Retail media platform Zitcha, Axonet announce new partnership to enhance C-store shopper engagement and experiences

A new partnership between Zitcha and Axonet offers those in FMCG a new channel to connect with previously unreachable convenience store shopper audiences. 

The convenience store sector is a $44bn market in the US alone, and this collaboration represents an exciting time for C-store retailers and CPG brands to reach and engage new audiences in a meaningful way, states a media release on the Zitcha-Axonet partnership.

The aggregated C-store Retail Media Network, Axonet, will bring together valuable insights across its first-party data and shopper audiences, integrating with Zitcha’s retail media platform to improve business outcomes. 

This strategic partnership expands Zitcha, the world’s first unified omnichannel retail media platform, into the US for the first time and follows the news of its integration of Meta’s Managed Partner Ads product at the back end of 2023. Axonet will run Meta and Trade Desk Ads through Zitcha’s Retail Media Platform. 

Harnessing the power of this shopper data has historically been difficult, given the fragmented state of the convenience store landscape. But retail technology expert W. Capra Consulting Group, from which Axonet was founded, has over two decades of experience in the convenience & energy retailing vertical - providing Axonet with a unique perspective and competency in collecting, transforming, and processing C-store data.

John Reiss, VP of Business Development, Axonet said: “In partnership with Zitcha, we [Axonet] are able to 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.”

Connecting retailers with brands nationwide, Axonet aggregates data across a range of convenience stores allowing brands to leverage invaluable C-store audiences. It’s targeting 25,000+ convenience stores and 100 million addressable audience profiles within its network by 2025. 

Zitcha CEO Troy Townsend, said: “This is still an evolving ecosystem, but partnering with Axonet, we are pushing the boundaries, while simplifying this space. Together we will offer the ability for C-Store retailers across the US to see immediate value participating in Retail media meanwhile fully automating the experience for CPG to buy across the category.”

Across the increasingly fragmented media landscape, brands are looking for insights to better understand the customer journey which is why this is beneficial. By leveraging the industry-leading data-rich pools of C-store shopper data within Axonet, and enhancing it with the power of one single platform, CPG brands as well as retailers can understand the market better while tapping into new engagement and growth opportunities.