McKinsey estimates retail media will grow by around 20% annually between 2025 and 2028, with EBIT margins of around 70%, making it one of the most profitable growth opportunities available to grocers.
But while retail media is most mature in eCommerce, physical stores still account for the majority of retail transactions - almost 80% of global retail sales in 2025, according to Forrester.
Iceland recently highlighted how quickly retail media is evolving, noting that investment is growing four times faster than traditional advertising. Their in-store trials demonstrate what is possible when retailers connect physical and digital touchpoints. By linking 11 digital touchpoints across each store and combining them with sensor data, Iceland is already creating measurable advertising opportunities throughout the customer journey.
Brands are now recognising that if most purchasing happens in-store, that's where many of the biggest retail media opportunities still exist.
Digital screens, electronic shelf labels, smart carts and in-store audio are transforming supermarkets into advertising networks. Yet one of the highest-engagement retail media channels already exists, and most retailers aren't monetising it: the digital receipt.
Retail media allows retailers to monetise their own channels by enabling brands and suppliers to advertise directly to shoppers.
Traditionally, this has meant sponsored products, search placements and banner advertising across retailer websites and apps. As third-party cookies continue to disappear due to mounting privacy regulations (like GDPR), first-party data has become one of retail’s most valuable assets. Retailers who can identify customers, understand shopping habits and deliver personalised experiences are in a far stronger position to grow both customer loyalty and retail media revenue.
In an extremely competitive grocery sector, huge investment is going into maximising retail media revenue generation, but naturally, the ability to replicate retail media opportunities in-store is a lot harder than online - and requires significant change and investment. Digital displays, hardware, content management and ongoing maintenance can also be difficult for many retailers to roll out at scale.
(Pic credit: Grocery Gazette)
Grocery is in a unique position when it comes to retail media. With hundreds of brands competing for shelf space and shopper attention, retailers already have the supplier relationships and customer traffic needed to build successful retail media networks.
Digital receipts offer another way to extend retail media without relying on expensive in-store hardware. They offer retailers a highly engaged communication channel after the purchase has been made. With average open rates of more than 75%, digital receipts create new opportunities for suppliers to promote complementary products, personalised offers and sponsored content at a time when shoppers are already highly engaged with the retailer's brand.
Every in-store transaction already generates a receipt. Traditionally, however, that interaction ended with a paper receipt at the checkout. Digital receipts change that by extending the customer journey beyond the store, creating a valuable owned media channel, which reaches customers immediately after a purchase, when their interaction with the brand is still fresh, and engagement is naturally high.
Unlike many traditional advertising channels, digital receipts also provide clear measurement and attribution, giving retailers and brands valuable insights into which content resonates and how campaigns influence customer behaviour.
Perhaps most importantly, shoppers are already embracing digital receipts. According to Yocuda research, 71% of UK grocery shoppers choose a digital receipt when offered one in-store. That figure rises to 81% among customers who shop for groceries every day, highlighting a clear shift towards more convenient, sustainable and digitally connected shopping experiences.
However, simply having another marketing channel isn't enough. What makes digital receipts such a powerful retail media opportunity is the relevance of the content they deliver.
One of retail media's greatest strengths is its ability to deliver relevant, personalised content. The more closely a message reflects a customer's interests or recent purchase, the more likely they are to engage with it. And therein lies digital receipts’ greatest strength, as they help connect physical stores with digital retail media in a way few other channels can.
Unlike traditional in-store advertising, digital receipts are powered by real transaction data rather than assumptions or browsing behaviour. Because retailers know exactly what each customer has purchased, they can deliver dynamic, personalised content that feels genuinely relevant, whether that's complementary product recommendations, supplier-funded promotions, loyalty rewards or exclusive offers.
For example, a shopper purchasing ingredients for a BBQ, such as burgers and buns, could receive:
Likewise, for someone buying nappies, the receipt could include:
…all within the receipt they were already planning to open.
This level of relevance is difficult to achieve with traditional in-store advertising, where every shopper sees the same campaign regardless of their interests or purchase history.
Retail media has fundamentally changed how brands reach consumers online, and it's clear digital receipts are already becoming a valuable way for retailers and brands to engage customers after a purchase in-store.
Grocery retailers are already well placed to benefit. They have the supplier relationships, dedicated retail media teams and huge volumes of in-store purchases. The opportunity is to create new high-value inventory that brands want to buy within digital receipts.
Every receipt becomes another targeted, measurable advertising opportunity, creating a new high-margin revenue stream without the cost of rolling out additional in-store hardware.
One thing we do know about the future is that digital receipts will continue to replace paper receipts in the grocery sector, with 85% of grocery shoppers expecting fewer or no paper receipts within five years, rising to 93% among customers who shop in a grocery store daily.
With digital receipts, the customer journey continues beyond the checkout. So does the retail media opportunity.
To incorporate digital receipts into your retail media strategy, book a demo with Yocuda below: