• Search Engine Land
  • Sections
    • SEO
    • SEM
    • Local
    • Retail
    • Google
    • Bing
    • Social
    • Resources
    • More
    • Home
  • Follow Us
    • Follow
  • Search Engine Land
  • SEO
  • SEM
  • Local
  • Retail
  • Google
  • Bing
  • Social
  • Resources
  • Live
  • More
  • Events
    • Follow
  • SUBSCRIBE

Search Engine Land

Search Engine Land
  • SEO
  • SEM
  • Local
  • Retail
  • Google
  • Bing
  • Social
  • Resources
  • More
  • Newsletters
  • Home
Retail

Cooler Screens is trying to solve digital advertising’s ‘last-mile’ problem

The company offers unique in-store digital merchandising at the point of sale.

Greg Sterling on July 7, 2020 at 5:48 pm
  • More

The future of retail shopping involves the tighter integration of digital and in-store experiences. Online distribution of local product inventory is one example, buy-online-pick-up-in-store (“BOPIS”) is another, Amazon Go’s cashier-free checkout is a third.

Inventory and ads. One of the more interesting examples of bringing digital experiences into physical stores comes from Chicago-based Cooler Screens, which replaces conventional refrigerated-case doors with digital screens that can showcase product inventory inside or display ads dynamically. It’s both an in-store merchandising platform and an ad network.

Cooler Screens’ major retail partner Walgreens piloted the offering initially in six stores in mostly the Chicago area in 2019 and expanded that to 50 stores after a successful test. Walgreens decided to roll out the technology to 2,500 locations based on initial results.

Cooler Screens digital display case

Source: Cooler Screens

Major food and beverage makers. Cooler Screens retrofits existing cooler doors with IoT-enabled displays at no cost to the retailer. (The screens, however, aren’t touch-enabled.) The company’s business model is primarily advertising — retailers get a cut of the revenue — although it may eventually license or sell data to retailers. It’s seeking to grow distribution to other retailers across the U.S. to be able to offer more ad inventory and impressions to brands.

Cooler Screens has so far worked with major advertisers including Coke, Monster, Nestle, Tyson, Conagra, Chobani, Pepsi, Red Bull and a number of others. John Clavadetscher, Cooler Screens’ president, told me that the company now had a roster of roughly 100 brands.

Clavadetscher explained that sales of showcased products at stores using Cooler Screens grew 50% to 100% versus the same products at comparable area stores without Cooler Screens. He also said that there was a lift for brand products located in other parts of the store (e.g., larger, unrefrigerated bottles of Coke). Clavadetscher added that once the full Walgreens rollout takes place advertisers will be able to reach 75 million consumers, “the equivalent of a Super-Bowl ad every month.”

Contextual but not personalized. The displays show full and multi-door ads when no one is within two meters of the case. When customers cross that threshold, the displays switch to a digital representation of in-stock inventory behind the door. Initially the company had contemplated personalizing ads, using cameras and eye-tracking, on the basis of age and gender but has since declined because of privacy concerns.

Advertisers buy placements on CPM basis. The company delivers a variety of analytics such as demographic data, reach and frequency metrics as well as comparable store sales impact. Clavadetscher emphasizes that all impressions are “100% verified” and that the platform doesn’t suffer from brand safety issues.

He argues Cooler Screens helps solve the “last-mile” advertising problem for digital advertisers who’ve had historical trouble reaching offline shoppers. And though in-store ads on mobile phones have been tried, the creative possibilities and scale make this a qualitatively different medium for brands.

Why we care. Despite COVID-19 and the growth of online shopping, in-store sales still accounted for 89% of retail spending in the first quarter of 2020. While we’ll see e-commerce continue to grow at a healthy rate, offline sales will remain dominant well into the foreseeable future if not indefinitely.

There are other digital out-of-home networks, but nothing in the market quite like Cooler Screens. The digital doors offer both an awareness opportunity along with dynamic in-store merchandising at the point of sale.


Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.



About The Author

Greg Sterling
Greg Sterling is a Contributing Editor to Search Engine Land, a member of the programming team for SMX events and the VP, Market Insights at Uberall.

Related Topics

Channel: Retail

We're listening.

Have something to say about this article? Share it with us on Facebook, Twitter or our LinkedIn Group.

Get the daily newsletter search marketers rely on.
See terms.

ATTEND OUR EVENTS

Lorem ipsum doler this is promo text about SMX events.

April 13, 2021: SMX Create

May 18-19, 2021: SMX London

June 8-9, 2021: SMX Paris

June 15-16, 2021: SMX Advanced

August 17, 2021: SMX Convert

November 9-10, 2021: SMX Next

October 2021: SMX Advanced Europe

December 14, 2021: SMX Code

Available On-Demand: SMX

Available On-Demand: SMX Report

×


Learn More About Our SMX Events

Discover actionable tactics that can help you overcome crucial marketing challenges. Our next conference will be held:

MarTech 2021: March 16-17

MarTech 2021: Sept. 14-15

MarTech 2020: Watch On-Demand

×

Attend MarTech - Click Here


Learn More About Our MarTech Events

White Papers

  • The 7 Phases of a Website Redesign
  • Rearchitecting Revenue: Accelerating Demand Through Data
  • Save Your Marketing by Fixing Bad Data, First
  • Precision Demand Generation: Create Meaningful Connections With Your Buyer
  • The Media-First Approach Why visual media must be a primary consideration for e-commerce businesses
See More Whitepapers

Webinars

  • The AI Revolution Is Coming to Every Stage of Your Buyer’s Journey
  • The Fundamentals of Link Building for E-Commerce & Affiliate Sites in 2021
  • Your Customer is Calling: Make the Most of Your Marketing Spend with Call Tracking
See More Webinars

Research Reports

  • Local Marketing Solutions for Multi-Location Businesses
  • Enterprise Digital Asset Management Platforms
  • Identity Resolution Platforms
  • Customer Data Platforms
  • B2B Marketing Automation Platforms
  • Call Analytics Platforms
See More Research

Attend SMX For Only $99

h
Receive daily search news and analysis.

Channels

  • SEO
  • SEM
  • Local
  • Retail
  • Google
  • Bing
  • Social

Our Events

  • SMX
  • MarTech

Resources

  • White Papers
  • Research
  • Webinars

About

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Marketing Opportunities
  • Staff

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Newsletters
  • RSS
  • Youtube

© 2021 Third Door Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

Your privacy means the world to us. We share your personal information only when you give us explicit permission to do so, and confirm we have your permission each time. Learn more by viewing our privacy policy.Ok