The majority of retail transactions still happen inside physical stores, but are the media environments within those spaces connected to the sophisticated targeting capabilities available online?
T-Mobile Advertising Solutions is now positioning itself as a bridge between the two worlds, offering retailers a turnkey system to transform their stores into “addressable media environments.”
“I think in-store media plays an important role in the customer experience,” said August Hanson, director and GM of retail media at T-Mobile Advertising Solutions, in this video interview with Beet.TV at the IAB Connected Commerce Summit. “It gives brands and retailers an opportunity to reach customers at that point of purchase.”
Running 10,000 stores as a proving ground
The company operates its own retail footprint. With 10,000 T-Mobile stores already running in-store media, Hanson argued the company understands both retailer pain points and advertiser expectations from direct experience.
The technical backbone relies on the Vistar Media platform, acquired by T-Mobile in 2023, combined with connected media players containing SIM cards that link to T-Mobile’s network. But Hanson emphasized that technology alone does not solve the problem.
“We also offer a full-stack solution where we provide end-to-end for implementation and operations,” he said. “That includes planning for go-to-market, network configuration, retail construction. We have measurement, creative services, break-fix maintenance.”
Proving the screens actually work
The persistent challenge for in-store media has been measurement. Unlike digital advertising, where clicks and conversions can be tracked precisely, proving that a screen in aisle five influenced a purchase requires more elaborate methodology.
T-Mobile uses a matched-pair approach, dividing stores into test and control groups with similar characteristics. The system combines verified impression data with point-of-sale information, then applies linear regression modeling to identify sales lift.
“We bring that back to our brands and help them understand what content is driving increased purchase behavior,” Hanson said. The approach reflects broader industry efforts to bring digital-style accountability to physical retail environments, a prerequisite for convincing brands to shift budgets toward in-store channels.
Omnichannel ambitions beyond the store
Hanson positioned in-store media as one component of a larger omnichannel strategy rather than a standalone channel. The goal is connecting retail media inside stores with online advertising, offsite campaigns and what he called “near-store” digital out-of-home placements.
“Our goal is to have an omnichannel experience where retail media in-store is not a one-off channel off to the side, but part of a bigger set of solutions or media channels that brands can use to reach customers,” he said. “I think it’s absolutely important that those pieces are working together.”
The U.S. retail media market is projected to reach $52.2 billion by 2026, according to eMarketer, accounting for roughly 20% of total digital ad spending. That growth has intensified competition among technology providers seeking to help retailers capture advertising dollars.
Edge computing as the next frontier
Hanson identified edge computing as the technology he is watching most closely. The concept involves pushing decision-making to individual screens rather than relying on centralized servers, enabling real-time optimization based on local conditions.
“Think of a screen inside of a store that understands where it is and has localization rules for it, whether that’s specific to the community or to the customers in that store,” he said.
Such systems could automatically adjust copy, color and creative templates based on real-time sales data, optimizing content without human intervention. “It can make decisions around different creative templates to determine what’s the best and use real-time sales data to optimize that,” Hanson said.
You’re watching coverage from IAB Connected Commerce Summit 2026. For more videos from this series, please visit this page.
