Last month, CoolerX, the in-store retail media technology company, launched a spin-off called RPM Labs focused on bringing retail media to shoppers’ mobile wallets. Led by CEO John Gomez—formerly President and CEO of Cardenas Markets and Chief Merchant at Trader Joe’s—RPM Labs’ flagship product is RPM Wallet, which the company says enables retailers to deliver marketing content, digital coupons, and personalized offers directly into customers’ digital wallets at the point of purchase.
According to RPM Labs, RPM Wallet is powered by AI that analyzes point-of-sale and contextual data to determine the most relevant content to serve in the moment. The goal is to create a new retail media channel that not only gives merchants another way to reach shoppers but also provides insights into customer behavior—creating what the company calls the ultimate feedback loop. For shoppers, this means easier access to relevant promotions and offers without relying on traditional in-store advertising.
AdTechRadar spoke with RPM Labs CEO John Gomez as part of our 5 Questions interview series to learn more about the company’s approach and the role digital wallets could play in retail media. Here’s what he had to say.
1. How does RPM Labs fit into the retail media industry?
RPM Labs’ software is the missing link that delivers the required ROI retailers need to justify getting into the digital wallet and in-store retail media space. While the retail media industry is filled with great screen manufacturers and skilled retail media sales teams, retailers have lacked software that automates the identification and delivery of highly relevant content to their customers. This is the missing link and why retail media in digital wallets and in-stores has not yet met its potential. Consumers will only engage and buy more when marketing content is relevant to their needs and shopping experience. Our proprietary AI Intent Engine algorithm provides the missing link allowing retailers to deliver relevant content at scale, improve the consumer experience, and achieve positive ROI.
2. How is your background in retail steering your approach with RPM Labs?
My experience as a merchant influences how I approach RPM Labs. I see everything through the lens of driving sales and enhancing the consumer’s shopping journey. For retail media to succeed long-term, it must add value to the consumer experience. Merchants can only generate sustainable advertising revenue if the content shoppers see—whether in their digital wallets or on in-store screens—is relevant, engaging, and ultimately influences purchasing decisions.
Any solution that fails to improve the consumer experience will struggle to drive incremental sales and will not sustain long-term advertising revenue. At RPM Labs, we are solving for sales growth by making retail media more intuitive, personalized, and impactful—because that’s what great merchants and operators do. And that perspective continues to guide everything we build.
3. What do you see as the biggest opportunity in in-store retail media?
The biggest opportunity in in-store retail media lies in shifting away from the outdated “spray and pray” approach and toward data-driven, highly targeted content delivery. Retailers have lacked the technology to ensure their content is relevant to each shopper at each unique location—or to measure whether that investment is actually driving sales.
The key to unlocking retail media’s full potential is leveraging the right data and algorithm to personalize content in real time and validate its effectiveness. Without a solution like ours, retailers risk wasting valuable capex dollars on marketing efforts that fail to engage consumers or generate a meaningful return. The industry’s future depends on precision, measurement, and relevance—and that’s exactly what RPM Labs is delivering.
4. Explain RPM Wallet. Also, why do you think mobile wallets are important?
RPM Wallet allows customers to gain access to highly relevant, personalized offers and the convenience of being able to receive and use digital coupons and passes in real time in their digital wallets.
As mobile payments continue to rise, every shopper now carries a powerful screen in their pocket—creating an untapped opportunity for retailers to engage with customers at the right moment. Our digital wallet solution leverages the same advanced technology and data-driven approach that powers our in-store media platform. This ensures that content remains highly relevant and measurable, ultimately driving both engagement and sales.
Additionally, we see a strategic opportunity for eCommerce and online retail media sales teams to extend their reach with mobile wallet inventory. With RPM Wallet, they can effortlessly sell this new inventory and connect with consumers in a way that feels natural, timely, and value-driven—bridging online and in-store engagement.
5. For 2025, what’s RPM Labs’ main goal? What do you want to accomplish by the end of the year?
In 2025, our primary focus is solidifying RPM Labs as the missing link that enables retail media to scale beyond eCommerce—into both digital wallets and in-store experiences. To achieve this, we are forging strategic partnerships with world-class hardware manufacturers and retail media sales teams, ensuring that retail media finally delivers on its promise in physical retail spaces.
While we will continue selling directly to retailers, we recognize that true, long-term success requires an interconnected ecosystem. That’s why our biggest priority this year is uniting the key players—retailers, media sales teams, and technology providers—to create a seamless, data-driven retail media network.
Additionally, we see a massive opportunity for existing retail media sales teams, traditionally focused on eCommerce, to expand their reach into mobile wallets. Our technology makes it easy for them to sell inventory in this space—so long as the content remains highly relevant to the consumer’s shopping journey. By the end of 2025, our goal is to have built the foundation for a more cohesive, scalable, and impactful retail media ecosystem.
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Thanks to John for joining us. Stay tuned for more insights from the leaders shaping adtech in our 5 Questions series.
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