Retail media comparison

Footprints AI vs Unlimitail

In short

Unlimitail is a Carrefour and Publicis retail media joint venture and sales house, built on the CitrusAd and Epsilon stack and Carrefour's shopper data. Footprints AI is a platform any retailer can deploy to own its network, physical-store-first, with closed-loop proof, with Footprints AI campaign evidence showing stronger incremental-sales outcomes than the CitrusAd/Unlimitail stack in a Carrefour Romania programme. The difference: Unlimitail is one group's sales house; Footprints AI is a platform you own.

Last reviewed June 2026 · Comparison based on publicly available information.

Capability comparison

Footprints AI vs Unlimitail, capability by capability

CapabilityUnlimitail public positioningFootprints AI positioning
Core strength Regional sales houseA Carrefour and Publicis JV running coordinated campaigns on a licensed CitrusAd and Epsilon stack. Retailer-owned RMNA platform any retailer deploys and owns, physical-store-first, with closed-loop proof.
In-store media Largely DOOH and identity-matched activation through partners. In-store screens, audio, POS, shelf and Wi-Fi as a measured physical channel.
Audience data Carrefour Links data, 8B+ transactions and 80M+ customers, centered on Carrefour. Each retailer builds audiences from its own 100% shopper transaction behavior.
Measurement Transaction-based via the CitrusAd and Epsilon stack. Closed-loop SKU and store-level attribution, incrementality-ready with test and control.
Reach 13+ retail partners across Europe and Latin America, plus DOOH and CTV partners. 30+ retailers and 65 agencies, with each retailer owning its own network and data.
Ownership model One retail group's sales house; brands buy across its partner network. White-label, multi-tenant platform each retailer owns, with its own data.
Best fit Brands buying coordinated campaigns across Carrefour and partner retailers. Retailers that want to build and own their own network with in-store proof.

Based on public Unlimitail and partner announcements and public Footprints AI platform information as of June 2026. Framed by use case, not by unsupported feature claims.

Summary scorecard

Capability scorecard

CapabilityUnlimitailFootprints AI
In-store as a first-class media channel Partial Full
Store Twin forecasting to plan & pace delivery None Full
Audiences from real shopper behavior (100% coverage) Partial Full
One campaign workflow across in-store + digital Partial Full
Proof of delivery & real-time pacing (in-store & online) Partial Full
SKU + store-level attribution (uplift-ready) Partial Full
Built-in AI insights (missions, cohorts, basket shifts) Partial Full
Enterprise scale: private AI, white-label, multi-tenant Partial Full
Open APIs + integrations (DSP, CDP, retail systems) Partial Full
Privacy-safe architecture for global rollouts Partial Full

Scorecard summarizes the comparison above. "Full" means the capability is a first-class product layer; "Partial" means it is present through adjacent infrastructure, a single channel or bring-your-own-data; "None" means it is not positioned as a core capability. Unlimitail has strong regional scale and audiences through Carrefour, but it is a sales house on a licensed stack rather than a platform other retailers deploy and own. Scoring as of June 2026.

The competitor

What is Unlimitail?

Unlimitail is a retail media joint venture between Carrefour and Publicis, operating as a sales house and network across Europe and Latin America. It is built on the CitrusAd and Epsilon technology stack and Carrefour Links shopper data, drawing on 8B+ transactions and 80M+ customers, with 13+ retail partners and off-site reach through DOOH and CTV partners such as JCDecaux and M6.

Unlimitail's value is regional scale and a managed sales house: brands buy coordinated on-site, off-site and DOOH campaigns across Carrefour and partner retailers, measured against Carrefour's shopper data.

Unlimitail is strong regionally, but it is one retail group's sales house running a licensed stack, not a platform other retailers deploy and own. Its in-store reach is largely DOOH and identity-matched activation, and its data centers on Carrefour. Notably, Footprints AI campaign evidence from a Carrefour Romania programme showed stronger incremental-sales outcomes than the CitrusAd and Unlimitail stack. Footprints AI is a platform any retailer owns.

Sources reviewed: Unlimitail and partner announcements plus public reporting, June 2026.

The platform

What is Footprints AI?

In-store is the next major retail media frontier, with 2026 a critical inflection point, according to the research firm Coresight. The question for every retailer is whether to join one group's sales house or own its own network.

Footprints AI is a next-generation retail media platform built first for the physical store. It treats in-store as a first-class, measured channel across screens, audio, POS, shelf and Wi-Fi, then extends across on-site and off-site. The platform spans five modules, Campaigns, Audiences, Sales & Shopper Insights, In-Store Measurement and Leads, so the retailer runs the whole operation in one place.

