Attention shoppers: digital ad screens are about to be everywhere you look

Amazon has specific rules about what types of ads can be shown on the screens at Whole Foods.

Dominick Reuter/Business Insider Retailers have gradually added digital display ads to their stores for the past year.

Now the pace is picking up as the concept gains wider acceptance with Walmart and Walgreens.

A survey this year found that shoppers' acceptance of ad screens depends on the in-store context.

Trips to the store used to offer a break from the digital screens that dominate modern life.

Those days are winding down .

Retailers are now trying to bring more advertising into stores by selling brands access to screens in aisles, endcaps, and checkouts, where customers make their final decisions .

Walmart, Walgreens, Amazon, and grocery chains are betting that the screens can help shoppers find relevant products while opening a new source of high-margin revenue.

"We do see a meaningful opportunity there to have more engaging screens throughout the store," Walmart's head of advertising, Ryan Mayward, said this week at a conference hosted by Goldman Sachs.

Walmart has a large and growing online ad business , and it already has a lot of screens in its stores, mostly located in perimeter areas like the deli, bakery, or electronics sections.

The next step is to bring some of that online ad information to an in-store shopping experience.

Now, Mayward said the retail giant is testing options in higher-traffic areas, like aisle endcaps.

These displays would include up-to-date information about inventory and pricing that could entice shoppers to venture down an aisle for a sponsored product.

"We're really excited about using the store and introducing new advertising services," Mayward added.