Why retailers are engaging shoppers on Snapchat
Your kids are probably on Snapchat, and your competitors are definitely checking it out.
Increasingly, retailers are establishing a presence on the social media/communication app known as Snapchat. Although Snapchat has been around since 2011, in the past couple of years it has been taking off with retailers, who as always are following consumer behavior.
Here are a few specific reasons so many retailers are turning to Snapchat as a consumer engagement platform, starting with favorable user demographics:
The kids are alright (and on Snapchat)
One big reason an increasing number of retailers are reaching out to customers via Snapchat is that highly coveted Gen Z and even Gen Alpha (the generation following Gen Z of consumers 15 and under) shoppers are spending their time, and money, there.
Data backs up the fact that young consumers frequent Snapchat and see it as a branding and shopping platform. According to a recent survey of U.S. and U.K. Gen Z consumers from identity verification technology provider SheerID, 77% of respondents reported learning about a new brand through platforms such as Instagram, Tiktok and Snapchat.
And according to analysis of purchase data and a survey of more than 35,000 parents/guardians with children under the age of 15 from Numerator, Gen Alpha has an estimated $28 billion in direct purchasing power.
[READ MORE: Gen Alpha has $28B in purchase power and likes these social networks]
Numerator also examined social media preferences of Gen Alpha consumers, finding that while 14% rank Snapchat as their favorite social network, 84% check it at least once a day. If your brand appeals to young shoppers, or you want it to, Snapchat is a vital engagement tool.
Talk to me
Building on Snapchat’s popularity among young consumers, specialty apparel retailer American Eagle recently launched its fall 2025 promotional campaign, "Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans," featuring actress and Gen Z icon Sydney Sweeney, star of the hit HBO series "Euphoria."
The promotion includes personal, interactive components such as 3D billboards where Sweeney will interact directly with passersby, as well as a Snapchat lens where she speaks directly with Snapchat users.
Snapchat is heavily focused on direct communication among peers, including features for texting, video chatting and exchanging photos. Its communication-friendly design is perfect for both one-to-one and one-to-many conversations, adding an air of authenticity and “real life” interaction which ironically would not be achievable without digital assistance.
Reality-plus
This sense of digitally enhanced reality extends to Snapchat’s augmented reality capabilities, which retailers are leveraging to get their brand and products in front of consumers in new ways.
American Eagle is something of a retail Snapchat pioneer, and another interesting promotion it is currently running on the platform involves including more than 800 retail stores across the U.S. as Promoted Places on the Snap Map location-sharing feature.
When Snapchat users check out the American Eagle Promoted Places on Snap Map, they can learn more about the location, read content from American Eagle, creators and other users, and click to shop on the American Eagle website for a seamless online shopping experience.
American Eagle is also launching an augmented reality try-on Lens (virtual animations overlaid on a Snapchat photo) for jeans available in the Snapchat Lens carousel and the retailer’s public profile.
Another longtime Snapchat retail partner, fast-casual Mexican food chain Chipotle, celebrated the recent National Avocado Day holiday by allowing customers to scan real avocados using an exclusive AR Lens feature on Snapchat for a chance to win free guacamole for a year.
Previously, Chipotle partnered with Snapchat to promote its 2023 Lifestyle Bowls. The company created an AR lens filter designed to encourage customers to follow Chipotle-inspired exercises and meditation prompts.
