National brands need to break their overreliance on linear TV eventually, so why not now? By committing budget to this channel as screens roll out in stores nationwide this year, they can aggressively test and learn to understand how in-store advertising works. And it can be done even as programmatic and measurement capabilities mature. In-store retail media can be planned through scaled direct ad buys, much in the way that linear TV is today. 

As physical stores get ready for primetime, brands should start preparing for The StoreFronts.