Between the screen and the store, there’s a growing middle ground that brands are beginning to tap: Audio advertising, which some experts say can help bridge the gap between awareness and purchase, especially in a retail media environment.
As companies continue to rethink how they engage consumers across channels, audio is re-emerging as another marketing pathway. Not as a standalone solution, but as a data-forward bridge that reinforces messaging across touchpoints and helps move consumers closer to purchase.
For marketers, audio typically sits outside traditional retail media, according to Jared Lapin, chief strategy officer of audio marketing platform Consumable.
On one end, there’s screen-based advertising via search, display and social where brands compete for attention in crowded digital environments. On the other, there’s in-store marketing, where promotions and ad placement are strategically designed to influence purchase decisions. Audio, Lapin says, exists somewhere in between, but has historically lacked one key component.
“The challenge with audio … is it’s largely identity-less,” he said, referring to the anonymity behind tracking engagement in traditional audio channels like radio.
Ads today rely on who is engaging with the brand using cookies, device IDs or email addresses. “Identity-less” means those coveted key tracking points are unavailable for brands. That unavailability creates difficulty for brands to measure whether audio ads (which rely on aggregate data and estimates) are driving results, he explained.
Modern marketing, Lapin adds, depends on being able to connect ad visibility to individual users and their actions – which is where modern audio marketing comes in. Companies like Consumable provide their clients with engagement and tracking data to support their audio advertising strategies.
Data-driven, first
The goal with audio marketing is to modernize audio ads so they’re as data-driven as digital ads, but still emotionally engaging like radio or podcasts, according to Lapin.
That distinction in data-forward audio ads is what separates audio from both traditional broadcast and screen-based advertising, he explained.
Where screens rely heavily on visual engagement and direct interaction (clicks, impressions, conversions), in-store marketing relies on proximity and immediacy. Audio, by contrast, balances attention and timing, influencing behavior earlier in the decision-making process, he said.
Retail media networks (RMNs), for example, which rely heavily on shopper data, can use audio as an effective tool to fill the gap between discovery and conversion, while complementing separate visual ads.
“You have a largely digital platform that’s looking to engage your customers… and you do that by talking to your customers,” Lapin said. “Audio is very effective… it’s really a diversity of messaging opportunity.”
Audio’s positioning on RMNs allows brands to extend their reach beyond the platform’s core placements, like search and display, while still collecting measurable outcomes.
For brands operating within RMNs, that means using audio as a complement – not a replacement – for existing tactics that can reach consumers before the digital shelf or in store. When integrated thoughtfully, it can work as a natural extension of the marketing ecosystem rather than an interruption.
Audio advertising also offers a different kind of engagement. “When you connect with people through their ears, you build a theater in their minds,” Lapin said.
Unlike visual formats, which show a specific image, audio “allows brands to tell stories that are bigger than they can typically tell in visuals,” giving listeners the space to imagine products in their own way, he added.
Audio ads can deliver strong ROI as long as the execution is strategic
Industry data suggests that audio engagement can translate into real-world impact. Nielsen data shows audio reaches consumers at scale – nearly four hours a day – and remains an underappreciated but high-ROI channel.
Retailers using audio have also seen increased coupon redemptions and promo code usage, higher cart conversions during limited-time offers, and stronger brand recall that extends beyond the listening session, according to Ad Results Media.
Podcast advertising shows similar patterns. Host-read ads “consistently outperform visual ads on trust and engagement,” according to Audacy, with frequent podcast listeners 60% more likely to purchase advertised products online and 71% more likely to purchase in-store.
At the same time, audio ads’ effectiveness depends heavily on precise execution. Because it’s inherently harder to ignore than visual formats, it can be disruptive for consumers if it’s not strategically created or placed.
As Lapin pointed out, brands today are working with increasingly granular data to define their audiences. The challenge is not just reaching consumers, but reaching the right consumers in a way that aligns with their experience. “You can’t just send them a text message, go buy Coke… you need to tell them a story, so that they fall in love with the product,” he said.
