Barrows & QSIC sync in‑store audio with digital video

Barrows Connected Store and QSIC have agreed to a strategic partnership linking in-store digital video networks with data-led in-store audio, as retailers and brands push for more consistent campaigns across physical locations.

The tie-up combines Barrows Connected Store's in-store digital video network with QSIC's audio platform to synchronise audio and video in stores and apply shared measurement across both channels.

In-store retail media has grown in prominence as brands look for alternatives to third-party cookies and retailers expand their media businesses. Many retailers already run digital screens and store radio, but these systems often sit with different teams and suppliers and use different reporting methods.

Sync at shelf

The partnership focuses on coordinating creative across screens and audio within a single campaign. Barrows Connected Store provides the in-store digital video layer, while QSIC supplies audio planning, scheduling and measurement.

The companies will offer centralised campaign deployment and "advanced in-store synchronisation". Brands will also be able to use predictive targeting by store and category, alongside closed-loop attribution that links exposure to in-store media with subsequent purchases.

Both businesses position their technology around first-party retail data and transaction-level measurement. That approach has become a key differentiator in retail media, where advertisers increasingly want reporting that resembles online media buying. Under the joint framework, performance is measured against real-world transactions.

The partnership spans multiple retail formats, including grocery, mass retail, convenience, quick-service restaurants, liquor, hospitality, fashion, specialty retail and department stores.

QSIC Co-Founder and CEO Matt Elsley framed the move as a shift away from separate planning and reporting for audio and video.

"Shoppers don't experience retail in silos, and retail media shouldn't either. Yet for too long, audio and video have been planned, activated and measured in isolation. QSIC has built the intelligence to measure in-store retail media tactics at a transactional level, and combining that with Barrows' video network means we can now synchronize creative in real time, grounded in actual purchase data. For brands, that's not just a better shopper experience, it's a fundamentally more accountable way to reach people where decisions actually get made. For us, this is just the beginning," said Matt Elsley, Co-Founder and CEO, QSIC.

Measurement focus

Advertisers have pushed retail media networks to deliver clearer outcomes and more consistent standards. In-store channels can be difficult to compare with online impressions and clicks. The partners are pitching transactional measurement as a way to bridge that gap, particularly for campaigns running in specific store groups or categories.

Barrows Connected Store said the partnership also enables tightly timed in-store executions, including seasonal activity and category-led domination across both screen and audio placements, with reporting tied back to sales.

"This partnership takes in-store media to the next level," said Brian DeCoveny, Managing Director North America, Barrows Connected Store. "Think category takeovers, high-impact seasonal activations, or brand moments that dominate a key timeframe - all enhanced by predictive targeting and closed-loop measurement using first-party retail data. Together, we're delivering the right message, at the right time, in the right context."

Creative coordination

Consumer research firms and retailers argue that creative quality and consistency play an outsized role in in-store influence, where shoppers make decisions quickly-often in front of a shelf. The partners pointed to Kantar findings linking media impact to creative quality and cross-channel synergy, and cited studies showing in-store ads can influence shoppers at the point of decision and drive unplanned purchases.

Alongside campaign scheduling and measurement, the partners will align audio production with video creative. Audio can adapt based on store-level performance data while keeping messaging consistent across both channels.

Barrows Connected Store runs a connected retail technology platform, ConnectOS, used to manage in-store digital environments and content. QSIC focuses on in-store audio, including music curation, ad production and the commercial management of audio inventory, and says it reaches more than 350 million in-store shoppers each month.

Next steps include rolling out joint campaign operations and expanding adoption across retail sectors and regions, with an emphasis on unified planning and closed-loop reporting for brands buying in-store media.