EXCLUSIVE: Seeing Is Believing – and Buying – With Video Engagement

Swiftly launches in-app video ads to reach younger shoppers in their omnichannel journey

2/7/2025

Adding video to in-app ads gives shoppers, especially digital-native younger consumers, ideas for an ultimate basket lift.

Just like the Millennial generation before them, younger Gen Z consumers are the subject of a lot of focus and speculation when it comes to their spending habits. From their propensity to buy online to their habit of visiting multiple store formats to stock up and grab food, this cohort presents new opportunities for effective marketing.

“The model for how you engage Gen Z is different than Millennials,” Sean Turner, co-founder and CTO at retail tech and media company Swiftly, told Progressive Grocer in a recent interview. “It’s an opportunity for grocers and brands to reset brand identity. You have to be there in the right channels, defining that conversation.”

Given the shift from the traditional paper circular to digital platforms, one opportunity is to use different tools to help customers make their lists. “Gen Z doesn’t check their physical mail – they are not opening up the paper or, in many cases, watching linear TV. So much has transitioned online and that’s why we are seeing a huge opportunity to reach Gen Z where they are, through video and through digital.”

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Heeding such trends, Swiftly is launching in-app video ads on its retail media platform that can help regional and independent grocers compete in a competitive omnichannel market. Such ads, placed at points such as a retailer’s home page, category page, or coupon sections, have been shown to generate two to three times more click-throughs compared to traditional display ads.

“You can showcase video ad placements within a retailer’s mobile app. This combines a lot of the things that Gen Z is really excited about,” Turner explained. “We have recipe content, for example, and users can see and understand how to use ingredients, making what would otherwise be a static ad come to life.”

Turner added that this capability levels the playing field for smaller retailers to capture shoppers’ attention and wallet share, and also provides key data to assess the return on ad spending. “The expectation of shoppers is to get personalized information and offers, and that is a big opportunity going forward,” he remarked.