With supermarket entrances as its prime location, Digooh – together with its sister company Inovisco – has carved out a unique niche in the DooH market. The strategy is paying off: around 2,500 digital totems are already installed across Germany, primarily in partnership with grocery chain Edeka. In an exclusive interview with invidis, CEO Alexander Houben explains how Digooh plans to expand its portfolio and why Austria is a key growth market.
Germany: Digooh Targets 10,000 Screens Across DACH
When Alexander Houben founded Inovisco nearly 20 years ago, the goal was simple: bring advertising to locations where it wasn’t possible before. That vision remains unchanged today – even with Digooh, which focuses on digital city-light posters (CLPs) positioned at supermarket entrances, especially Edeka stores.
Digooh operates at the intersection of Retail Media and DooH, a space that’s becoming increasingly competitive as retailers like Rewe deploy their own instore screens. “We are Digital-out-of-Home,” Houben emphasizes. “At the same time, our screens are an integral part of the retail media ecosystem.” Positioned at the store entrance, the totems capture shoppers at a critical moment: “You’ve just stepped out of the car – now the shopping spree begins,” Houben explains.
Dual Role: National and Local
Both companies work hand in hand: Inovisco acts as the national sales house, while Digooh manages local sales and operates the network. With a large logistics hub in Bergheim near Cologne, Digooh handles installation and service across the DACH region. Together, the two firms employ about 150 people.
And business is booming. A retail media partnership with Edeka regional organisation Minden-Hannover, launched in late 2024, accelerated the network rollout significantly. Today, Digooh operates roughly 2,500 totems in Germany, including more than 1,500 at Edeka locations.
The totems are Digooh’s own design, typically featuring 65-inch screens, with options for 55 and 75 inches. “We want to make a bold digital statement,” says Houben. The network runs on a proprietary CMS and is programmatically bookable via more than 15 DSPs.
Combining DooH and retail media, Digooh leverages Edeka’s checkout data for campaign analysis. Unlike most retail media networks, Digooh enjoys flexibility in advertiser selection, limited only by a short blacklist. Studies conducted by the company highlight the effectiveness of this unique placement, which offers strong targeting advantages: Edeka shoppers represent a high-purchasing-power demographic, particularly the 45+ age group – attractive for both endemic and non-endemic brands.
Austria: A Strategic Opportunity
After establishing a strong foothold in Germany, Digooh is expanding into Austria through a partnership with Tyrolian supermarket chain MPreis, equipping 230 stores with 250 screens. This rollout is significant for two reasons:
- It covers an entire retail chain under a single contract, unlike Germany’s fragmented structure with individual Edeka merchants.
- Austria offers a promising market where Digooh can skip the “convincing phase” and move straight to scaling.
Houben hints at ongoing negotiations with other major Austrian retail players but remains tight-lipped on details.
Growth in Germany isn’t just about quantity – it’s about premium placements. At the past Dmexco show, Digooh introduced Prime Retail Entry, a concept featuring two digital totems flanking supermarket entrances. “This transforms store entrances into high-impact advertising spaces,” says Houben. A nationwide network of these locations will be bookable by early 2026.
Additionally, Digooh is adding audio capabilities to 300 selected Edeka stores, enabling advertisers to combine visuals with sound. If successful, this feature could expand to more locations.
Ambitious Goals
Despite evolving formats and technologies, the mission remains the same: make DooH advertising visible in unexpected places. With deeper media expertise and growing reach, Digooh is setting an ambitious target: 10,000 totems across the DACH region. “The potential is there – and not just with Edeka,” Houben concludes.
