What: Retail media networks may soon be judged on their ability to limit ad pressure in stores, with in-store audio as the clearest test case.

Why it is important: Department stores can build in-store media inventory without relying on personal data, at a time when 58.8% of EU internet users refuse advertising use of their data and brands still hold back in-store budgets until effect can be proven.

Writing in Journal du Net, Delphine Privat argues that retail media, after fifteen years of digital hyper-personalisation, is returning to the store, where screens, digital signage, CRM and now audio are making the point of sale addressable. IAB Europe projects European retail media investment to grow 16.7% to €13.3bn in 2025, exceeding 10% of digital advertising for the first time, while in-store screens still attract limited spend and audio ranks among emerging growth channels.

Privat describes audio as an "ambient medium", present everywhere yet never seen, shaping brand perception and atmosphere through music as well as carrying advertising. Its intelligence lies in context rather than identity. Instead of recognising an individual shopper, the system reads time of day, store, department, weather, crowd levels, current promotions, stock availability and recent broadcast history, then decides whether to play a message, swap it for another, or stay silent.

This restraint is presented as a performance criterion. In a 2025 IAB Europe study conducted by Kantar across 12 European markets, 80% of consumers preferred fewer, more relevant ads. Eurostat reports that 58.8% of EU internet users refused advertising use of their personal data in 2025, up 4.5 points from 2023.

IADS Notes: The case for restraint in in-store audio builds on earlier warnings about the store's sound environment: unmanaged background music and overlapping announcements have been shown to shorten visits, lower conversion and increase staff fatigue, with "sonic overload" a particular risk in fashion and specialty retail (The Robin Report, October 2025). The same tension applies to in-store screens, where placements in dwell zones can serve shoppers while those interrupting product selection become visual noise, raising the risk that retail media turns into a revenue grab at the expense of trust (The Robin Report, August 2026). Pressure to monetise is rising: UK online retail media grew 32% to £2bn in the first half of 2026, overtaking digital out-of-home (Internet Retailing, October 2026). Yet more than 99% of European retail media spend remains online because brands invest where they can prove effect, prompting IAB Europe to propose a zone-based measurement framework for in-store inventory (Inside Retail, September 2026). A contextual model that needs no personal data also fits consumer expectations on privacy: two-thirds of consumers say they would stop doing business with a company that sold their data without consent, and 62% are more loyal to brands that explain their privacy practices clearly (Customer Experience Dive, July 2026).

In-store audio: what if the next revolution in retail media was invisible?