What does a new electric vehicle have in common with a carton of milk? More than you think. Both are on the minds of consumers during their weekly grocery run.
For years, the retail media landscape has been the exclusive domain of brands sold in-store—the sodas, cereals, and soaps that fill our shopping carts. This has left a powerful, uncluttered, and highly effective advertising channel largely untapped by other key sectors.
This is a missed opportunity for brands whose products and services are not on the shelves, from automotive and finance to travel and insurance. For these advertisers, a real opportunity lies in connecting with millions of high-intent shoppers in a less saturated environment, precisely when they are already in a mindset to make purchasing decisions. The retail store is more than a point of sale; it’s the next frontier for brand growth.
The Power of the In-Store Moment
According to a recent research study from IAB Canada, the scale of the in-store media opportunity is staggering, with 97% of Canadians visiting a retail store at least once a month and 85% doing so weekly. Unlike online environments where users are often multitasking, shoppers in a physical store are present, focused, and in a “buying mode.” They are actively making decisions and are uniquely receptive to messages that can inform those choices.
This creates a captive audience. In-store audio is an unskippable, unmutable medium that cuts through the digital ad fatigue consumers experience online. It is a one-to-many channel that reaches every person in the store, influencing behavior at the critical point of decision. The impact is direct: 58% of consumers who heard an in-store audio ad purchased the product, while 60% will consider the product in the future (source: IAB Canada, Leger & Stingray Advertising Study 2025 – Harmonizing Retail Media). When combined with digital video displays in locations where they are available, brands can create a powerful multi-sensory experience that dominates the path to purchase.
The Advantage of Contextual Targeting: Reaching the Right Person at the Right Place and Time
The power of in-store audio lies in its ability to move beyond broad demographics and deliver true contextual targeting. Instead of just targeting an age group, brands can pinpoint their ideal audience with surgical precision based on location, timing, and shopping habits. Consider a local bank branch promoting a new mortgage offer. Instead of a city-wide campaign, they can run ads exclusively in the grocery stores and pharmacies within a five-kilometer radius of their branch, reaching potential customers right in their own neighborhood. Or take an automotive dealership launching a new electric vehicle. They can select retailers in affluent suburbs whose shoppers match their target buyer profile. Furthermore, they can use day-parting to run the campaign on Thursday and Friday evenings, precisely when families are planning their weekend activities—like a potential test drive. This level of targeting ensures that every ad dollar is spent reaching a relevant audience at a moment they are receptive, maximizing impact and driving real-world action.
Three Key Benefits for Brands Outside of Retail
For brands not sold in-store, the in-store audio channel offers three distinct advantages that are difficult to replicate in the crowded digital landscape.
1. Reaching a Relevant Audience in a New Context In-store media provides a unique opportunity to connect with consumers at key life moments. An insurance company can reach new parents as they are buying diapers, a bank can promote mortgages to shoppers purchasing home renovation supplies, and a QSR can advertise a dinner deal to commuters stopping for groceries on their way home. It allows brands to move beyond demographic targeting and engage with audiences based on real-world context.
2. Delivering Top-Tier Brand Impact : In-store audio delivers results that are highly competitive with established media channels. It achieves a 64% final brand impact, a figure on par with in-store digital screens, proving its power to build brand equity in a captive environment.
3. Driving Measurable, Real-World Action Ultimately, the goal of any advertising campaign is to drive action. In-store audio is proven to convert passive listening into tangible business results. The IAB Canada and Leger study found that in-store ads prompted 46% of shoppers who recalled hearing the audio ad to visit a physical store and 48% to visit a website, creating a full-funnel experience that bridges the gap between the shopping trip and your business goals (source: IAB Canada, Leger & Stingray Advertising Study 2025 – Harmonizing Retail Media)
Proof in Action: Driving Real-World Results
Case Study 1: A Leading Japanese Automotive Brand
- The Challenge: A well-known Japanese auto brand wanted to engage drivers and raise consideration for its hybrid vehicle, capitalizing on rising fuel costs.
- The Solution: To execute this strategy, the brand partnered with Stingray Advertising to develop a four-week bilingual in-store audio campaign. Leveraging Stingray’s network, the campaign was deployed across retail and convenience stores, using proximity targeting to run ads in locations near dealerships. The strategy also skewed towards audiences identified as having a high affinity for EV purchase intent, ensuring maximum relevance.
- The Results: The campaign drove significant consideration and action. Of the shoppers who recalled the ad, 52% visited a brand dealership, and 63% said they would consider the product in the future (compared to just 11% of the control group).
Case Study 2: A National Fitness Brand Converts Shoppers into Members
- The Challenge: A leading national fitness centre aimed to acquire new members by reaching potential customers outside of the highly competitive digital fitness advertising space.
- The Solution: The brand worked with Stingray Advertising to launch a targeted in-store audio campaign across its network of retail locations. The campaign was strategically designed to reach shoppers when they were already in a “health and wellness” mindset inside grocery stores, reminding them of their fitness goals and presenting a compelling offer at a moment they were primed to make decisions.
- The Results: The campaign successfully translated passive listening into active conversions. Of the shoppers who recalled hearing the campaign, 23% purchased a membership and another 19% enrolled in a free trial. Furthermore, shoppers who heard the ad were 3.4 times more likely to consider the fitness centre in the future.
Conclusion: Your Brand Belongs in the Aisle
The retail store has evolved. It is no longer just a place to sell products; it’s a powerful and unavoidable media channel where brands of all types can connect with consumers at the most critical moments. For brands outside of retail, the evidence is clear:
- Unavoidable Reach: In-store audio is an unmutable and unskippable medium that cuts through digital fatigue, capturing the attention of a captive audience throughout the entire store.
- Proven Brand Impact: The channel delivers a top-tier brand impact that is highly competitive with established in-store media, proving its power to build brand equity in a captive environment.
- Full-Funnel Results: It is a rare channel that delivers a complete full-funnel impact from a single placement, effectively connecting the everyday shopping trip to high-value, off-property business goals and driving measurable, real-world conversions.
About Stingray Advertising
This article was developed in collaboration with Stingray Advertising.
Whether you are in Automotive, Finance, Insurance, Travel, or QSR, your next customer is already in the aisle. With access to over 6,850 premier retail locations and more than 178 million monthly shopping visits across Canada—including major grocery, pharmacy, and convenience store chains—Stingray Advertising provides the ideal platform to connect with them.
Ready to reach your customers in the moments that matter? Contact a Stingray Advertising expert to build your in-store audio strategy.