Retailers are expanding into advertising, fintech services, and data monetisation as intensifying competition puts pressure on product margins.
FairPrice Group has deployed about 3,000 smart trolleys across selected stores ahead of a wider rollout planned for 2027, linking carts to shopper app accounts to personalise ads and offers.
Speaking at the Retail Asia Summit 2026 in Singapore, Sanjay Singh, senior vice president for the Investor Transformation group at Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific, said retail media can become a profit engine for physical stores by connecting demand, inventory, payments, and fulfilment.
Smart Carts and Targeted Health Campaigns
Grocery operators are using point-of-sale data to sell brand campaigns inside physical aisles. Rajiv Singh, head of the retail media network at FairPrice Group, said an in-store initiative run with Singapore’s Health Promotion Board shifted 12 percent of approximately 500,000 targeted shoppers toward lower-sodium product alternatives. The state health agency is now doubling the budget and scale of the campaign.
Ad deals are benchmarked on incremental return. The grocer measures exact sales generated per marketing dollar spent. Linking smart shopping trolleys directly to the FairPrice mobile app allows the chain to trigger personalized promotions as shoppers navigate aisles.
Packaged goods manufacturers gain direct access to verified purchase histories through these retailer-owned networks. Brands pay premiums for verified basket conversions rather than broad digital impressions across open web platforms.
Extending Sales Windows Beyond the Store
Duty-free and department store operators are adjusting checkout rules to capture spending outside physical premises. The Shilla Duty Free now allows travelers to purchase merchandise via the iShopChangi platform up to 30 days after their trip, according to Joanne Soh, head of consumer marketing and e-commerce at the travel retailer.
A wider post-travel purchasing window lets airport retailers recover sales lost to tight flight schedules and carry-on luggage limits. Physical airport storefronts become discovery showrooms backed by centralized domestic delivery.
Department store operator Metro Singapore is reallocating floor space toward targeted customer problems. Henry Christian, head of loyalty, marketing and partnerships at Metro Singapore, pointed to the retailer’s Sleep Lab concept, launched on World Sleep Day on 15 March. The format evaluates brand participation and customer discussions alongside standard sales volumes.
Micro Occasions and Quick Commerce Channels
Food makers are mining retailer transaction data to generate sales outside traditional peak holidays. Kenneth Lau, global digital commerce excellence lead at Mondelēz International, said digital commerce accounts for roughly 41 percent of the company’s sales this year. That channel delivers 61 percent of its total growth.
In China, Mondelēz partnered with on-demand delivery giant Meituan to target office afternoon tea breaks, tailoring Oreo product selections specifically for immediate local fulfillment. The confectionery group also created an exclusive digital-commerce gift box for its BTS brand collaboration priced at about $15, selling out 20,000 packs on Shopee across Southeast Asia within seven days.
Furniture retailer Castlery is focusing investments strictly on measurable omni-channel systems. Leah Howatson, general manager for international markets at Castlery, said the company synchronizes online shopping carts with physical store systems so staff can complete purchases started online, while scaling back curated experiential events that failed to deliver adequate return on investment.
Balancing Capital Outlays Against Ad Revenue
Retail media networks are creating a split between high-volume grocers and discretionary specialty chains. Supermarket operators control the recurring transaction volume required to justify in-store screens, trolley hardware, and data infrastructure. Discretionary chains lack that visit frequency. They struggle to build ad scale, forcing them to focus on cart synchronization and extended checkout windows instead.
Physical rollouts still face operational hurdles from hardware maintenance, screen vandalism and basement mobile network dead zones. Retailers that over-invest in in-store hardware without securing long-term brand ad commitments risk adding capital costs without lifting net margins.
Attention now turns to FairPrice’s planned 2027 fleet expansion for smart carts across its full Singapore footprint, which will test whether ad-supported trolley systems generate sustainable yields across suburban store formats.
