The Great Paradox of the Advertising Market: While Most Purchases Happen in Stores, Why Does Most Ad Revenue Still Come from the Internet?

While the majority of purchases still take place in physical stores, in-store advertising accounts for a very small portion of retailers' advertising revenue. According to a report by MarketScale, which relies on an assessment by Omdia, only about 5% of retail media advertising revenue comes from inside physical stores. At the same time, in the second quarter of 2026, only 17.1% of retail sales in the United States were conducted via the internet. These two numbers raise an important question: if most people buy in stores, why does in-store advertising still make up such a small fraction of ad revenue? For example, a customer goes to a supermarket to buy shampoo. In front of the shelf, they see several brands and decide right there which one to buy. If they see a relevant ad in that exact spot, it is likely to influence their choice. Therefore, physical stores can be a crucial opportunity for marketing professionals, because advertising in that space reaches the customer when they are close to the purchasing decision. However, there is a significant hurdle: how do we know that in-store advertising actually led to an increase in sales? So the lesson of this news for marketing professionals is: «Advertising shouldn't just be where people are looking; it must also be present where people make their purchasing decisions.»