3 Brands, 3 Retail Media Playbooks

The Store as a Media Channel

Retail media networks continue to develop, and in many stores, advertisements on screens, on personal devices, or over audio have become a regular part of the shopping trip. For the brands buying that in-store retail media space, getting ROI on their ad spend begins with a few simple questions that shape every media plan: who are the shoppers, when do they visit, how long do they stay for, and how often do they come back.

Using the latest location intelligence, this report examines three leading retailers with media networks (Kroger, Sam’s Club, and CVS) to reveal what drives their strategy and what sets them apart: how Kroger’s banners reach diverse audiences in search of discovery and inspiration, how Sam’s Club attracts both new and returning visitors motivated – in part – by fuel discounts, and how CVS engages mission-driven consumers. We dove into the data to find out what these insights mean for advertisers and any brand with a stake in retail media.

Kroger: Many Audiences, New Endcap Screens

Among other marketing solutions, Kroger’s cross-banner retail media network, Kroger Precision Marketing (KPM), has been rolling out digital endcaps and screens in various sections of Kroger stores. 

Using Dwell Time to Guide the Endcap Rollout

KPM is prioritizing endcap screens in grocery and health & beauty aisles in order to help shoppers discover products and “inspire more dwell time” in those categories.

And as the initiative expands to more locations, average visit duration can help decide where those screens have the most room to work. Between October 2025 and September 2026, the average Kroger visit lasted 24.2 minutes. Shoppers stayed longer in markets like Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC (27.2 minutes), Clarksville, TN-KY (26.7) and Richmond, VA (26.1), and moved through faster in Wheeling, WV-OH (23.2), Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX (23.0) and Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX (22.8).

Shorter visits can reflect many things, from store size and layout to a higher share of quick fill-in trips. Either way, markets and individual stores that fall below the national average could indicate where screens designed to extend browsing have the most room to make a difference by increasing engagement, which could make them good places to prioritize in the rollout. Where digital endcaps are already in place, the same measure can track their impact: comparing average visit duration before and after installation, and against similar stores without screens, would show whether the displays are adding time to the shopping trip.

Different Banners, Different Shopper Audiences

For advertisers, one of KPM’s strengths is its reach across more than a dozen grocery banners, and as the data below shows, each appealing to different shopper segments. In the Riverside, CA metro area, for example, two Kroger chains in the same market – Ralphs and Food 4 Less – drive traffic from distinctly different cohorts. Over the past 12 months in the metro, Ralphs’ trade area had a median household income of $113.6K, compared with $78.6K for Food 4 Less. Meanwhile, Food 4 Less skewed toward larger families: 38.1% of households within its trade area had children and 43.8% had four or more people, compared to 29.6% and 31.4% for Ralphs. This suggests that whether a brand is targeting higher-income shoppers or larger, value-focused families, Kroger’s network can reach them.

Sam’s Club: A Growing Audience, And Retail Media’s Moment at the Pump

Sam’s Club sells its retail media through Sam’s Club Connect (formerly Member Access Platform, or MAP), which includes ad placements across its more than 600 U.S. clubs, including video ads on in-club display screens and audio on Sam’s Club Radio. 

A Growing Audience for Advertisers

Location intelligence shows that what makes Sam’s Club’s retail media stand out for advertisers is the chain’s growing audience. The retailer saw visits and unique visitors increase year-over-year (YoY) in every month from October 2025 through September 2026, indicating that traffic gains came from more shoppers, not just the same shoppers visiting more often. For Sam’s Club Connect, more unique visitors and visits mean a larger audience and more potential impressions, strengthening its position when pitching and pricing campaigns. For advertisers, that growth offers broader reach, along with repeat exposure among shoppers who keep coming back.

Traffic Fuels a New Ad Channel

Sam’s Club’s retail media network isn’t confined to its warehouse clubs. In April 2026, it began selling ads on the screens at its fuel pumps, which operate at more than 500 locations, giving brands a few minutes with members while they refuel. And this step appears to have come at a critical juncture. 

After falling YoY in late 2025, the number of loyal fuel visitors (those who fueled up two or more times in a month) turned upward in early 2026. As average gas prices rose from $2.94/gallon in late February to above $4 by early April, more Sam’s Club members appear to have taken advantage of discounted fuel. Loyal fuel visitors increased by 9.2% YoY in March, 12.8% in April, and 13.7% in May, spiking again by 17.4% in September when prices climbed toward $4.5/gallon. Once-a-month visitors have increased YoY since March 2026 as well, likely as newcomers were drawn to Sam’s Club Fuel.

Driven by higher gas prices, Sam’s Club Fuel is having a moment – and the pump screens seem to have arrived right on time. Growth in casual fuel visitors gives advertisers new reach, while rising loyal visitors deliver repeat exposure, giving Sam’s Club Connect a strong case to make as it pitches its newest channel.

CVS: Consumer Behavior and Strategy Align

CVS Pharmacy offers its retail media through CVS Media Exchange (CMX), and is expanding its in-store advertising offerings – including digital screens in pharmacy waiting areas, on endcaps, and at checkout, along with storewide audio ads.

Retail Media’s Weekday Traffic Opportunity

For most retailers, weekends bring the biggest crowds. If visits were spread evenly across the week, each day would get about 14.3% of them. Between October 2025 and September 2026, discretionary chains, where shoppers are more likely to browse, drew 20.3% of their weekly visits on Saturday alone. Essentials chains such as grocers, superstores and dollar stores also peaked on Saturday, at 16.8%.

CVS, however, flips the pattern. The chain drove an above-average share of visits on every weekday, peaking at 15.8% on Friday, while Saturday (14.0%) and Sunday (11.4%) were its slowest days. Unlike more discretionary shopping trips, visits to CVS are often driven by specific needs, such as picking up prescriptions or restocking household essentials. For advertisers, this means CMX's in-store placements offer opportunities to reach shoppers on purposeful trips throughout the workweek, when much of the retail sector sees a smaller share of its traffic.

Quick Trips, Quick Messages

Alongside this weekday visit pattern, the data also reveals that CVS visits tend to be on retail’s shorter side. More than two-thirds of visits to CVS (68.2%) last under 15 minutes – compared to 40.1% at essentials chains (such as grocers, superstores, and dollar stores) and 28.1% at discretionary retailers (such as apparel, electronics, and sporting good stores).

CVS’s in-store network appears well suited to this pattern. Screens in pharmacy waiting areas reach shoppers during an average wait of 3.5 minutes, while front entrance, endcap, and checkout screens offer opportunities to engage shoppers throughout their visits. Storewide audio, meanwhile, reaches shoppers without requiring them to stop.  For advertisers, this creates opportunities to deliver short, timely messages that align with how CVS customers actually shop.

Three Playbooks, One Common Thread

Kroger, Sam’s Club, and CVS’s media networks each offer a unique value proposition while aligning with the behavior and preferences of their shoppers. Kroger’s broad audience reach and shoppers’ desire for discovery, Sam’s Club’s strong overall visits and discount fuel demand, and CVS’s steady stream of mission-driven weekday shoppers each provide distinct advantages to advertisers. As more screens and audio spread through stores, foot traffic data gives retailers and their advertising partners a way to see who those placements reach, where to put them next, and whether they are working.