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Albertsons Retail Media Network in the US (Image: Albertsons)
Albertsons Retail Media Network in the US (Image: Albertsons)

Retail Media: CRI Takes Over Albertsons from Stratacache

Following Stratacache's financial challenges earlier this year, a number of U.S. digital signage vendors have been competing to win over customers from the former market leader. One of the beneficiaries appears to be Creative Realities (CRI), which has secured grocery giant Albertsons as a new retail media customer. The contract was one of several notable updates disclosed during CRI's Q2 investor briefing.

Investor calls are not always a rich source of industry news, but last week’s earnings call provided several insights into CRI’s ongoing expansion strategy. Indirectly the CRI management confirmed, that the Kentucky-based retail digital signage specialists is taking over Albertsons from Stratacache.

The Albertsons win further strengthens the company’s position among the leading retail media and digital signage providers in North America while also serving as an important reference account for future enterprise opportunities.

The existing retail media deployment is already generating results. According to CRI approximately one million ads are currently being served daily across an initial base of 3,000 instore retail media  screens.

The take over of the media network is in full swing. The first phase of the project includes migrating 1,000 Albertsons locations to CRI’s CMS platform by the end of September. To accelerate deployment, the digital signage company is using custom migration scripts to remotely convert existing hardware installations, avoiding costly on-site replacements. 

Positive Outlook for H2 2026

CRI Management also signaled confidence in its business pipeline for the remainder of 2026. According to CRI, market disruption caused by the challenges of a key competitor (Stratacache) continues to create opportunities, with the company expecting to add multiple new enterprise customers on a quarterly basis.

Several major projects are progressing as planned. The Tennessee Titans partnership remains on track, with the majority of the USD 8.5 million digital signage and IPTV deployment revenue expected to be recognized during calendar year 2026.

Meanwhile, CRI is entering full deployment of its AMC Theatres rollout. The project covers 285 cinema locations and is being delivered in partnership with National CineMedia, leveraging CRI’s proprietary CMS and advertising technology platform. Just after the CRI earnings call, NCM announced the acquisition of DooH media owner Captivate which runs its 24.000 screens on an inhouse CMS platform. It remains to be seen what the impact of the NCM/Capitvate merger will have on CRI.

CRI also revealed that it is finalizing contracts with a national wireless retailer operating approximately 900 locations and a quick-service restaurant chain with around 1,000 units. Both projects are expected to include migrations to the CRI software platform.