Mercatus, a leading provider of grocery eCommerce solutions, and Swish Brand Experiences, an emerging marketing technology company, are delighted to announce an impactful strategic partnership aimed at advancing the value of product sampling for grocery retailers and CPG brands. This collaboration addresses the pain points often associated with traditional approaches and expands retail media offerings to include data-driven, sponsored product sampling for grocers and brand marketers.
Mercatus-powered retailers now have access to an industry-leading solution that supports suppliers in creating awareness, driving trial and household penetration across all categories and aisles – marking an important moment for certain CPG categories such as frozen foods that have been stranded from many sampling solutions due to executional difficulties and costs. Access to the new revenue stream will also allow retailers to foster shopper loyalty, fortify relationships with suppliers and re-invest in digital shopper experiences.
By integrating SwishBx’s innovative technology with Mercatus’ platform, a modernized approach to product sampling is unlocked for simple, seamless, and highly measurable, sponsored campaigns. SwishBx leverages real-time, first-party data that enables brands to effortlessly add relevant and personalized, full-size products directly to qualifying online grocery orders. These groundbreaking sponsored product sampling campaigns are managed within SwishBx’s cutting-edge platform.
With advanced tracking and reporting, both retailers and their CPG partners are able to track key metrics such as direct sales, halo sales, and lifetime sales to measure ROI of sampling campaigns.
Free samples remove barriers to entry allowing brands to earn consumer trust and repeat purchases while providing rewarding shopper experiences. Furthermore, as the sampling experience is brought to households through full-sized products, brands benefit in additional ways including in-home brand exposure and expanded trial through additional household members and their guests, which ultimately grows product adoption and customer lifetime value.
“Mercatus is dedicated to empowering regional grocery chains with a robust, enterprise-level platform designed to not just scale online revenue but to meaningfully nurture customer relationships,” stated Sylvain Perrier, President and CEO of Mercatus. “Being first-to-market with SwishBx’s groundbreaking product sampling technology, equips our clientele with cutting-edge tools for customer engagement and retention. This strategic move is aimed at providing a uniquely differentiated eCommerce experience that positions our clients well ahead of their competition.”
“We are thrilled to launch SwishBx in partnership with Mercatus. We’ve eliminated the pain points and complexity associated with sampling, allowing grocers to expand their retail media offerings while providing customers with free and relevant products,” added Adam Stave, Founder and CEO of Swish Brand Experiences. “Now, brand marketers can easily deliver data-driven product sampling campaigns and add inspiration to the orders of their next best customers.”
Sponsored Product Sampling will be available to Mercatus-powered retailers including Stater Bros. Markets, Weis Markets, and Southeastern Grocers’ Harveys Supermarket and Winn-Dixie grocery store banners among others.
This strategic partnership between Mercatus and SwishBx marks a significant leap forward in delivering innovative, data-driven marketing solutions to the grocery industry. As the partnership evolves, both companies will continue to explore novel ways to leverage their combined expertise and technology offerings, driving growth and creating unparalleled value for their esteemed clients.
