7-Eleven Gulp Media Network: convenience retail media, explained

7-Eleven sells the impulse purchase. Its shoppers buy for now, not for the week, and Mario Mijares, who runs the network, sums up the core range as "sips, snacks, and cigs". Cigarettes cannot be advertised, so drinks and snacks carry most campaigns (CSP, 20 June 2025). Mijares also pitches the store as a launch pad. A new energy drink is easier to try as a single can than as a 20-pack at a warehouse club. Strong results with Gulp can help a product earn wider distribution, though the merchant team makes that call.

The build order was unusual. Neha Nayyar, who leads loyalty and shopper marketing, contrasts Gulp with Walmart, Target and Kroger. 7-Eleven has no comparable search surface, so in 2023 it began offsite, using loyalty data to target social, display and connected TV. It then added in-store channels: Gulp TV at the pump, digital menu boards and in-store radio, as Nayyar described in 2025 (CSP, 20 June 2025).

The radio network is the clearest example. Built with Qsic, Gulp Radio was in more than 4,000 stores in April 2025 and was due in over 12,000 7-Eleven, Speedway and Stripes stores by the end of July (C-Store Dive, 24 June 2025). Mijares notes that more than 90% of convenience transactions still happen in the store. Sensors set the volume and log each play, which gives advertisers proof that the ad ran.

Offsite. Programmatic display and video, TikTok, Meta, Snapchat, connected TV and streaming audio, targeted with 7-Eleven loyalty data. A campaign can link to 7NOW, the chain's delivery app (CSP, 12 June 2024).

At the pump. Gulp TV plays video at fuel dispensers. It was live at 2,900 Speedway sites in June 2024 (CSP, 12 June 2024).

In-store. Gulp Radio plays one to three short ads, usually under 10 seconds, after each song. Ads can be targeted by store and time of day and are voiced with text-to-speech AI (C-Store Dive, 24 June 2025). Digital menu boards add a visual placement. Nayyar listed them as a channel in 2025, while the network's site still marks them "coming soon". The in-store retail media guide compares audio and screen formats.

Targeting uses demographic, geographic and attitudinal signals plus what members have bought. C-Shopper, launched in 2021, collects and categorises every transaction in 7-Eleven and Speedway stores. The Brainfreeze Collective, a research panel of 229,000 rewards members, adds survey data, and Lab Stores test ideas in real shops (Gulp Media Network). Brands get audiences and reports, not member records.

Gulp reports reach, frequency and engagement, then attributable sales and return on ad spend from C-Shopper data. For incrementality, it compares exposed shoppers with a control group and reports incremental return on ad spend (iROAS). 7-Eleven said products promoted on Gulp Radio saw average overall sales lifts of 5% to 9% (company claim, 7-Eleven, 12 November 2024). We found no accreditation or independent audit.

1. Contact Gulp Media Network through the form on gulpmedianetwork.com or your 7-Eleven category team.
2. Build it into joint business planning. 7-Eleven plans media with vendors as part of annual plans.
3. Match channel to the moment. Use pump TV and radio for value messages at the point of purchase, and offsite for awareness.
4. Consider a launch test. New items can start in a few hundred stores; Gulp results can support wider rollout.
5. Agree the lift design. Confirm the control group, the measurement window and the custom reports you need.

It suits:

• drinks, snack and other impulse brands sold in 7-Eleven and Speedway stores;
• brands launching single-serve products;
• non-endemic advertisers, such as local events, that want in-store audio.

It suits less:

• brands that need sponsored search on a large e-commerce site;
• tobacco and nicotine brands, which 7-Eleven says it cannot advertise;
• advertisers who require self-serve tools or accredited metrics.

• Any 2026 change to the US network. We found no relaunch, rebrand or new US network; the 760-store launch reported in autumn 2026 was 7-Eleven Australia's.
• Whether the network covers 7-Eleven's stores in Canada.
• The number of in-store screens and menu boards live in November 2026.
• Revenue, rate card and minimum spend.

1. Gulp Media Network, website (accessed 9 November 2026). https://www.gulpmedianetwork.com/
2. 7-Eleven, Inc., "7-Eleven, Inc. Redefines the Shopper Experience with Expansion of Gulp Radio" (12 November 2024). https://corp.7-eleven.com/corp-press-releases/7-eleven-inc-redefines-the-shopper-experience-with-expansion-of-gulp-radio-one-of-north-america-s-largest-commercial-radio-networks
3. C-Store Dive, "Behind the making of 7-Eleven's retail media network" (28 November 2022). https://www.cstoredive.com/news/making-7-elevens-retail-media-network-gulp-media-c-store/637260/
4. CSP, "Behind the Scenes of 7-Eleven's Retail Media Network" (12 June 2024). https://www.cspdailynews.com/technologyservices/behind-scenes-7-elevens-retail-media-network
5. CSP, "7-Eleven's in-store radio provides another ad format for its retail media ecosystem" (20 June 2025). https://www.cspdailynews.com/technologyservices/7-elevens-store-radio-provides-another-ad-format-its-retail-media
6. C-Store Dive, "A deeper look at 7-Eleven's massive commercial radio station" (24 June 2025). https://www.cstoredive.com/news/7-eleven-qsic-radio-station-gulp-media/750712/
7. 7-Eleven Australia, "7-Eleven Australia launches 'Anytime Media @ 7-Eleven'" (30 September 2026). https://www.7eleven.com.au/get-to-know-us/stories/news/7-Eleven-Australia-launches-Anytime-Media-7-Eleven-Australias-first-dedicated-convenience-retail-media-network.html