The Retail Battleground: In-Store Advertising as Big Alcohol’s Last Frontier
The alcohol industry relies heavily on in-store advertising to secure sales and bypass increasingly comprehensive and evidence-based alcohol advertising limits. While digital and traditional media spaces face rising scrutiny, in-store promotions remain a powerful and largely underregulated marketing channel for alcohol companies.
According to a commercial analysis by Bizcommunity, Smart Media, a retail media agency with over 20 years of experience, positions in-store promotions as critical for influencing alcohol purchases at the final point of decision. This strategy allows alcohol brands to reach shoppers at the most vulnerable moment: just before they choose a product.
A High-Stakes Strategy Designed for Influence
Smart Media’s own reporting reveals that many alcohol purchases are driven by impulse. Strategic ad placements near checkout counters, on shelves, or through interactive displays nudge shoppers toward selecting alcohol products without prior intent.
These tactics work especially well because, at the point of purchase, consumers are less critical and more influenced by immediate surroundings and suggestions.
Movendi International resources provide global evidence to underscore the impact of this alcohol industry strategy. For instance, in-store beer displays have a measurable impact on young people, including those who had never previously engaged in alcohol use. This shows how even a simple in-store promotion can play a role in initiating alcohol consumption.
- In 2015, an Australian study revealed that young alcohol consumers’ in-store shopping experiences and exposure to sales promotions influence the type, range, and quantity of alcohol purchased.
- And similarly, a Japanese study from 2023 also showed students who were exposed to web, in-store, and public transportation advertisements had much higher odds of engaging in alcohol consumption than peers who were not exposed to such alcohol marketing.
- Remarkably, in-store alcohol advertising had the highest odds ratios with 1.62, while web had 1.44, and pubic transport had an odds ration of 1.45 – of making students consume alcohol.
Alcohol Packaging and Store Design as Promotion Tools
Alcohol packaging and shelf design are more than just functional elements; they serve as strategic alcohol promotional tools.
According to a 2022 study that examined alcohol packaging as a promotional tool, with a focus group among young adult alcohol consumers in Scotland, these visual cues shape consumer expectations and behaviours, much like branding does in fast-moving consumer goods. Alcohol packaging creates a perceived value, prompting shoppers to try products they may not otherwise consider.
Moreover, Smart Media incorporates digital shelf strips and high-impact banners to highlight new product launches and promotions. These tactics enhance product visibility and leverage the impulsivity of the retail environment.
This isn’t accidental. It’s an alcohol industry strategy to push alcohol even when consumers don’t intend to purchase it.
Retailers use personal selling and sales promotion strategies in-store to trigger impulse purchases that represent additional, unintended purchases or purchases in greater quantities than intended. Impulse purchasing is characterised by being spontaneous, involving a positive emotional charge, and diminished regard for negative consequences.
Skirting Regulations Through In-Store Marketing
While alcohol advertising faces evidence-based limits in many media forms, in-store environments are often excluded or poorly addressed by public policy.
Smart Media prides itself on helping alcohol brands remain “compliant” while still achieving “maximum impact.” That means using their expertise from other regulated sectors, like pharmaceuticals, to help Big Alcohol navigate the system without addressing the core issue: alcohol harm.
Movendi International reports that such loopholes in regulation are common. For example, alcohol-infused products such as whipped cream and ice cream were once displayed alongside non-alcoholic items in U.S. stores. Illinois has now passed legislation mandating clear in-store separation of these products to prevent accidental or underage access. This highlights a critical gap in regulation that Big Alcohol continues to exploit.
Retail Tactics That Drive Long-Term Harm
Smart Media goes a step further by training store staff to promote alcohol. Their Smart Staff mobile tool equips employees with knowledge designed to increase alcohol sales through confident product recommendations. This aligns with industry tactics documented by Movendi International, where the alcohol industry uses integrated marketing, including packaging, store layout, and staff training, to normalise alcohol use and drive consumption.
Overall, marketing promotion mix includes advertising, public relations, sales promotion, and personal selling. Of these, personal selling and sales promotion are the two promotional strategies that feature most prominently within the store environment, according to researchers. Personal selling relates to the sales role undertaken by staff members. Evidence highlights the importance of human interaction during the retail shopping experience and the potential for effective sales staff to increase customer loyalty, repeat sales, and company profits.
These tactics are not harmless. Off-licence purchases – driven by in-store promotions – are linked with injuries, violence (both domestic violence and violence occurring at licenced venues), and alcohol use disorders.
Overall, the evidence is unimpeachable that alcohol marketing significantly affects people with alcohol problems and those at risk of developing alcohol use disorder. It also endangers children from families with alcohol problems, as the normalisation of alcohol in daily retail environments perpetuates the alcohol norm and increases exposure to harm.
Evidence Demands Action: Time to Regulate In-Store Marketing
Movendi International has repeatedly called for attention to the flaws of alcohol industry-led self-regulation in protecting the public, especially young people, from exposure to alcohol marketing. Better and more evidence-based, statutory rules are necessary.
In fact, the ongoing use of in-store promotions to drive alcohol sales shows that voluntary codes are ineffective and counter-productive. A comprehensive, evidence-based alcohol policy on the other hand has been shown to protect vulnerable people and communities. Such a policy blue print needs to in-store alcohol advertising bans or comprehensive limits. This is a matter of protecting people’s health and ensuring public safety.
Health promotion begins by placing common sense limits on how and where alcohol is marketed. That includes the store shelves where Big Alcohol currently operates freely, exploiting human psychology and regulatory gaps to drive profit at the expense of community health.