Quad is expanding its In-Store Connect retail media network through a partnership with Chedraui USA that will place digital screens across 25 Smart & Final stores in California this fall. The deployment extends retail media beyond retailer websites and apps into physical shopping environments, giving consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands another advertising channel closer to the point of purchase.
The rollout combines digital signage with Quad’s broader in-store execution capabilities. According to the company, In-Store Connect is designed to help retailers use physical store environments as media inventory while giving brands opportunities to deliver content to shoppers during their store visits. The announcement does not disclose pricing, campaign volume, impression guarantees or specific measurement results.
For Chedraui USA, the parent company behind Smart & Final, the partnership adds a digital layer to an existing relationship with Quad that includes print and production support for weekly circular programs. The new deployment therefore connects traditional retail marketing operations with a digital media format rather than introducing an entirely separate advertising workflow.
From an AdTech perspective, the more significant development is the continued digitization of physical retail inventory. Digital screens can turn locations such as entrances, aisles and checkout areas into addressable media environments, although the value of those placements depends heavily on how exposure, audience opportunity and sales outcomes are measured.
That measurement question is becoming increasingly important as retailers build media businesses around physical stores. The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and IAB Europe have established definitions and measurement standards for in-store retail media covering digital screens, store zones, impression terminology and sales-related metrics.
The standards reflect a broader challenge: in-store media needs measurement practices that advertisers and agencies can compare with other media channels. IAB has also highlighted operational complexity, fragmented standards and limited cross-network comparability as barriers to the maturation of in-store media measurement.
For advertisers, the Smart & Final deployment creates another opportunity to connect media exposure with a physical retail transaction. For Chedraui USA and Smart & Final, the model potentially creates additional media inventory from existing store infrastructure. For agencies, however, the usefulness of these networks will depend on how consistently inventory, audience exposure and downstream sales are reported.
Quad’s expansion also illustrates how retail media is moving toward an omnichannel model in which retailer-owned physical environments complement ecommerce properties and other digital channels. IAB projected retail media spending to grow 15.6% in 2025, more than twice the projected growth rate for overall advertising spend, underscoring the industry’s continuing expansion.
The Smart & Final rollout is therefore less about adding screens alone and more about developing physical retail space as measurable media infrastructure. Its longer-term commercial impact will depend on execution, advertiser adoption and the quality and comparability of the measurement available to buyers.
Market Landscape
Retail media is increasingly extending into physical stores as retailers seek to monetize first-party environments beyond websites and mobile applications. IAB’s in-store standards cover digital screens, audio and connected shopping formats and establish common terminology around ad delivery, impressions and sales measurement.
IAB has separately identified measurement maturity as a major issue for in-store media, citing operational complexity and inconsistent standards. WARC has also reported growing advertiser interest in in-store retail media, including a 2025 survey in which 60% of marketers said they planned to increase in-store retail media spending.
Strategic Outlook
The deployment gives CPG advertisers another physical media touchpoint within a retail environment where purchase decisions occur. For retailers, digital signage can create media inventory from existing store footprints.
The strategic question will increasingly be measurement. Retail media buyers need consistent definitions for impressions and exposure, while retailers and networks need credible methods for connecting advertising activity with sales outcomes. IAB’s recent work on incrementality and in-store measurement reflects that shift toward more rigorous performance evaluation.
Top Insights
- Quad is deploying In-Store Connect across 25 Smart & Final stores in California.
- The network adds digital screens to physical retail environments as advertising inventory.
- The partnership expands an existing Quad-Chedraui USA relationship into digital retail media.
- Measurement standards remain a central issue for scaling in-store advertising.
- CPG advertisers gain another potential media touchpoint close to purchase.
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