New York City | The days leading up to NRF, the invidis-newsdesk has been flooded with announcements that all point in the same direction: audience measurement has become the defining topic of retail media networks.
NRF 2026: The Year of Audience Measurement
Within the space of a single afternoon, Walmart Mexico selected Advertima for audience insights, Samsung VXT announced its integration of Blinc, Florida-based C‑store RMN Eye Catch Media anchored its proposition on Quividi analytics while Albertsons relies on Stratacache’s inhouse tech stack. These are not isolated cases and, if history is any guide, they are only the start of a wave of similar deals heading into 2026.
What is striking, however, is not just the volume of activity but the diversity of approaches. Some vendors pursue deep platform integration, embedding measurement logic directly into CMS and ad‑tech stacks. Others deliberately position measurement as a complementary layer, augmenting existing networks without touching core infrastructure.
The common denominator is clear: verified audiences and attention metrics are now table stakes. How retailers and vendors architect their measurement stacks, unified or modular, may become one of the key strategic differentiators of the next retail media growth cycle.
Op-Ed: Integration Is Not Convergence: What Walmart Mexico’s Advertima Rollout Really Tells Us
When major retailers roll out new technology, the digital signage industry’s reflex is to bundle everything into a single narrative of “platform convergence.” Walmart Mexico’s recent deployment of Advertima alongside its existing Navori-based digital signage network is a good example of why that reflex is often misleading.
Yes, Advertima is now present in Walmart Mexico stores. No, this does not mean the digital signage stack is being replaced, re-architected or “upgraded” in the way many observers might assume. In fact, the move underlines a far more pragmatic – and arguably more mature – approach to in-store technology.
Complement, Don’t Replace
At Walmart Mexico, Advertima’s retail analytics complements the existing Navori-powered digital signage network. The emphasis here is on complement. Content management, playback and media operations remain firmly within the Navori environment. Advertima’s role is focused on providing live data to Walmart’s retail media network – understanding shopper behavior, merchandise interaction, movement patterns and in-store dynamics.
Based on Advertima-generated shopper insights Walmart Mexico gains necessary data point to prove effectiveness of the instore network. This approach provides highly valuable shopper patterns and trends but does not link to the specific playout of an ad.
The Bigger Picture
What makes this case interesting is not the technology itself, but the governance model behind it. Walmart Mexico shows that retailers can layer advanced analytics onto existing digital signage networks without vendor lock-in, without disrupting content operations and without turning every innovation project into an architectural upheaval.
In an industry still obsessed with convergence, this is a reminder that integration does not mean unification. Sometimes, the smartest strategy is simply to let each system do what it does best – and make sure they can coexist gracefully.
Alternatively, ISVs like Navori also provide fully integrated analytics under one roof. RMN media owner can attribute the viewership to the ads that are playing instore in a way that is accurate and “out of the box” from one supplier. While Advertima is an audience measurement pure-play, they are partnering with Grassfish for a combined RMN offering.
