Australian media platform Zitcha has announced its expansion into the lucrative U.S. market, entering into a strategic partnership with leading convenience store (C-store) retail media network Axonet. The collaboration leverages the USD $44 billion C-store market, providing an innovative platform for consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands and C-store retailers to deploy their advertising campaigns efficiently and measurably.
Zitcha, a pioneer in the integration of omnichannel retail media platforms, will utilise Axonet's first-party convenience store data and retail media touch points across tens of thousands of North American convenience stores. This marks Zitcha's first foray into the U.S. retail market following its successful integration of Meta's Managed Partner Ads product in 2023. Under the new collaboration, Axonet will run Meta and Trade Desk Ads through Zitcha's retail media platform.
The use of convenience store shopper data provides a previously unexplored wealth of market insights, albeit challenging due to the fragmented nature of the convenience store industry. Axonet, founded by retail technology experts W. Capra Consulting Group, boasts over two decades of specialised experience in convenience retailing, enabling unique proficiency in collecting, transforming, and processing C-store data.
John Reiss, VP of business development at Axonet, highlighted the distinctive capabilities of the partnership with Zitcha. He mentioned the ability to provide a unified view of advertiser campaign performance across different channels, engaging C-store shoppers at various stages in their shopper journeys, both offsite and on-premise. The utilisation of first-party purchase and loyalty data ensures that campaigns effectively reach the appropriate audience with the right message at the right time.
"In partnership with Zitcha, we can offer a single-pane view of advertiser campaign performance across channels, engaging C-store shoppers at various points in their shopper journeys, including offsite, on-premise, and in-app. Our first-party purchase and loyalty data ensures campaigns reach the right people at the right time with the right message," Reiss explained.
Axonet's aim is to accumulate data from over 25,000 convenience stores and amass 100 million addressable audience profiles within its network by 2025, connecting retailers with nationwide brands. The partnership enables brands to leverage the vast C-store audiences, providing fresh insights into the customer journey across a broader sphere.
Zitcha CEO Troy Townsend commented on the significance of the partnership, promising potential scalability. "This is still an evolving ecosystem, but by partnering with Axonet, we are pushing the boundaries while simplifying this space. Together, we will offer the ability for C-Store retailers across the U.S. to see immediate value in participating in Retail media while fully automating the experience for CPG to buy across the category", he said.
The creation of consolidated, data-rich pools of C-store shopper data within Axonet, integrated with Zitcha's single platform technology, grants CPG brands as well as retailers insights into market behaviour. This enhances the propensity to tap into new engagement and growth opportunities in the dynamic and often fragmented marketplace.