For much of the history of e-commerce, online and offline were two separate worlds, with separate supply chains, customer data, and merchandising strategies.
More recently, retailers have tried to combine them under strategies sometimes labeled as omnichannel, unified commerce, or adaptive retail, all of which to one degree or another strive to bring the advantages of online commerce into stores, and vice versa.
While there are several promising areas where this kind of crossover is happening, the combination of mobile apps and retail media solutions has emerged as an important tool for bringing these two worlds together.
Here are some examples of retailers using the app to bridge the gap:
Checkout-free
In one of the more direct examples of online and offline coming together, Sam’s Club is experimenting with allowing customers to purchase all of their items via its Scan & Go app, completely skipping the typical checkout process. At one Texas store, it’s even piloted getting rid of checkout lanes entirely.
While the membership store has emphasized the convenience benefits of this offering, the upside for Sam’s Club is that it can take advantage of e-commerce capabilities for in-store transactions. Through the Sam’s Club Member Access Platform (MAP), display ads appear in the Scan & Go app, directing customers to new products in real-time while they shop in-store.
The company also recently launched a retail media solution connected to MAP called Omni-Impact, a measurement tool designed to help brands determine precisely what is driving incremental sales across channels over a time span of up to 12 months.
Driving behavior
In another example of retail media and consumer apps coming together, Dollar General is allowing advertisers on its retail media network to put money toward rewards offers on Fetch—a platform where users scan 70 million receipts per week from select stores in exchange for gift cards and other prizes.
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"Shoppers come to their Fetch app with intent — they're planning, buying, and ready to be rewarded," Courtney Cochrane, retail industry lead at Fetch, said in a statement. "By partnering with [Dollar General Media Network], we're giving brands a way to meet consumers in those exact moments and drive real results.”
This is an example of rewards-based advertising, in which shoppers are given incentives to engage with advertisements. In this case, it’s supplementing a retail media network that has already grown 25% in Q1.
For Dollar General, the benefit is a more personalized experience for its customers and a higher return for its advertiser partners, according to CEO Todd J. Vasos in a recent earnings call. “Over time, we believe we can leverage this offering to increase market share and drive profitable sales growth, while further evolving our relationship with our customers and driving greater customer loyalty within the digital platform,” he said.