Verve’s Strategic Push into Physical Retail Media
Verve, long known for mobile location advertising and CTV capabilities, is accelerating into physical retail media under the Verve Retail Media banner. The recent acquisition of DooH operator Viewento signals a clear intent to bridge digital reach with in-store touchpoints and to build a scalable, measurable retail media business.
Building a Unified In-Store Media Network
Verve presents a full-stack proposition that covers multiple in-store surfaces: entrance and foyer screens, shopping cart displays, shelf-level digital units, self-checkout and queue screens, and mobile coupon delivery. The pitch to retailers is simple: one partner, one platform, and a single commerce-to-ad stack that standardizes content delivery, campaign measurement, and billing across sites.
Removing Investment Barriers for Retailers
A defining element of Verve’s model is to assume the capital cost of hardware and installation. By funding screens and associated infrastructure, Verve reduces the upfront barrier that has held many retailers back from rolling out coherent in-store networks. That CAPEX-backed approach also enables rapid network scaling and consistent telemetry. Real-time audience signals and anonymous shopper metrics may come through integrations with analytics partners such as Advertima, allowing advertisers to buy audiences with store-level attribution.
Reshaping the Retail Media Landscape
Verve combines ad-tech scale, data capabilities, and a capital-intensive rollout plan. In a market fragmented by bespoke installs and siloed vendors, a funded, standards-driven network could push the sector toward more professionalized buying, measurement, and pricing. For retailers, the model promises new revenue streams from footfall. For advertisers, it offers a path to reach and measure in-store audiences in ways that mirror digital buys. In Europe, where in-store activation lags compared with online retail media, Verve’s push could accelerate adoption and create a more uniform market for in-store advertising.
Verve’s strategy is not without execution risk. Success will depend on operator relationships, hardware uptime, privacy-compliant data flows, and convincing advertisers to shift budget into physical touchpoints. If those pieces fall into place, the company may help standardize how brands buy and measure advertising on the retail floor.
