Glossary of Terms

Here are terms commonly used in the in-store retail media industry:

A

• Ad Exchange: A digital marketplace where advertisers and publishers buy and sell ad space in real-time.
• Ad Inventory: The total amount of space available for advertisements on an in-store retail media network.
• Ad Network: A platform that connects advertisers with publishers to facilitate the buying and selling of ad space.
• Ad Server: Technology that delivers ads to in-store activation points and tracks their performance.
• Attribution: The process of identifying which in-store activation points in a customer journey contributed to a conversion or sale.
• Audience Segmentation: The process of dividing an audience into smaller groups based on specific criteria, such as demographics or behavior.

B

• Brand Safety: Measures taken to ensure that ads do not appear in inappropriate or harmful contexts.

C

• Campaign Management: The process of planning, executing, tracking, and analyzing retail media and merchandising campaigns.
• Campaign Management System (CMS): Software used to create, manage, and modify digital content on digital signage networks.
• Conversion Rate: The percentage of users who take a desired action, such as making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter.

D

• Digital Asset Management (DAM) system: A technology solution that organizes and manages creative digital assets used in retail media and merchandising.
• Digital Signage: Electronic displays used to show information, advertisements, and other content in public spaces.
• Dwell Time: The amount of time a customer spends engaging with an ad or content.
• Dynamic Content: Content that changes based on certain conditions, such as time of day, weather, or audience demographics.

E

• Engagement: The level of interaction and involvement a user has with an ad or content.

F

• Foot Traffic: The number of people who enter a retail location, often measured to gauge the effectiveness of in-store advertising.

G

• Geofencing: A location-based service that uses GPS or RFID to define geographical boundaries and trigger actions when a device enters or exits the area.
• Geotargeting: Delivering content or advertisements to users based on their geographic location.

H

• Heatmap: A visual representation of data showing areas of high and low activity, often used to analyze user interactions with digital content.

I

• Impression Share: The percentage of total impressions that an ad receives compared to the total available impressions.
• Impressions: The number of times an ad plays calculated with how imp. 
• Intent Engine: Our technology that focuses on predicting intent of shoppers across our network. This is accomplished through processing numerous data points about shopper behavior, products, and real-time context. The Intent Engine powers capabilities during planning, delivery, optimization, and more.
• Interactive Display: A digital screen that allows users to interact with the content through various sensors.

K

• Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Metrics used to evaluate the success of an advertising campaign or business objective.

M

• Media Buying: The process of purchasing ad space and time on various platforms to reach a target audience.
• Media Player: A device that stores and plays digital content on digital signage screens.
• Measurement: The process of quantifying the effectiveness of an advertising campaign through various metrics.
• Multichannel Marketing: Using multiple channels, such as email, social media, and in-store displays, to reach and engage customers.

N

• Native Advertising: Ads that match the look, feel, and function of the media format in which they appear.

O

• Omnichannel: A seamless and integrated customer experience across multiple channels and touchpoints.
• Optimization: The process of enhancing the effectiveness and maximizing peformance of in-store advertising and merchandising.

P

• Privacy by Design: A framework based on proactively embedding privacy into the design and operation of IT systems, networked infrastructure, and business practices. Cooler X is the first retail media technology platform to adopt this framework.
• Programmatic Advertising: The automated buying and selling of ad space using software and algorithms.
• Programmatic Buying: The use of automated technology to buy and sell ad space in real-time.
• Proof of Play: Verification that an ad was displayed as scheduled on an in-store retail media and merchandising network.

R

• Real-Time Bidding (RTB): A method of buying and selling ad impressions in real-time through an auction-based system.
• Reach: The total number of unique individuals who are exposed to an advertisement.

S

• Sales Lift: An increase in sales as a result of a retail media and merchandising campaign.

T

• Targeting: The practice of directing advertisements to specific audiences based on various factors, such as retail location, in-store location, or audience segments.

U

• User Experience (UX): The overall experience a customer has when interacting with a product or service, including ease of use and satisfaction.