmalios measurement follows this anonymous-by-design model. Requirements vary by country, so each deployment is assessed with the retailer.
Why does measurement matter for retail media revenue?
Measurement sets the price. Unmeasured inventory trades at a discount because buyers cannot compare it to other channels. Trusted audience numbers let a retailer price screens by zone and daypart, prove performance, and defend CPMs — which is why European buyers rank measurement among their top criteria when choosing retail media partners (IAB Europe, 2025).
Does Pygmalios also deliver the content on screens?
Yes. Pygmalios MediaFlow schedules and delivers screen content, and ScreenIQ measures the audience independently of what is playing. Measurement is reported as its own layer with a transparent methodology, so audience numbers stay credible to advertisers regardless of who runs the content.
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Proven in production
“Long-term observations through Pygmalios Analytics can provide us with a comprehensive picture of the best-selling product groups, and we can also visually detect changes in buying behavior based on external incentives.”
Lubomír Franta
CIO, DM Drogerie Markt
Own the measured side of in-store retail media
Talk to Pygmalios about measuring your screens, pricing your inventory, or auditing the in-store numbers you are being sold.