What Barrows Global does

Barrows Global is a privately held commerce experience company founded in 1990, headquartered in New York with offices in Toronto, London, and three South African cities (Durban, Johannesburg, Cape Town). The firm serves two primary customer segments: consumer goods brands (FMCG companies in beverage, food, health, and personal care) and brick-and-mortar retailers. For brands, Barrows provides end-to-end professional services including Shopper Marketing, Display Design, and Category Transformation. For retailers, it offers CX Strategy, Store Design, and the Connected Store platform implementation. The company employs 501–1,000 people globally and operates a hybrid business model combining project-based professional services with a proprietary technology platform.

The company's core technology asset is Connected Store, described as the world's largest in-store digital media platform, powered by Connect OS—a proprietary operating system designed exclusively for retail. Connect OS supports media segmentation, programmatic campaign management, content approval workflows, dynamic content updates, inventory management, and analytics via Insights dashboards with web hooks. The platform deploys "Connection Points" (custom-engineered digital, physical, and sensorial retail touchpoints including cladding, lighting, and media components) across 10,000+ physical retail locations, serving 320+ client brands in 170+ geographic markets. Notable retail and brand clients include Walmart, Tesco, Boots, Walgreens, Unilever, Reckitt, General Mills, Diageo, Colgate, Coca-Cola, Red Bull, and Beiersdorf. Barrows also operates the Experience Gap Framework™ for CX strategy development and offers innovation capabilities including Barrows Re:Store (a sustainability-focused decarbonization solution for in-store activations) and large format 3D printing with milling.

The company monetizes through a mix of project-based professional services engagements sold via direct enterprise sales, and what appears to be recurring/subscription revenue from the Connected Store platform. Pricing is not publicly disclosed. Distribution is direct via regional sales teams and a "Let's Chat" contact model on the website, supported by a content marketing strategy emphasizing case studies and thought leadership on retail transformation. The company received investment from WPP in 2012 and remains independently operated with no disclosed parent company.

Name

Barrows Global

Legal name

Barrows Global

Website

https://barrowsglobal.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Barrows Global is a privately held commerce experience company founded in 1990 that serves FMCG brands and retailers with end-to-end professional services (shopper marketing, display design, CX strategy) and the Connected Store platform—a proprietary in-store digital media network with 10,000+ touchpoints across 170+ markets serving 320+ brands.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Professional Services for Brands: End-to-end commerce services for brands including shopper marketing, display design, and category transformation. These are project-based engagements typically involving strategy, design, and execution.
2. Professional Services for Retailers: Customer experience services for retailers including CX strategy, store design, and Connected Store implementation. Project-based professional services.
3. Connected Store Platform: Digital in-store media platform operating on a network model with 'Connection Points' serving as the monetizable unit. Media owners can package Connection Points into segments for audience targeting. The platform serves both retailers (media network owner) and brands (media buyer).

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Barrows Global is a commerce experience company that designs and delivers end-to-end retail marketing services and the Connected Store digital in-store media platform for consumer goods brands and retailers. Its offerings span shopper marketing, display design, category transformation, CX strategy, and store design services, complemented by the proprietary Connect OS-powered Connected Store platform with 10,000+ in-store Connection Points and innovation capabilities including Barrows Re:Store sustainability solutions and large-format 3D printing.

Product overview

Barrows Global is a commerce experience company offering a multi-faceted portfolio of services and platforms for brands and retailers. The core platform is Connected Store, a digital in-store media, merchandising and experience platform powered by the proprietary Connect OS operating system. This platform is complemented by a suite of professional services including Shopper Marketing, Display Design, Category Transformation, CX Strategy, and Store Design. The company also offers innovation-focused solutions such as Barrows Re:Store for sustainability/decarbonization and 3D Printing for large format additive manufacturing. The Connected Store platform and these services work together to help brands and retailers improve shopper engagement, reduce operational inefficiencies, and increase sales at the point of consideration.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Connected Store: The world's largest in-store digital media platform with an ever-expanding network of 10k+ Connection Points, powered by a proprietary OS, customizable touchpoints, and best-in-class content. Helps retailers and brands improve shopper engagement, reduce operational inefficiencies, and increase sales.
• Barrows Re:Store

