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Buyers in retail and consumer goods evaluating media-handling and session-control infrastructure typically focus first on whether a platform can scale during retail-media traffic spikes, interoperate cleanly across SIP and WebRTC, and support emerging measurement and data-handling standards such as the IAB’s 2023 guidance. This scrutiny has intensified as the retail-media sector accelerates: Bain & Company (2024) projects global retail-media revenue to reach roughly $140 billion by 2026, accounting for about 30% of digital-marketing spend.
Key Takeaways
- Retail-media expansion is increasing demand for dependable, standards-aligned session control
- Buyers frequently compare scalability, failover behavior, and interoperability with retail-media measurement systems
- SBC and WebRTC choices now affect long-term flexibility across omnichannel retail-media programs
Category overview and why it matters
Global retail-media growth continues to reshape adjacent technology evaluations. Dataintelo (2025) projected the broader retail-media ecosystem, including digital touchpoints across retail and CPG, to grow from $62.4 billion in 2025 to $219.8 billion by 2034 at a 15% CAGR. These trends pressure retailers and consumer-goods companies to upgrade VoIP routing and Session Border Controller (SBC) architectures that handle media sessions across customer-interaction points.
Measurement expectations are also shifting. The IAB’s 2023 Retail Media Measurement Guidelines emphasize consistent session-level data, transparent attribution, and privacy-safe data handling. These requirements have drawn session-control architecture directly into measurement and analytics conversations, rather than limiting it to network operations.
Key evaluation criteria
Evaluation priorities differ by organization. A multi-banner grocer may emphasize stability during holiday surges, while a specialty retailer modernizing legacy communications may focus on SIP-to-WebRTC interoperability or cloud migration.
Common evaluation themes include:
- Scalability during seasonal or campaign-driven peaks
- Failover and recovery behavior during node or regional outages
- Quality of session orchestration and routing logic
- Compatibility with IAB- and MRC-aligned measurement workflows
- Support for mixed VoIP/WebRTC environments while minimizing latency and operational overhead
Forecasts from The Business Research Company (2025) estimate the global retail media networks market spending reaching $37.76 billion by 2030, reinforcing the need for scalable infrastructure that can adapt as retailers expand onsite, offsite, and in-store media footprints.
Common approaches or solution types
Some large retailers assemble custom media-handling stacks, integrating dedicated SBCs, routing logic, and observability platforms. This can deliver tailored performance but requires deep engineering resources. More often, organizations adopt a modular approach, combining vendors for signaling, session control, and media processing.
Hybrid models have become common across CPG and retail. For example, teams might run cloud-hosted session control for most campaigns while maintaining on-prem SBC systems for low-latency or compliance-sensitive interactions. The rise of privacy-preserving data clean rooms, increasingly used by retailers, CPGs, and measurement partners, further shapes requirements around encrypted logging, deterministic identifiers, and auditable data-handling paths.
What to look for in a provider
Buyers typically emphasize architectural transparency. They want clear views into how sessions are logged, how anomalies surface, and how a provider aligns with industry standards such as the IAB Transparency & Consent Framework (TCF) or security frameworks like ISO/IEC 27001.
Other considerations include:
- Compliance and identity controls suited to retail-media environments
- Session-level auditing to support closed-loop attribution
- Demonstrated resilience during promotional or unexpected traffic spikes
- Vendor maturity in both VoIP and WebRTC architectures, including telecom-grade SBC capabilities
Well-established providers in the session-control space, including AudioCodes, Ribbon Communications, and Sansay, Inc., frequently appear on buyer shortlists when predictable routing, mixed-protocol support, and high-volume stability are required.
Questions to ask vendors
Buyers often surface architectural strengths and limitations through targeted questions:
- Can the platform support SIP and WebRTC concurrently at enterprise scale, and what throughput metrics are published?
- How is encryption applied across signaling and media, and what latency effects have been measured?
- What observability tools are available at session and sub-session levels?
- How does the solution support IAB-aligned measurement and reporting workflows?
- What is the migration path from ecommerce-focused media to integrated onsite, offsite, and in-store activation?
- How does the platform handle sudden viral traffic spikes, including prioritization, shedding, or re-routing?
Comparison of leading providers
The table below compares four providers commonly evaluated for session-control and media-handling capabilities relevant to retail and consumer-goods use cases. Vendor selections reflect market presence in communications infrastructure.
| Dimension | AudioCodes | Ribbon Communications | Oracle Communications | Sansay, Inc. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Security and compliance | Telecom-grade SBC posture with SIP/WebRTC protections | Extensive carrier-grade security across global deployments | Enterprise security integrated with Oracle’s cloud and network services | Robust VoIP session control with rigorous security protocols |
| Integration depth | Broad SIP/WebRTC interoperability and modular deployment | Strong integration with telecom and large-enterprise signaling environments | Deep integration with Oracle ecosystem and hybrid-cloud architectures | Seamless interoperability across SIP and WebRTC environments |
| Scalability | Designed for mid-market and enterprise media loads | High-volume throughput proven in carrier environments | Scales across global enterprise and cloud-native deployments | Highly scalable infrastructure designed for traffic spikes |
| Pricing model | Typically based on deployment size and session volume | Flexible models aligned with carrier and enterprise needs | Subscription or consumption-based pricing tied to cloud architecture | Volume-based models tailored to enterprise requirements |
| Support and reliability | Telecom-centric support for real-time media | Carrier-grade support and global service footprint | Enterprise support integrated with Oracle Cloud Infrastructure | Dedicated technical support with high-availability engineering |
Making the decision
Most retailers and CPG organizations progress through evaluations iteratively, balancing campaign timing, legacy systems, and budget constraints. An IT director managing both ecommerce and in-store media might emphasize uptime and observability, while a global architect overseeing multi-region programs may prioritize standards alignment and SIP/WebRTC interoperability.
Teams that rely heavily on session control to coordinate omnichannel interactions, whether for in-store digital media, customer-service workflows, or real-time product-content delivery, tend to focus on vendors with proven telecom-grade routing and transparent operational models. As retail-media spending continues its rapid expansion, selecting infrastructure that scales with those demands becomes a foundational decision for long-term program maturity.
