See how retail media can be used to engage shoppers over the key Christmas period.
As we plunge headlong into the golden quarter, despite plans being baked in many, many months ago, thoughts are turning to how well assorted shopper marketing and retail media activations will land in-store.
On the face of it, there is no difference between retail media in the run-up to Christmas as opposed to any other time of year: the key objectives and vehicles are visibility, adjacency, impulse, collaboration, shopper incentives, promotions, NPD and digital. Some activations are good, some are mediocre, and some are somewhere in between
What is different, though, is the commercial importance of these three months as well as the immensely crowded playing field of manifold brands vying for attention in an environment where shoppers have both unparalleled choice and a sharp eye on their purse strings.
At the time of writing, we are already seeing Christmas activations landing in store competing for attention with Halloween, Diwali, the latest season of Celebrity Traitors, some lingering back-to-school and a flurry of NPD and competitions. Clearly this sensory clutter will thin out to some extent as we enter the festive run-in with a purer focus on Christmas and, to a lesser extent, New Year's Eve.
What is always fascinating is to see the different strategies in play, often fairly distinct since some brands that are seeking to get into the basket have year-round appeal (e.g. gravy, beer), while others have much more specific demand focused almost exclusively around the Yuletide bonanza (e.g. Advent calendars, lesser-spotted liqueurs). So, for the brands that only get one shot at it each year, the stakes are fairly high, while for others it is less make-or-break.
Sometimes the only, sometimes the best way to look forward is to look backwards: what did we see ahead of Christmas 2025 that might give some insight into what we might see for Christmas 2026?
HFSS
It has become abundantly clear that HFSS compliance has become a distant memory. With zero consequences for non-compliance, the confectionery gloves were already off last year and will be even more so this year. We’ve already spotted gondola ends groaning under the weight of chocolate tubs, confectionery FSDUs literally and metaphorically all over the shop and even some displays in and around checkouts.
Non-food
Although the focus is clearly on food and drink, there were some pleasing non-food grocery activations last year in categories such as health & beauty (gifting and medicines) and household (air care, toilet tissue).
Shopper incentives
There were plenty of these last year with assorted contests (often in partnership with loyalty schemes) and freebies (baubles and glasses from BWS were at the forefront).
Gifting
At the risk of stating the obvious, gifting is key, and this was communicated well in confectionery and BWS, the latter often boosted by flourishes such as special packaging or customizable gifting sleeves.
Front-of-store
Getting in shoppers’ heads early in the journey is paramount, and this was often achieved via front-of-store displays (the Coke truck did well here) as well as digital screens.
Reminders
Plenty of exhortations such as ‘don’t forget’ and ‘remember the…’ were in play as brands were keen to ensure that shoppers were not left without key festive essentials such as key food items, batteries and tin foil.
All the trimmings
There was plenty of endeavour from brands keen to ensure their participation in the main Christmas meal (gravy, custard, stuffing, etc.)
Collaborations
Mainly to be seen between spirits and mixers; brands joining forces created a nice solution for shoppers.
Seasonal clarity
Something of a lose-lose scenario for brands; there was plenty of prevarication in comms on point-of-sale. Some brands went all in with ‘Christmas’ while others proceeded with a more inclusive ‘holidays’ or ‘season’.
Digital
There were several examples of brands using QR codes to add a digital dimension, plus no shortage of activations on digital screens and scan-as-you-shop handsets.
Regardless of how it pans out this Christmas, IGD will very much enjoy documenting the in-store activations.