By Anton Jovanovic (CEO) Neo Self Service Solutions
The Retail Media Problem: Dumb Screens Are a Missed Opportunity
The rise of retail media has brought a wave of digital screens into store environments – but too many are still being used as static, one-way surfaces.
They’re:
• Playing looped content
• Offering no interaction
• Delivering no data
They may look smart – but functionally, they’re dumb.
And worse: they’re easy to ignore.
In high-stimulus retail environments, the human brain filters out what it doesn’t need. If a screen offers no relevance, no utility and displays the same content regardless of who’s watching or when – it simply becomes part of the wallpaper. Just another background surface.
This is the real missed opportunity in retail media: the chance to turn every screen into a living, responsive brand experience that demands attention because it offers something valuable.
Why Static Screens Are No Longer Enough
Most in-store retail media still follows an old model: passive displays pushing the same message to everyone, regardless of who they are or what they need. There’s:
• No engagement
• No feedback loop
• No connection to broader customer strategy
Across the country, thousands of digital screens are being rolled out in retail settings – from convenience to supermarkets, specialty to hardware. It’s part of a broader trend, with Australia’s retail media sector projected to reach $2.1 billion by 2026. But without interactivity, this growing network risks becoming visual clutter.
The next step is true interactivity: experiences that adapt in real time to who’s in front of them, what they’re doing, and how they’ve engaged before.
Retail Media Shouldn’t Just Be a Billboard
Retailers already sit on rich first-party data and established customer loyalty programs. Why not use that to power experiences that:
• Recognise loyalty members and recommend relevant offers
• Help customers navigate choice through guided discovery
• Respond to behaviour in real time (pause, dwell, scan)
• Capture preference data in the moment, not after the fact
This isn’t just about monetising ad space. It’s about deepening the relationship between customer and brand – using interactive design to embed messaging within experiences people actually want to use.
Engagement First. Media Second.
Here’s the shift in mindset:
Don’t build a media screen that people might interact with.
Build an experience people want to interact with – that also carries media.
When customers engage with something meaningful – a digital sommelier, a recipe advisor, a colour consultant – the messaging built into that experience lands harder. It earns attention, not just demands it.
And it’s remembered.
From Awareness to Loyalty: The Engagement Ladder
At NEO, we talk often about the “engagement ladder” – the levels on which smart platforms can operate:
• Discovery – Helping customers understand their options quickly and clearly
• Assistance – Bridging the information gap in moments of uncertainty
• Personalisation – Relevance, not noise
• Loyalty – Making people feel known, valued and rewarded
Most retail media stops at awareness. But the real value lives higher up.
The Way Forward
Retailers and brands face a choice:
Stick with surface-level screens – or transform them into true brand platforms.
Here’s what it takes:
• Rethink what a screen is for – Not just a billboard, but a two-way window
• Use data better – Not just to target ads, but to build richer, more helpful experiences
• Design for interaction – Even small gestures (tap, scan, select) signal attention and intent
It’s not about more screens.
It’s about smarter ones.
