Will Running Ads on Your Business TVs Annoy Your Customers?
Mostly no, as long as the ads are relevant to where people are standing, and the screen is not the only thing competing for their attention. In a 2026 survey of 1,018 US grocery shoppers, acceptance of in-store screens rose in every major store zone compared with 2023, and front-of-store acceptance jumped 23 percentage points, from about one third of shoppers to just over half. A separate study of 2,000 nationally representative US shoppers found 95 percent felt positive or neutral toward retail media ads. The risk to your customer experience is real but small, and it is almost entirely a content and placement problem you control.
Who this is for?
This one is for the venue owner. If you run a gym, barbershop, laundromat, clinic, auto shop, convenience store, or restaurant, you already have a TV or two. Opening some of that screen time to approved third-party advertisers turns a cost line into a revenue line. The fear that stops most owners is simple: will regulars feel like they walked into a commercial break?
What the research actually says about ad tolerance
Out-of-home advertising sits at the friendly end of the spectrum. A Harris Poll conducted for the OAAA among 1,023 US adults found 73 percent view digital out-of-home ads favorably, ahead of TV and video at 50 percent, social media at 48 percent, and online at 37 percent. The reason is structural. A screen on a wall does not interrupt anything. Nobody has to close it, skip it, or scroll past it.
In-store data points the same way. In the 2026 shopper study, entrance, checkout, deli, and pharmacy zones were rated favorable ad locations by at least 84 percent of shoppers, and 62 percent said they had bought a product directly after seeing an in-store ad. Shoppers were 2.5 times more likely to consider a brand when the ad related to something nearby.
A screen on a wall does not interrupt anything. Nobody has to close it, skip it, or scroll past it
Where it goes wrong
Three things turn a screen into an irritant.
Volume: Sound is the fastest way to make a screen intrusive. Run muted with captions unless the room is built for audio.
Repetition: The same 15-second spot on a 60-second loop will wear out a customer who waits eight minutes. Build loops long enough to cover your average dwell time.
Irrelevance: A ski resort ad in a Phoenix laundromat reads as noise. Category and geography controls matter more than fill rate.
The honest limits
Two caveats worth stating plainly.
First, screens shorten how long a wait feels, but that does not automatically translate into a happier customer. Research published in the Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services found that digital signage in retail waiting areas reduced shoppers' duration estimates without lifting overall store satisfaction on its own. The content has to be worth watching, not just present.
Second, attribution for signage and out-of-home is directional. You can track redemption codes, QR scans, and same-day sales on promoted items, but you will not get the clean click path you get from paid search. Treat the numbers as signals, not proof.
A simple rule for splitting your screen time
Most venues land somewhere near 70 percent house content and 30 percent third-party ads. House content means your services, your promotions, your wait board, your staff. Third-party ads fill the rest. That ratio keeps the screen feeling like yours while still generating revenue.
Feature | Screen feels helpful | Screen feels intrusive |
Audio | Silent or used sparingly for essential announcements | Loud, continuous, or competing with the environment |
Loop length | Short, varied loop that keeps content fresh | Long, repetitive loop that feels predictable |
Ad relevance | Ads match the audience, location, and moment | Generic ads with little connection to viewers |
Content mix | Balanced mix of useful information, promotions, and entertainment | Ad-heavy programming with little audience value |
Placement height | Positioned at comfortable eye level for easy viewing | Mounted awkwardly high or low, making viewing uncomfortable |
How Beam helps
Beam runs your own content and the ad network on the same screen, and you set the rules for both
Beam turns any TV into a managed screen you control from one place, then lets you open the leftover time to the Beam Network of approved advertisers. The controls that protect your customer experience are yours:
Category blocking: Reject advertiser categories you do not want near your brand, including direct competitors.
Share of loop: Decide what percentage of playtime goes to third-party ads and what stays house content.
Dayparting: Run more ads during slow hours and more of your own offers during peak.
Muted by default. Ads play silently with on-screen text unless you enable sound.
The revenue is passive once it is set up. The editorial control stays active, which is the part that keeps regulars from noticing anything changed except a screen that looks better than it used to.
Try it on one screen first
Pick your highest dwell-time screen, set a 70/30 split, block the categories you dislike, and watch for two weeks. If nobody comments, expand. Start at usebeam.io
Sources
Do customers actually notice third-party ads on a venue screen?
Some do; most do not distinguish them from house content when the creative is clean and relevant. Acceptance of in-store screens has risen across every store zone measured since 2023.
Will ads make my business look cheap?
That depends on creative quality and placement, not on the presence of ads. Poorly designed house content damages a brand faster than a well-produced third-party spot.
Can I stop a specific advertiser from running on my screens?
Yes. Beam lets you block advertiser categories and individual brands, including competitors, before anything plays.
How much of my screen time should go to ads?
A 70 percent house to 30 percent third-party split works for most venues. Adjust based on dwell time and how much house content you actually have to run.
Does running ads affect my wait times or service flow?
No. Screens run independently of your operations. They can make waits feel shorter, though research suggests that alone does not raise satisfaction scores.
What if my customers complain?
Change the mix. You can cut ad share, swap categories, or pause the network entirely from the dashboard without touching the hardware.