Where Unlimitail is one retail group's sales house built on a licensed stack, Footprints AI is a platform any retailer deploys and owns, physical-store-first, with audiences from 100% shopper behavior and closed-loop SKU and store-level proof, with Footprints AI campaign evidence showing stronger incremental-sales outcomes than the same CitrusAd/Unlimitail stack in a Carrefour Romania programme. The operating promise: buy true reach, pay per view, get real sales attribution.

It operates at scale across 30+ retailers, 65 agencies, 550+ brands and 50M+ shoppers, tracking 5B+ shopping trips and 7,000+ campaigns, deployed as a white-label, multi-tenant platform a retailer owns, in-store and online.

Key differences

The differences that matter

Sales house vs platform you own

Unlimitail is one retail group's sales house on a licensed stack. Footprints AI is a platform any retailer deploys and owns.

Proprietary in-store vs DOOH

Unlimitail's in-store reach is largely DOOH and identity-matched. Footprints AI runs the store as a measured channel: screens, audio, POS and shelf.

Head-to-head in market

Footprints AI campaign evidence from a Carrefour Romania programme showed stronger incremental-sales outcomes than the CitrusAd and Unlimitail stack, on the same retailer.

Data ownership

Unlimitail centers on Carrefour's data. Footprints AI builds each retailer audiences from its own 100% shopper behavior, owned by the retailer.

Proof

Footprints AI proof, not promises

+390%
Jack Daniel's sales
50M+
Shoppers modeled
5B+
Shopping trips analyzed

Footprints AI case studies include outcomes such as +390% sales uplift for Jack Daniel's, +55% sales lift for Persil, 10× ROAS for Mutti and +23.29% sales uplift for Coca-Cola. Across the platform, campaigns deliver 5 to 8× ROAS versus a roughly 2× industry average, with +25% new-to-brand buyers and +20% basket incidence among exposed shoppers.

Footprints AI campaign results, measured with closed-loop attribution. Incrementality is claimed only where the measurement design supports it. Figures as of June 2026.

Which fits you

Who should choose which?

Choose Unlimitail if

You are a brand wanting coordinated campaigns across Carrefour and its partner retailers in Europe and Latin America, through a managed sales house. Unlimitail is built for that.

Choose Footprints AI if

You are a retailer that wants to build and own your own network, with proprietary in-store media and closed-loop proof, rather than join another group's sales house.

Related retail media stack

The Footprints AI retail media stack

Retail Media Network Platform · build and scale a retailer-owned media business. In-Store Retail Media · turn physical stores into measurable media. Closed-Loop Measurement · connect exposure to SKU and store outcomes.

FAQ

Footprints AI vs Unlimitail, answered

What is the main difference between Footprints AI and Unlimitail?

Unlimitail is a Carrefour and Publicis joint venture and retail media sales house, built on the CitrusAd and Epsilon stack. Footprints AI is a platform any retailer deploys and owns, physical-store-first, with closed-loop proof. Unlimitail is one group's sales house; Footprints AI is a platform you own.

What technology does Unlimitail run on?

Unlimitail is built on the CitrusAd and Epsilon technology stack and Carrefour Links shopper data. Footprints AI is its own platform, physical-store-first, that each retailer deploys and owns with its own data.

Does Unlimitail offer in-store retail media?

Unlimitail's in-store reach is largely DOOH and identity-matched activation through partners. Footprints AI runs in-store screens, audio, POS and shelf as a measured channel with SKU and store-level proof.

Has Footprints AI been compared to Unlimitail directly?

Yes. Footprints AI campaign evidence from a Carrefour Romania retail media programme showed stronger incremental-sales outcomes than the CitrusAd and Unlimitail stack on the same retailer.

Is Footprints AI a good Unlimitail alternative?

For a retailer that wants to own its own network with proprietary in-store media and closed-loop proof, yes. For a brand buying coordinated campaigns across Carrefour's partner network, Unlimitail is the regional sales house for that.

Who owns the data and the network?

With Unlimitail, campaigns and data center on Carrefour and its partners. With Footprints AI, each retailer owns a white-label, multi-tenant network and its own shopper data.

Own your network, do not rent it

Build and own a retail media network with proprietary in-store media and closed-loop proof, on a platform you own.

Comparison based on publicly available information about Unlimitail as of June 2026. Unlimitail is a trademark of its respective owner. Footprints AI is not affiliated with Unlimitail.