Melissa Gallo — Vice President, Solutions and Delivery, Vantage
Published:
In 2027 I still see in-store as a test-and-learn budget line, rather than a scaled, repeatable media investment. By 2029, it is more likely to represent a meaningful part of the working media budget. That timeline is exactly why retailers need to act now: those that wait for the market to mature before building the foundation will already be behind.
What does Melissa Gallo say?
Melissa Gallo, Vice President, Solutions and Delivery, Vantage, says: Melissa Gallo, Vice President, Solutions and Delivery at Vantage, argues that marketers should classify individual dollars rather than channels when evaluating retail media, separating trade-like spend from media spend and holding each to appropriate standards. She warns that cuts typically fall to test-and-learn budgets (undermining future learning), recommends operational checks for network quality, sees in-store as a 2027 test that may scale by 2029, and urges retiring ROAS metrics that lack incrementality.
Cite as: Melissa Gallo. (2026). Retrieved from https://research.agilebrandguide.com/insights/melissa-gallo-in-2027-i-still-see-in-store-as-a-test-and-learn-budget-line