Proximity is Retail’s Next Growth Lever

Retailers have spent the past several years optimizing for efficiency. Lower acquisition costs, clearer attribution, tighter dashboards. Digital channels delivered speed, precision and performance, so budgets followed. But as commerce becomes more connected and competitive, retailers are rediscovering a simple truth: purchase decisions do not happen only on screens.

Shoppers move fluidly throughout their day. They scroll while waiting in line, pass storefronts during their commute, notice promotions near shopping districts, and later search for those same products on their phones. Influence builds across these layered interactions long before a click appears in a report. That reality is why proximity is re-emerging as a powerful growth lever.

Connected commerce is no longer just about integrating systems and syncing data. It's about connecting moments. Awareness, consideration, and purchase now overlap continuously across physical and digital environments. Within that overlap, the physical world plays a far more influential role than many retailers once acknowledged.

Research shows that nearly seven in 10 adults notice out-of-home (OOH) advertising on their way to a store, and 42 percent say it influences their in-person purchase decisions. At the same time, marketers increasingly see OOH as a critical part of commerce-driven media strategies, not just a top-of-funnel awareness channel. OAAA and Winterberry Group’s study highlights how connected commerce investments are expanding across both digital and physical environments as brands look to reach consumers earlier in the purchase journey and beyond retailer-owned platforms. Together, these trends reinforce OOH’s role in bridging physical presence with retail media and digital campaigns, influencing shoppers in the moments and places where purchase decisions are already taking shape.

When consumers encounter messaging near where they shop, it reinforces relevance at the point of decision. It strengthens memory and anchors brands in the environments where transactions occur. When those real-world touchpoints work alongside retail media networks, digital campaigns, and in-store experiences, the impact multiplies. Proximity doesn't compete with retail media. It strengthens it by driving high-intent shoppers into the ecosystems where retail media converts.

Retailers are also navigating a more complex growth environment. Digital acquisition costs continue to climb. Competition for attention is intense. Strong engagement metrics don't always translate into sustained customer value. Reaching new audiences efficiently while still driving meaningful action has become more difficult, particularly within saturated platforms. In that environment, proximity offers a practical advantage by influencing high-intent consumers in real-world settings without relying exclusively on crowded digital channels.

The medium itself has evolved significantly. Advances in digital formats and programmatic buying allow OOH to be planned and activated alongside other performance channels rather than siloed as a brand-only investment. Retailers can support store openings, product launches, seasonal promotions, and retail media initiatives in specific markets with greater precision than ever before.

Physical and digital are no longer separate strategies. They operate together within the same customer journey.

For retail leaders, the opportunity is not about shifting budget from one channel to another. It's about recognizing that influence is cumulative and context-driven, often beginning well before a search query and continuing well after a first visit. Retailers that integrate physical presence into their performance strategy will capture demand earlier, influence decisions closer to purchase, and strengthen the entire retail media ecosystem around them.

In a competitive retail environment, proximity isn't nostalgia. It's a growth strategy.

Patrick Dolan is the COO of the Out of Home Advertising Association of America, a trade association representing all out-of-home media formats in the United States.