When you’re a small-to-medium-sized brand with limited marketing budget, every penny counts. Especially when launching a new product or into a new channel. Large FMCG players may dominate shelf space and airwaves, but smaller brands can compete cleverly by turning to high-ROI, targeted digital channels. That’s where *shopt comes in: a direct line to store owners that maximises exposure, builds traction, and supports faster sell-through in the all-important convenience channel.
The UK convenience sector is valued at over £45 billion and growing, with more than 50,000 stores nationally [The Local Shop Report 2023, ACS] . It plays a critical role in shoppers' lives, offering proximity, flexibility, and impulse-buy opportunities that larger format retailers can’t always provide. Convenience store owners are also highly influential gatekeepers, and decisions made at the till or shelf are often theirs alone. Being front-of-mind for them is essential when launching something new.
We are also seeing the rise of the independent retail influencer, and many store owners are creating social platforms to shout about new and exciting products in their stores to help them to stand out. Being on their radar and a part of their community is key!
Traditional advertising - think TV, print, and even large-scale digital display - can be prohibitively expensive for SMEs. But the rise of mobile-based B2B platforms has changed the game.
BCG’s research found that 80% of B2B buyers are using mobile at work, and more than 60% report that mobile played a significant role in a recent purchase. Moreover, some 70% of B2B buyers increased mobile usage significantly over the past two to three years, and 60% expect to continue to increase their mobile usage.
These stats highlight the growing importance of mobile-first tools like *shopt in engaging trade buyers and store owners directly, right where they’re making stocking and purchasing decisions. For B2B brands targeting niche audiences (like store owners), this means better ROI and less waste.
*shopt is a mobile app used by 18,000+ convenience store owners across the UK. It helps retailers discover new products, access exclusive offers, and get rewarded for engaging with brands. For brand owners, it's a low-cost, high-impact way to:
Because the platform is mobile-first, content is consumed on-the-go, which aligns perfectly with how independent retailers operate- often multitasking and decision-making on the shop floor.
*shopt is flexible on pricing models, allowing brands to scale as much as your budget allows. We recognise that smaller brands may not have the benefit of physical resource and therefore are not able to create a direct relationship with each retailer without digital.
Launching a new product or entering a new channel is all about momentum. You need to:
*shopt offers a scalable, immediate way to achieve this- without the long lead times or budget strain of traditional trade marketing. Plus, every campaign comes with measurable results: views, engagements, redemptions, and feedback from store owners.
If you're launching a product and wondering how to stretch your marketing budget, start where the decision-makers are- on their phones, in their stores, ready to discover what’s next. *shopt gives small and medium brands a powerful, direct channel into the heart of the convenience sector.
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