Creative Realities Takes Over Albertsons Retail Media Network from Stratacache
2026-08-18 · via invidis
Creative Realities (CRI) has taken over the Albertsons retail media account from Stratacache, according to details disclosed during the company's Q2 investor briefing. For operators watching the fallout from Stratacache's financial troubles earlier this year, it's a concrete sign of where that business is landing.
CRI management did not announce the Albertsons win directly but confirmed it in response to investor questions on the earnings call. According to CRI, roughly one million ads are currently being served daily across an initial base of 3,000 in-store retail media screens at Albertsons, a network CRI is now inheriting and migrating onto its own platform.
The migration is already underway. CRI says the first phase covers 1,000 Albertsons locations, with a target of moving them to its CMS by the end of September. Rather than swapping out hardware on site, CRI says it is using custom migration scripts to remotely convert existing installations, a route that avoids the cost and disruption of on-site replacement. For an account of this size, that approach matters: a rip-and-replace job across thousands of stores would have been a far bigger undertaking and expense.
The Albertsons contract gives CRI a marquee reference account as it competes for other enterprise retail media business. CRI management told investors it expects market disruption from Stratacache's difficulties to keep generating opportunities, and said it anticipates adding multiple new enterprise customers each quarter through the rest of 2026.
Other deals in the pipeline
CRI also updated investors on several other projects. The Tennessee Titans digital signage and IPTV deployment, valued at USD 8.5 million, remains on track, with most of that revenue expected to be recognized in calendar year 2026.
The company is also moving into full deployment on its AMC Theatres rollout, covering 285 cinema locations in partnership with National CineMedia (NCM), running on CRI's own CMS and advertising technology. That partnership takes on a new wrinkle following NCM's acquisition of Captivate, a digital-out-of-home media owner that operates roughly 24,000 screens on its own in-house CMS. What that acquisition means for CRI's role in the NCM relationship is not yet clear.
CRI also said it is finalizing contracts with a national wireless retailer running around 900 locations and a quick-service restaurant chain with about 1,000 units, both of which are expected to include migrations onto CRI's software platform. No further detail on either prospective customer was disclosed.
The announcement in full
Reproduced from invidis for reference. Digital Signage Magazine did not write the text below.
Following Stratacache's financial challenges earlier this year, a number of U.S. digital signage vendors have been competing to win over customers from the former market leader. One of the beneficiaries appears to be Creative Realities (CRI), which has secured grocery giant Albertsons as a new retail media customer. The contract was one of several notable updates disclosed during CRI's Q2 investor briefing.
Investor calls are not always a rich source of industry news, but last week’s earnings call provided several insights into CRI’s ongoing expansion strategy. Indirectly the CRI management confirmed, that the Kentucky-based retail digital signage specialists is taking over Albertsons from Stratacache.
The Albertsons win further strengthens the company’s position among the leading retail media and digital signage providers in North America while also serving as an important reference account for future enterprise opportunities.
The existing retail media deployment is already generating results. According to CRI approximately one million ads are currently being served daily across an initial base of 3,000 instore retail media screens.
The take over of the media network is in full swing. The first phase of the project includes migrating 1,000 Albertsons locations to CRI’s CMS platform by the end of September. To accelerate deployment, the digital signage company is using custom migration scripts to remotely convert existing hardware installations, avoiding costly on-site replacements.
CRI Management also signaled confidence in its business pipeline for the remainder of 2026. According to CRI, market disruption caused by the challenges of a key competitor (Stratacache) continues to create opportunities, with the company expecting to add multiple new enterprise customers on a quarterly basis.
Several major projects are progressing as planned. The Tennessee Titans partnership remains on track, with the majority of the USD 8.5 million digital signage and IPTV deployment revenue expected to be recognized during calendar year 2026.
Meanwhile, CRI is entering full deployment of its AMC Theatres rollout. The project covers 285 cinema locations and is being delivered in partnership with National CineMedia, leveraging CRI’s proprietary CMS and advertising technology platform. Just after the CRI earnings call, NCM announced the acquisition of DooH media owner Captivate which runs its 24.000 screens on an inhouse CMS platform. It remains to be seen what the impact of the NCM/Capitvate merger will have on CRI.
CRI also revealed that it is finalizing contracts with a national wireless retailer operating approximately 900 locations and a quick-service restaurant chain with around 1,000 units. Both projects are expected to include migrations to the CRI software platform.
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