Retail media network footfall measurement: prove what in-store media reaches

Online, every impression is reported. In the store, media buys run on estimates and sales totals, because the store is the one channel that never reports its audience. Retail media networks changed the budgets, and footfall measurement is how they can report proof. This page explains what in-store media measurement covers, how it stays anonymous, and what a media buyer gets.

The measurement problem RMNs have

A retail media network sells access to shoppers: screens, shelf placements and in-store campaigns in stores where the buying happens. Online channels attribute every click; the store reports only what was sold. The missing piece is the audience between the door and the till: how many people actually passed the screen, how long they were near it, and whether a campaign lifted footfall while it ran. Measuring that audience lets the network sell proof instead of promises.

What we measure

Bumbee Labs measures the store as a whole and the placements inside it:

• Passers-by and reach: how many people move past each screen and shelf zone, per hour and per day.
• Dwell around placements: how long people stay near a screen or a shelf, which separates a glance from a stop.
• Campaign lift: footfall and dwell before, during and after a flight, so a campaign’s effect is visible against the store’s own baseline.
• Location comparisons: the same metrics across every store, so placements are ranked on measured audience rather than claimed exposure.

How it stays anonymous

The measurement runs on the Wi-Fi network the store already operates. Phones send signals as people move, and the access points pick them up without the shopper installing an app, logging in or doing anything else. Personal data is irrevocably deleted at source, leaving only anonymous, aggregated statistics. It is the only footfall method in Europe approved by a data protection authority, the Swedish IMY. A retail media network can report its audience without opening a camera privacy debate in the store.

Reporting for media buyers

Media buyers get what they use online: reach and frequency, aggregated per location and per flight, with campaign windows read against the store’s own baseline. The same numbers feed rate cards and post-campaign reports, so a placement is priced on measured exposure. How audience numbers become reach and impressions is explained on how DOOH audience measurement works.

Getting started

A retail media network can start with a pilot on a few stores and the network they already run, then roll out across the estate. Book a demo and we’ll show what your screens reach, on a store like yours.