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Exclusive: Travel Retailer WHSmith Launches North America Retail Media Network, Plans Significant Store Growth in Region

A WHSmith InMotion store at the Phoenix airport.
A WHSmith InMotion store at the Phoenix airport. (Image courtesy WHSmith)

WHSmith North America (WHSNA) has partnered with commerce media solution SMG to launch a travel-focused in-store retail media network (RMN) that will connect brands with shoppers at the retailer’s more than 347 airport, rail station and resort-based locations in the U.S. and Canada.

WHSNA is part of WHSmith, which operates 1,700 stores across 30 countries. In North America, the company’s primary banners are Marshall Retail Group and InMotion. SMG currently operates six other RMNs in addition to  WHSNA’s, including Asda’s LS Eleven Media Services, Boots Media Group and Morrisons Media Group.

“The launch of WHSmith North America Media Network represents an exciting new chapter for WHSmith North America on our ongoing journey to create more exciting and engaging retail experiences for consumers in travel,” said Toby Keir, CEO of WHSmith North America in a statement. “We’ve been hard at work for the past year with the team at SMG to build this entirely unique retail media offering tailored to the needs of our supplier brands, and we are thrilled to bring it to market in partnership with them. With significant store growth in the pipeline, opportunities for brands will only expand.”

In 2024 WHSmith opened more than 50 new locations in North America, and that expansion is set to continue, with plans to add approximately 50 new stores in the region per year for the next couple of years.

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WHS Media offers advertising activations across a range of touch points to reach travelers throughout their journey, including in-store print, digital and fixture media, as well as offsite activations such as digital display via The Trade Desk, social display via Meta and digital-out-of-home opportunities in physical spaces outside of WHSNA stores.

“Partnering with SMG has enabled us to expand our offering and create a true omnichannel experience by adding channels that reach the shopper throughout their purchasing journey, from before they arrive at the airport to the time they board their plane,” said Stuart Michell, Chief Commercial Officer at WHSNA in an interview with Retail TouchPoints. “We have a unique position in the market versus other retailers. Our core customer is the leisure or business traveler and our store environments are in very specific locations. WHS Media will be the first in the travel sector and will enable brands to interact with 900 million travelers annually at unique moments throughout their journey.”

Add to that the fact that the traveler mindset differs from that of shoppers in other environments. Travelers are outside of their day-to-day routines, which often means they are primed for impulse purchases and more receptive to brand messaging, presenting a significant opportunity for brands to capture incremental awareness and sales.

“WHSmith store locations are in unique settings [that often have] significantly high traffic, especially throughout key moments in the year,” said Sean Crawford, Managing Director of SMG North America in an interview with Retail TouchPoints. “This means we can offer high-awareness opportunities to a broad audience eager to spend at a time where they either need a particular product or are looking to treat themselves to something whilst on vacation. More than 80% of transactions still happen in-store, so this remains our focus, and through our launch of WHS Media we are creating an opportunity to improve that in-store experience for our customers.”

Supported by a number of second- and third-party data sources, WHS Media will offer advertisers advanced targeting options, including behavioral and location-based data. Measurement also will be an integral part of the offering — SMG will measure a range of high-funnel awareness and engagement metrics, as well as employ control exposed sales lift methodology to measure the impact of in-store media. “This allows us to control for external factors outside of the media campaign that could influence sales and ensure that the observed sales lift is attributable to the marketing initiative,” explained Crawford.

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