With Snappy Shopper expanding beyond the UK mainland, Retail Gazette met with with the Q-commerce platform’s VP of groups & business development Greg Deacon to discuss the “huge growth” moments retail media can provide independent retailers.

“We create an opportunity for brands to engage with the customer at the point of purchase – that moment of truth. That few minutes they’re going to spend on the app to place their order. How do we get them to engage and convert?”.

That all important conversion is what aids retail sales, but Deacon notes there is an opportunity for content not just at the pre-purchase stage but also during and post-purchase. This “drives a conversation that then drives an action”.

However, it is not simply about the right content at the right time, retailers must then delivery. “[Retailers] have got to make sure they can serve those things to that consumer. They’ve got to make sure they stock it. They’ve got to make sure it’s available to be bought,” explains Deacon.

“This creates a really interesting revenue incrementally for the retailers and for the brands, because through the technology and the digital-ness of it, there’s no wastage. It’s not like you’re putting something out there and hoping something happens. You can measure it. You can attribute that action to an outcome.”

Social engagement

The reach and ability to connected with shoppers on a range of digital touchpoint has been a real success story for the Q-commerce platform. Snappy Shopper recently introduced a social media retail media proposition. It places brand ads directly into the retailer’s own social feeds.

This not only helps drive brand awareness, Snappy Shopper is moneytising their social media feeds giving these brands 50 per cent of the revenue generated from the social media campaigns.

Such an integration provides a boost for both the convenience stores on the app and the brands showcased. Guinness, Pepsi and Walkers are just some of the household names to pilot the scheme. “It really helps the retailer sell more and it’s all being picked from the physical shelf, which means they’ve got to restock it, another win for the brand as well,” notes Deacon.

Furthermore, it provides independent retailers with new customer insights: “They know their followers, they know the people that shop for them. They now know people that shop from three miles away who are not frequenting the physical store anymore or never have done.”

Social media maturity and the overall advancements in technology has been a leveller for many convenience stores. It has “made retailers really agile. It gives them a real advantage,” according to Deacon.

The next phase of retail technology could bring even more opportunities for independent retailers, and the brands they stock.

Retail Media vs Agentic commerce

Consumers adoption of AI-powered agents when shopping online has already changed the way products are discovered. Deacon adds that AI plays “an intrinsic role in helping discoverability, but also helping people make clearer purchase decisions”.

As a result, Retail Media will have to evolve and it is likely that brands will be the ones making the investment.

“Ultimately, [brands] are going to be paying for this. They’re going be advertising in a way that can help, but they’ve got to make sure that their products are seen in the right spaces. Then also ensure the appropriate recommendations are on the back of it.

“A bigger shift in AI-generated commerce is around first party data. It’s particularly strong when it’s connected to brands with highly relevant audiences.”

Deacon has already seen a change in the way marketplaces and retailers are beginning to really monetise that first party data. But for convenience retailers, the evolution is slower and will be more focused on the trust of third-party data.

“We’re all on this journey of discovery. What it will lead to is retail media networks being far more intelligent, far more personalised and actually far more outcome driven.”

He stresses that is it very early days with some in the industry being giddy and excited while others feel “a degree of real nervousness”. Questions around entry points, focus, and simply just getting started with AI need to be answered first.

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