When the Independent Grocers Alliance (IGA) announced the acquisition of Inmar’s Scanner Applications, a performance-based media company that sets up scan-based retail promotions, adjudicates claims, and provides analytics and fraud control, IGA CEO John Ross emphasized that the primary benefit of the acquisition is to make it easier, less expensive, and more efficient for independent retailers to execute promotions in their stores.
“Shoppers in urban, suburban and rural locations love to shop locally owned stores,” said Ross. “Independent chains like IGA, which has over 2,100 stores in the USA and 6,500 globally, have real power in their ‘hyper-local’ focus, but our individuality often makes it hard for brands to reach our shoppers.”
The complexity of loading promotions and running advertising efficiently across thousands of different locally owned grocery stores often means independent shoppers miss out on savings that shoppers in national retailers can access, according to Ross.
“It isn’t that brands don’t want to market to shoppers in family-owned grocery stores,” Ross added. “In fact, our shoppers are more brand loyal and more likely to respond to promotions, which means brands that work with the new ScanApps will likely have a much higher ROI than those working with big national or global chains.”
“It used to be that brands could drop a national coupon and effectively cover all shoppers,” Ross said. “But those days are long gone, and we have a complex web of different options in their place."
That's how IGA's acquisition of ScanApps can help brands easily deliver offers to independent retailers. ScanApps’ job is to allow a brand to pick its target audience, set up an offer, and have that offer run anywhere they want, right on the grocery store shelf, without worrying about technology, platforms, or point-of-sale systems.
ScanApps, formerly known as Scanner Applications by Inmar, was founded in 1991. It is the original performance-based media company and serves independent and chain retailers across the United States with on-shelf offers. Scan-based offers do not compete with trade funds; instead, they allow brands to stimulate sales across all retailers nationally, regionally, or locally, with discounts only going to shoppers who bought during the promotional period.
While ScanApps will continue to serve both independent and chain retailers, the acquisition allows for an increased focus on independent retailers that will ultimately bring more promotional savings to the shoppers of independent stores.
“We have relied on Scanner Applications to set up offers, adjudicate claims, and provide analytics and fraud control for brands since IGA launched our Retail Media Network almost eight years ago. They have a reputation for trust in our industry and have been a great partner. It made perfect sense to bring them into the IGA family to help lower costs,” Ross said.
Operationally, IGA said nothing will change when the Scanner Applications team comes under the IGA portfolio of companies. Brands and retailers should expect to see new offers and opportunities, but the flow of offers, claims adjudication, and accounts payable functions will continue as normal. ScanApps will continue to use aggregated data for reporting and category insights and never sell or share store-specific information.
The acquisition is one of several made to enhance membership in the Independent Grocers Alliance, including the 2020 acquisition of ADvay Media Group, which makes Connected TV ads, marketplace analysis, and digital marketing affordable for independent grocers; and the 2023 acquisition of What Brands Want, a marketing consultancy focused on shopper marketing and brand strategy.
IGA will start integrating more ScanApps offers into the existing IGA digital ad. For the easiest experience at retail, stores should ensure they are fully participating in the IGA digital ad program, from ordering products to promoting offers on shelf, and automating offer reimbursement.
Why? For starters, IGA's digital ad has given millions of dollars back to shoppers since 2018. However, not all stores are participating, which means independents are leaving tens of millions of dollars on the table that could be going back to shoppers.
IGA stores can easily participate by automating these offers into their POS system with a variety of providers, including: AppCard, Accelitec, BRdata, GiveX, Inmar. Each of these providers can load the national offers into the store's POS system for minimal to no cost.
"I strongly recommend retailers be on the automated digital ad by January 1, 2025," IGA Director of Digital Marketing Sarah Rivers said. "Retailers still doing manual redemptions can sign up for digital redemptions very quickly: it only takes a few days to set up from their initial phone call with one of our preferred providers."
Don’t have any of these providers? IGA offers programs that are very affordable (as little as $50 per store, per month) with a variety of providers to automate these deals and give retailers additional benefits like digital coupons, store insights, and trends. Schedule a call with IGA’s Sarah Rivers here to discuss the best option for your store.
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