Attention Up And Positive Impacts Clear For Poster Marketing Around And In Groceries: German OOH Research

February 25, 2025 by Dave Haynes

As spotted in invidis …

Research by the German Outdoor Advertising Association (FAW) suggests digital screens used around and in supermarkets has just about doubled in recent years, and that overall, attention to posters at the points of shopping decisions and sales are now very high.

FAW is short for a very long, involved German name, so let’s stick with German Outdoor Advertising Association. The organization’s research is based on an online survey of 1,000 adults done in January 2025.

According to the Trend Analysis Media at the Point of Sale 2025, out-of-home media at the point of sale is vey familiar, with 86 percent of consumers having noticed one or more forms of advertising such as posters, digital screens, advertising spaces on shopping carts or in-store radio while shopping. Younger demographics have even higher rates, above 90 percent.

The two most prevalent formats have boosted their attention rates since the last similar study on this, from seven year ago. For posters at the POS, the attention value rose from 67 to 81 percent, and for digital screens on and in a supermarket, from 34 to 66 percent.

The high level of awareness of this kind of media is related to the frequency of visits – 80 percent of people buy groceries at least once a week – and loyalty to particular supermarkets.

The research also suggests this kind of advertising/marketing directly influences purchasing behavior: Almost three quarters of respondents say that it arouses interest in the advertised products or encourages them to buy. 60 percent use it to find out about promotions and special prices, 40 percent to remind them of certain brands.

In the 25 to 34 age group, the latter applies to almost 50 percent. Up to 85 percent of purchases are only partially planned or not planned at all.

The FAW describes out-of-home at the POS as an “ambassador” for retail and the brands present there.

The presentation deck is in German, so if you have command of that language, here you go …

Here’s the formal PR on this:

Trend analysis of media at the point of sale 2025: Large parts of the population are familiar with out-of-home media at the POS and value their role as “ambassadors”. While posters continue to attract high levels of attention, the attention paid to digital screens when shopping is increasing significantly.

Younger target groups can be reached particularly well via out-of-home media in the food retail sector: 95 percent of 25- to 34-year-olds pay attention to advertising at this point of sale (POS). The so-called POS media are already known to a large part of the population. Be it posters in the parking lot or on the supermarket building, digital screens in the store or in its entrance and exit areas, advertising spaces on shopping carts or even the in-store radio – 86 percent of consumers confirm in the recently published “Trend Analysis Media at the Point of Sale 2025” that they have already noticed one or more of these forms of advertising while shopping.

The high level of awareness of POS media is primarily related to the importance of the food retail sector in daily life: four out of five people shop for groceries at least once a week. And almost every second person prefers a nearby supermarket of a particular retail chain. The contact of many consumers with the OOH media established there is correspondingly frequent and regular.

This is also made clear by the latest trend analysis POS media 2025, for which a representative selection of 1,000 adult consumers were surveyed by the market research company Cint GmbH via online interviews in January 2025. With the current analysis, the German Outdoor Advertising Association (FAW) is continuing its observation of the perception and impact of media at the point of sale and is building on the previous studies from 2014 and 2018.

As a comparison of the new results with the previous ones shows, the relevance and acceptance of OOH media at the POS have manifested themselves in recent years. At 86 and 85 percent respectively (2018), attention to advertising media at the point of sale is consistently high. At the same time, attention to the two most important formats has increased significantly in recent years. For posters at the POS, the attention value rose from 67 to 81 percent, and for digital screens on and in the market from 34 to 66 percent, i.e. it has almost doubled. This is where the consistent expansion of locations since 2018 is noticeable.

The effect of advertising at the point of sale on consumers is also still great: for almost three quarters of those surveyed, it arouses interest in the advertised products or encourages them to buy them straight away. Compared to the 2018 study, this value has also increased further and indicates the openness of consumers to advertising impulses immediately before a purchase decision. This is all the more so as up to 85 percent of all purchases are only partially planned or completely unplanned.

POS advertising is rated very positively by its target group. According to the study, people value advertising in the immediate vicinity of their shopping area primarily for information about promotions or special prices (60 percent and more). In addition, around 40 percent say that it reminds them of a certain brand. In the target group of 25 to 34-year-olds, almost one in two people say this today. Out of Home at the POS thus acts as an “ambassador” for retail and the brands present there. Kai-Marcus Thäsler, General Manager of the FAW, sums up: “On the way to and at the POS, OOH plays to one of its great strengths: the powerful visual impulse as a call to action.”

For retail companies, the findings of the new trend analysis result in interesting options for linking OOH media at the POS with the online world. According to the study, almost 80 percent of consumers now have at least one retail app on their smartphone, and most have several. They use them to pay, as a digital receipt and, above all, to always be informed about current offers. Interest in such offers is likely to be high, at least this is suggested by another result of the POS Media 2025 trend analysis. The average cost of buying groceries has risen significantly in recent years. Purchases worth more than 50 euros are now at the top of the frequency scale at 32 percent. In 2018, this was only 18 percent.

Since 2013, the Outdoor Advertising Association has been conducting regular trend studies to provide information on the perception and acceptance of out-of-home media in the various OOH areas and environments. There are trend studies on classic posters, digital out-of-home and transport media, as well as on mobility and media use and the connection between out-of-home and mobile. After the “Corona” years, a trend analysis on public life in inner cities has also been published.