Dive Brief:

• Wakefern is placing tech-enabled sampling kiosks in 95 ShopRite and The Fresh Grocer stores following a successful pilot, according to a Wednesday announcement.
• The Freeosk interactive kiosks dispense product samples to shoppers after they scan in with their phone, allowing the system to gather data and see if that trial led to a purchase.
• Freeosk and Wakefern have positioned the kiosks as a way to drive product discovery and build out the retailer’s growing retail media network.

Dive Insight:

As grocers expand their retail media networks, Freeosk’s tech-enabled kiosks offer an example of how companies are trying to boost shopper tracking and monetization inside stores.

To use the terminals, shoppers download the Freeosk app and then scan in at the machine when prompted. They can choose a product from a list of options and then receive a packaged sample from the kiosk.

The system collects data from shoppers and can identify if and when those customers purchase the specific items they tried, thus closing the loop on measurement, according to Freeosk’s website.  

According to Wednesday’s announcement, “Freeosk campaigns generate an average sales lift of over 50%, with 70% of buyers being new to brand and over 20% of converted shoppers repeating purchases post-campaign.”

That offers Wakefern an opportunity to generate revenue from CPG companies by offering an in-store space where they can trial and track new products.

“By capturing the shopper activity, brands are provided transparent measurement and retail media opportunities to engage with emerging and renewed brand users,” said Natalie Menza-Crowe, director of marketing and wellness strategy for Wakefern, in a statement.

Retailers have invested heavily in retail media capabilities, enticed by the opportunity to tap into a market that’s on track to hit more than $45 billion this year and more than $100 billion by 2027, according to Insider Intelligence. 

Many grocers and digital marketplaces now offer sponsored ads and search capabilities on their e-commerce platforms. But in-store retail media is still a relatively untapped market: According to a 2022 retail media report by Merkle cited in the announcement, just 9% of U.S. retail media networks offer in-store digital media for brand campaigns.