Stratacache Acquires 3,500 Screen C-Store Network from Verifone

March 28, 2017 by Dave Haynes

STRATACACHE has formally announced the acquisition made back in December of a 3,500 screen shopper marketing network in convenience stores called LIFT, picking it up from the electronic payments company Verifone.

LIFT will roll up into PRN, the retail media company STRATACACHE also acquired in 2015.

There is a long, sad history of now-dead companies that tried to make a buck putting digital out of home screens in c-stores and selling ads, but this is very different. Lift is not about getting generalized or even hyperlocal ad spots in front of people. It’s about upselling shoppers when they’re buying whatever they’re buying.

Says the press release on the deal:

The LIFT technology enables a seamless upsell opportunity at the point of sale with measureable ROI. It links basket information, shopper behavior, and cashier performance to deliver tested “plus one” sales. A touchscreen at checkout displays relevant offers based on real-time transaction data, allowing C-Store retailers to sell additional items to every shopper, personalize the customer experience with redeemable promotions, drive brand activation, and maximize cashier performance.

Results demonstrate an ability to grow sales by 9% to 65%. Today, LIFT has 3500+ screens that deliver 64MM+ monthly impressions at Sunoco APlus, Global Partners LP, G&M Oil, Ricker’s, CITGO and other leading C-Store retailers.

“The LIFT Network provides an outstanding opportunity to further evolve the digital shopper marketing experience in store,” says Chris Riegel, CEO of STRATACACHE. “This targeted upsell platform allows us to further grow our reach into the consumer’s path to purchase while positively impacting sales and gathering key customer insights at retail. With this acquisition from Verifone and the enhancements provided by our artificial intelligence, predictive analytics, and mobile analytics capabilities, STRATACACHE (PRN) can take this network to the next level.”

C-Store retailers and brands engaged with LIFT continue to see measureable upside.

“LIFT gives us a powerful upsell tool in our stores. It integrates easily with our POS system, interacts with every customer to market an extra item, and coaches our associates in real-time to upsell,” says Jim Cox, Retail Development Manager at CITGO Petroleum Corporation. “It also provides actionable data that helps our team better understand basket information and cashier performance.”

Riegel told me recently in a podcast interview the scan data at the point of purchase is the massive difference between this and all the roadkill out there, dating all the way back to NGN in the late ’90s.

“So based on what you’re buying, you’re doing predictive analytics on what you might be interested in that environment,” Riegel says. “Any environment that someone says they’re going to build a network by selling eyeballs, it’s irrelevant. I get that there are media networks for pure eyeballs, but you have to help a merchant solve the problem of selling more product. That’s where the fundamental value is.”

You can listen to the podcast here: