Why Convenience Stores Are Perfect for This
Most retail screens have to fight for a fraction of a second of attention as a shopper walks past. A convenience store counter works differently. Customers arrive at the register, put their items down, and wait — every single transaction. That pause is brief but guaranteed, it repeats constantly, and in a neighborhood store a meaningful share of those customers come in daily. That footprint of reliable, repeated attention is what makes the counter an unusually strong ad placement.
The register is the highest-traffic spot in retail
Every customer pauses at the counter to pay — a guaranteed, repeated viewing moment that happens many times a day, much of it from regulars who come in daily.
A point-of-purchase audience advertisers want
Neighborhood shoppers right at the moment of decision. Convenience and bodega screens are a fast-growing channel that brands increasingly target.
Free signage that replaces static posters and paid displays
Show your own deals, lottery, and promos between paid ads, keep the counter tidy, and keep half the ad revenue.
The result is two wins from one screen. First, you turn a screen that was either idle or showing cable into an extra revenue stream. Second, you get a free content management system that replaces the handwritten signs, static posters, and paid display subscriptions you might be running today — so the same screen promotes your own deals, shows lottery jackpot totals, and flags daily specials in between paid ads. You control the mix.
And there is nothing to buy to get there. Trillboards is free digital signage with revenue share — no per-screen fee and no proprietary hardware. It runs on a cheap Fire TV Stick, an Android TV, or a smart TV or monitor you already own. If there is already a screen near your register, you may be able to point it at Trillboards tonight.
How It Works: Install Once, Earn and Run Your Own Content
Getting a counter screen live takes a few minutes. You do not need to choose between earning from ads and showing your own promotions — the same screen does both, on a schedule you set.
Create your free earner account
Go to trillboards.com/earner/auth and sign up with your email. No credit card, no subscription, no hardware order.
Install the free Trillboards app on any TV, Fire Stick, or Android TV
Search "Trillboards" in the Amazon Appstore, Google Play Store, or your smart TV's app store. If you have an existing Fire TV Stick or Android TV device behind the counter, just use that — no new hardware needed.
Screens start showing programmatic ads
Sign in with your earner credentials, and the screen auto-registers in your dashboard. Real-time programmatic ads begin serving immediately — national and local advertisers bid for your placement.
Keep running your own deals between ads
Upload your own slides — daily specials, combo deals, lottery jackpot notices, hours, new products — and set how much screen time goes to your content versus paid ads. Your promos stay in rotation; nothing disappears when an ad plays.
Earnings accrue 50/50
Your share of ad revenue accumulates in your earner dashboard as impressions are served. Track it in real time and add more screens whenever you are ready — there is no per-screen cost.
Setup walkthrough: how to install Trillboards on any TV or streaming device. Privacy-friendly embed via youtube-nocookie.com.
Want the full mechanics of how venue screens earn from real-time ad auctions? See the venue owner smart TV advertising guide or the broader guide to monetizing TV screens.
Real Results From a Venue Owner Who Did It
The fastest way to understand what Trillboards actually looks like in practice is to hear from a real venue owner who set it up and kept it running. We have one documented case study on the site: see how a real venue owner turned their screens into income. The specifics are for a laundromat, but the mechanics — install the app, register the screen, run your own content alongside programmatic ads, watch earnings accumulate — are identical for a convenience store counter screen.
The core dynamic is the same regardless of venue type: a screen that was already on becomes an ad inventory asset, and you keep half of what it earns without having to actively manage it day to day.
Grow the Network — Refer a Fellow Owner
Trillboards is a network of venue screens. The more venues in the network, the broader the reach advertisers can buy — and broader reach means more advertiser demand, which means more value per screen for every owner in the network, including yours. The fastest way that network grows is owners telling other owners.
If you know another convenience store, bodega, deli, or small retailer that has a screen near their counter, invite them to create a free earner account. There is nothing to coordinate — just point them to the signup and they go through the same process you did. Every venue that joins adds to the inventory pool that advertisers can buy, which benefits all screens on the network.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does the screen go — next to the register or somewhere else?▼
The counter or register area is the natural home for a Trillboards screen in a convenience store or bodega. Every customer pauses there to pay, so that placement gets guaranteed, repeated views throughout the day. A small TV, monitor, or even a tablet-sized screen on a shelf mount behind the counter works well — you already have eye contact with customers at that moment, and the screen adds value without requiring any new furniture or installation.
Can I show my own deals, lottery specials, and promotions between ads?▼
Yes. Trillboards is a full content management system as well as an ad network. You can schedule your own slides — daily specials, new stock, lottery jackpot notices, combo deals, hours, or any image or video you create — and decide how much screen time goes to your content versus paid ads. Your content and the ads rotate automatically; nothing drops off the screen when an ad plays, and nothing is hard to change.
Is it really free — what is the catch?▼
There is no subscription, no per-screen fee, and no hardware to purchase from Trillboards. The platform makes money by keeping a share of the programmatic ad revenue your screen generates, so it only earns when your screen does. That is the entire business model — no hidden fees, no contract, no credit card to start. If your screen runs zero ads, neither party earns anything.
What kind of ads will run on my counter screen?▼
Ads come from the programmatic advertising ecosystem — the same system that serves ads on major streaming apps and websites. Categories include consumer goods, food and beverage, financial services, entertainment, and local advertisers. You can flag categories you want to exclude in your earner dashboard. Ads are served in real time based on the audience and placement, so the specific ads rotate rather than being preset.
Do I have to manage it every day?▼
No. Once the screen is set up and your content is loaded, the system runs on its own. Programmatic ads serve automatically. Your own slides loop on the schedule you set. You do not need to log in daily, swap out files, or monitor anything unless you want to update a promo or check your earnings dashboard. Most owners set it up once and only touch the dashboard when they have a new deal to post.
How do payouts and the revenue split work?▼
Ad revenue is split 50/50 between you and Trillboards. Your share accumulates in your earner dashboard as your screen serves impressions, and payouts are processed on a regular schedule once your balance reaches the payout threshold. There are no setup fees, no platform fees taken off the top beyond the split, and no minimum screen count — a single counter screen qualifies. The dashboard shows impressions and earnings in real time.
Turn your counter screen into income
Put your store's screen to work
Free to install. No hardware to buy, no subscription. Run your own deals and promos on the same screen that earns from programmatic ads.
Create your free account →