Snapchat will let advertisers know which stores users visit

By

Emily Jensen

Published
Apr 14, 2017

Snapchat isn’t just for selfies anymore. The app is using its popularity among millenials to help advertisers track how well ads get users into their businesses. Snap Inc. has already used a set of data and tools known as Snap to Store to help select businesses track how Snapchat ad campaigns translate into actual foot traffic in stores, and will now be expanding its Snap to Store program to more sectors, including retail.

Fast food chain Wendy’s was one of the first to utilize the Snap to Store tool. In a recent campaign, Snapchat launched a Wendy’s-sponsored geofilter to promote the chain’s new jalapeno chicken sandwich. Users were then able to apply the sponsored filter in Snaps they shared with friends, and Snapchat tracked how many of those friends actually visited a Wendy’s restaurant after seeing the sponsored filter. Wendy’s found that across a seven-day period, 42,000 people visited one of the chain’s locations after seeing the sponsored filter.
 
Snapchat claims 158 million daily users, with the average user spending 25-30 minutes on the app a day. Greenberg Strategy found in a study commissioned by Snapchat Inc. that 66 percent of its users have gone onto the app while inside a shopping mall. 

Many in the advertising business see location-driven mobile data as the next big thing. Jeremy Sigel of the ad agency Essence says Snapchat has an advantage over many other startups that offer location-based data as it has enough users to generate more accurate numbers. “Being able to see if people actually walked into a store from a Snapchat ad is very appealing,” he told the Wall Street Journal.
 
Snapchat doesn’t want to allow advertisers to reach out to people with promotions or messages once they’re in a specific place, however, as they believe would make its users uncomfortable. And users who don’t wish to have their data available to marketers can opt not to share their location data with Snapchat when downloading the app. Snapchat also says it will not share specific user data with advertisers or track when users enter a location without opening the app.
 
Snapchat will give advertisers even more complex data than just location. Users of the Snap to Store data could also examine the age of people who visited its stores and which regions they reside in. And with the average Snapchat user logging onto the app as many as 18 times a day, marketers will certainly have no shortage of data to draw from.