Retail media is no longer confined to retailer websites and apps. In 2026, Australia's retail media networks are expanding aggressively into physical screens — in-store digital displays, forecourt placements and shopper-adjacent DOOH — effectively turning the supermarket aisle into programmatic inventory. For brands, this convergence of retail media and digital out-of-home advertising creates a rare opportunity: reaching shoppers with first-party purchase data at the exact moment they are deciding what to buy.
Retail media's reset year: bigger budgets, harder questions
The IAB Australia Retail and Commerce Media State of the Nation 2026 report, released this year, found advertisers increasing spend across every major retail media channel — including advertising inside physical stores, which has become the fastest-growing slice of the category. Globally, the IAB forecasts retail media will generate roughly US$74 billion in ad spend in 2026, powered by the purchase history and SKU-level data that other channels simply cannot match.
But the report also frames 2026 as a reset year: bigger budgets come with harder questions. Marketers are demanding proof that retail media works beyond the retailer's own ecosystem — which is precisely why the channel is spilling out of the website and onto the streets. When a retail media network can reach a shopper on a digital screen outside a rival store, the conversation shifts from cheap clicks to genuine incrementality.
Why the store itself is becoming a media channel
The economics are compelling. Retailers run on thin margins, while media is a high-margin business built on an asset they already own: foot traffic. Woolworths' Cartology and Coles 360 have both expanded aggressively into in-store screens, forecourt placements and shopper-adjacent DOOH inventory this year, according to Lumos's mid-year market snapshot. Meanwhile Bunnings, Kmart and Myer are building out their own retail media offerings, layering loyalty data over premium in-store digital formats.
In-store digital screens capture shoppers at the point of decision, where dwell time is measured in minutes, not milliseconds
Forecourt and car-park screens extend the retailer's reach beyond the front door into shopper-adjacent DOOH
Interactive kiosks and digital price tags are turning everyday fixtures into addressable ad space
The result is a new class of inventory that sits between classic retail media and out-of-home — and it is being traded programmatically, with the same targeting, optimisation and reporting disciplines brands expect from digital.
First-party data meets location: the targeting layer
Retail media's superpower has always been transaction data. DOOH's superpower is location context. Combine them and you get something neither channel could deliver alone: the ability to serve an ad to a shopper based on what they actually buy, on a screen they pass on the way to a competitor, at a time of day when their category is top of mind.
Privacy is the reason this works at scale. Loyalty and transaction data is consented first-party data, and DOOH targeting is aggregated at the screen level rather than the device level. That makes the retail media and DOOH pairing one of the most privacy-safe precision targeting options available in the post-cookie era — no identifiers, no cross-device graphs, just observed behaviour matched to physical locations.
From impressions to baskets: measurement gets real
The old objection to out-of-home was measurement, and retail media answers it. Because the retailer controls both the screen and the point of sale, campaigns can be closed-loop: exposure to a store-screen or forecourt placement can be matched against actual basket data to show lift in sales, units and category share. Programmatic trading in Australian DOOH has been growing at double-digit rates quarter on quarter, with retail media networks among the fastest adopters — because they are the ones who can prove the return.
The most interesting inventory in Australian media right now is the store itself. When a retailer can show you the basket data behind the impressions, DOOH stops being a branding channel and becomes a performance channel. That changes every conversation we have with FMCG brands. — Eric Fan, CEO, Lumos
What brands should do now
Retail media networks are still in the early innings of building their physical inventory, which means rates are attractive, formats are flexible and measurement standards are still being written. Brands that engage now can shape how their category is bought and measured. A few practical moves:
Ask your retail media partners what in-store and shopper-adjacent DOOH inventory they can offer — many networks won't proactively pitch it yet
Bring your first-party or loyalty data to the table; the best targeting happens when retailer data meets brand data
Insist on closed-loop measurement tied to baskets or store visits, not just impressions
Test incrementality — hold out a region or store group so you can prove what the channel actually adds
Retail media and DOOH are converging fast, and the brands that understand the combined channel early will be the ones setting the benchmarks. If you would like to explore how shopper-adjacent DOOH could fit your next campaign, the team at Lumos would love to talk — visit spotlumos.com or get in touch to start the conversation.
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