Do Screens Actually Work? Here’s What the Data Says
Most if not all conversations about in-store screens eventually reach the question: “How do I prove this is worth the investment?”
It’s a fair question. Aside from shopper engagement, you need to attribute clear revenue before signing off on a capital expenditure for displays across dozens or hundreds of locations.
Proving in-store screen sales lift is not as straightforward as measuring online ads. The good news: there’s a growing body of independent research that answers the question with real numbers.
91.5% of Grocery Purchases Still Happen In-Store
Despite the growth of ecommerce, physical stores are still where the majority of buying happens. According to eMarketer, 91.5% of food and beverage purchases still occur in stores. Here, screens and advertising can reach consumers at or near point of sale, closing the gap between awareness and conversion.
In-Store Screens Drive Measurable Sales Lift
The incrementality measurement framework compares similar stores (exposed vs. control) to quantify the causal lift. Major retail media networks are now adopting this approach, for example, in a recent campaign for Mondelez, Albertsons Media Collective demonstrated a 14% lift in in-store sales with a $2.41 incremental return on ad spend (iROAS) across 116 locations in a campaign using in-store digital screens.
A Bigger Effect with In-Store Activations
When in-store screens are combined with experiential activations such as product sampling or demos, industry campaign data led to a 3x sales lift compared with the same-store sales growth year-over-year.
Screens can be an amplifier for everything else happening in your store.
In-Store Video Ads Increase Purchase Probability by 8.1%
A field study published in the Journal of Marketing analyzed 237 advertising campaigns across 30 million shoppers. Researchers found that digital signage boosts purchase likelihood of featured products on average by 8.1%, but the impact doesn’t stop there. Shoppers exposed to in-store digital ads were also more inclined to purchase other products from the same brand, creating a brand halo effect. The study also estimates that brands would earn an average gross ROI of 21%.
Screens Deliver Results
According to 2025 market research, retailers experienced a 29.5% increase in sales and a 52% boost in ad recall after implementing in-store screens. Additionally, 70% of customers said digital signage influenced their purchasing decisions.
So How Do You Prove It for Your Screens?
The data makes a compelling case for in-store screens in general. So, the next step is to validate it for your specific environment. The best way is to run a pilot with a clear measurement framework in place: baselines, matched store sets, the right metrics, and a realistic testing window.
We built a practical guide that walks through how to do this, from sizing your audience to running A/B tests and sales lift analysis that give stakeholders the confidence for a full rollout.
