Retail Out of Home is a Multi-Purpose Channel

If you treat Retail Out of Home as conversion only, you’ll leave results on the table.

The potential is full funnel.

The advertising environment is changing. Brands have access to more channels than ever before, customers are hyper-connected across physical and digital environments and both content and advertising overload is making cutting through harder than ever. 

The no-longer linear journey, will introduce a new way of media planning, focusing on where audiences and customers are and reaching them in those moments, layering traditional reach with contextually rich touchpoints. With this breakthrough, Retail Out of Home will shimmy past the current perception as a conversion tactic, to a multi-purpose channel capable of driving awareness, influence and of course, tangible and validated results.

Retail Out of Home is a multi-purpose channel

ROOH’s performance capabilities are no secret. Precision path to purchase targeting is the holy grail for FMCG brands. We’re talking about reaching high value cohorts and active category buyers in the exact centres they shop, giving your brands the ability to influence the right customer at the right moment, with far more intent. 

Retail Out of Home then boasts the same superpowers as traditional Out of Home, a large scale, broadcast medium, in high footfall locations for brand building at scale. It works in Out of Home and it works in Retail Out of Home. Pulling the lever on ROOH as an awareness and conversion medium connects the customer experience, drives traffic into store and leads to total measurable sales for your brand. For FMCG and Everyday Needs brands wanting to make media work harder, this is a tried and tested strategy that will continue to deliver results.

When customers shift from online to in-store, Retail Out of Home sits right in the middle. 

While the majority of grocery sales are still happening in-store (80%+), we’re seeing a big shift in the journey that customers are on prior to the active shop. In fact, almost 70% of customers are starting the shop online with research (1), budgeting, planning all being key factors in their shop. Further, A huge 55% of customers who engage with a brand or product online convert in-store within seven days (2) . 

It’s clear that digital is where the journey starts and when customers make that digital to physical shift, Retail Out of Home is there to close the loop, influencing customers on the way to store. 

When you layer Retail Out of Home into that journey, you are not just relying on digital to do the heavy lifting. You are reinforcing intent in the exact environments where purchase decisions are going to be made. ROOH becomes the final, high impact touchpoint that pulls the customer through... Digital sparks interest, in-store builds intent, ROOH connects the two. That is the holy trilogy working in sync.

Influencing omnichannel customers - The untapped out of phone opportunity

Retail Out of Home within a retailer ecosystem sees viral online trends play out firsthand in-store, in the search bar and at the checkout. 

The opportunity is clear; take viral moments and trends that start online and bring them into the customer journey through Retail Out of Home to drive results. Picture this, large social media moments, on the big Retail Out of Home screens, bridging what customers are seeing online with what they see in store, right before that critical moment of conversion to further online influence. Retailers together with brands and agencies can identify opportunities from content trending online to FMCG customers transacting online and in-store, closing the loop for brands from influence to sales. With Retail Out of Home, retailers can identify the right shoppers to connect your social content with, bridging the digital and physical experience with an easy continuation of social content into ROOH. 

With full journey campaigns successfully driving +35% average weekly sales increase, the importance of omnichannel connectivity is crystal clear (3) . Brands that are showing up, owning the omnichannel journey and building connections with customers, wherever they choose to browse and discover, from the search bar to the centre, will be the ones to win. 

The opportunity in Retail Out of Home continues to grow beyond conversion. It’s awareness, inspiration and conversion, rolled into a single and effective channel. When connected well, it integrates the online experience into the physical centre and all the way through to the supermarket checkout, giving brands the opportunity to extend their campaign impact and bridge the gap between social and the physical shopping experience.

Source: 1. Adobe Analytics Visitors (total universe), web and app platforms and EDR, digital rewards visitors: Research Online Buy Instore ROBIS, Jan - June 2025. 2. Woolworths Digital Engagement, Adobe GRS dataset Feb 20 - Dec 24, Q Checkout, All products, eCom vs In-store, 3 Jan 24 - 31 Dec 24, Woolworths transaction data, 04/10/2023-01/10/2024 vs 05/10/2022-03/10/2023 3. Cartology Retail Media Effectiveness Playbook 2025.

This article first appeared in the IMAA Trends Report, 2025.