Products and services

• Connected Store Digital in-store media, merchandising and experience platform at scale for retailers and consumer goods brands. Powered by the proprietary Connect OS operating system, it provides customizable touchpoints, content management, programmatic campaign capabilities, and analytics to improve shopper engagement, reduce operational inefficiencies, and increase sales at the point of consideration.
• Shopper Marketing Professional service for consumer goods brands focused on shopper-centric, shelf-back programming with a connected loop of physical and digital touchpoints working harmoniously to drive conversion at the point of purchase.
• Display Design Professional service for brands delivering high-impact point-of-sale (POS) creation grounded in retail design principles, with display prototyping and execution capabilities including large format 3D printing.
• Category Transformation Professional service for brands planning and designing omni-centric category transformations, optimized for current customers and future-proofed for changing retail architecture.
• CX Strategy Professional service for retailers leveraging the proprietary Experience Gap Framework™ to develop CX Strategies, Experience Pillars, and Management Frameworks through which all retail experiences are led and managed.
• Store Design Professional service for retailers planning and designing physical retail experiences that delight shoppers and deliver tangible commercial value.
• Barrows Re:Store Sustainability-focused innovation solution enabling brands and retailers to decarbonize their in-store activations while improving the shopper experience and connecting with conscious consumers.
• 3D Printing Large format additive manufacturing service with milling capabilities for creating retail displays, prototypes, and brand activations including sustainable materials.

Quantifiable outcome

• 10,000+ Connection Points deployed across physical retail globally
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Stratacache: Provider of in-store digital signage, retail media networks and digital merchandising infrastructure. Direct comparable to the Connected Store platform layer, particularly around deploying digital touchpoints at scale inside retailer environments.
• Geometry Global: WPP-owned shopper marketing and commerce agency with overlapping capabilities in retail experience design, shopper activation and retail media. Comparable in client roster and service mix to Barrows' brand offering.
• The Mars Agency: Global commerce and shopper marketing agency delivering end-to-end retail marketing services to FMCG brands and retailers. Closely matches Barrows' brand-side services portfolio across shopper marketing, category transformation and retail execution.
• Saatchi & Saatchi X: Specialist shopper marketing and retail experience network within Publicis, focused on point-of-purchase, shopper insight and in-store activation for global FMCG brands, directly competing for Barrows' brand-side mandates.
• King Retail Solutions: Retail design, fabrication and implementation firm serving brands and retailers with in-store environments and displays. Comparable to Barrows' display design and large-format 3D manufacturing capability.
• Chute Gerdeman (part of Studio One): Retail experience design and shopper marketing firm specializing in store design, brand activations and shopper strategy. Closely comparable to Barrows' store design and shopper marketing practices.
• FRCH Design Worldwide: Retail design and architecture firm delivering store concept, design and execution services to global retailers and brands. Direct comparable to Barrows' Store Design and CX Strategy practice.

Broad incumbents

• Publicis Commerce: Publicis Groupe's commerce and shopper marketing group bundling strategy, content, retail media and activation capabilities. Provides end-to-end competitor offering backed by Publicis media scale and data assets.
• Advantage Solutions: Sales and marketing services provider offering retail merchandising, shopper marketing and in-store activation at massive scale to CPG brands and retailers. Comparable end-customer overlap and category focus.

Emerging players

• Cooler Screens: In-store digital media platform focused on cooler-door and retail touchpoint screens for grocery and convenience. Overlaps with Barrows' Connected Store Connection Points, particularly in grocery retail media networks.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/barrows
• Instagraminstagram.com/barrows_global?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
• Xx.com/BarrowsGlobal
• Facebookfacebook.com/BarrowsGroup

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Barrows Global