Tops Moves to Expand Media Biz

Tops Markets is moving to build an online advertising business and support greater shopper engagement through an expanded partnership with Inmar Intelligence, the companies said.

Williamsville, N.Y.-based Tops operates 157 supermarkets and five franchised stores in New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont. It is currently using Inmar for shopper incentives and loyalty; the new capability expands the use of Inmar’s Retail Cloud to allow for suppliers to access ad placements on topsmarkets.com, shopper-targeted off-site ad placements across programmatic media and paid social, and real-time sales reporting at the UPC level. This will help Tops drive new revenue and increased shopper engagement, the companies said.

“We are excited to introduce Tops Shopper Link, in partnership with Inmar Intelligence, to connect the great brands and services we offer in our 162 Tops stores and on TopsMarkets.com with our 2 million qualified shoppers at the moment they are interacting online,” Diane Colgan, SVP of Tops, said in a statement. “This digital media network will help these brands amplify and extend their marketing strategies with us in an efficient way and while building to mutual sales benefits.”

A recent Inmar Intelligence survey indicated the biggest motivator for implementing a retail media network is to drive sales (58%) and create new revenue streams (36%). The Winston-Salem, N.C.-based tech company said retailers are looking for ways to expand these networks and add new capabilities to maximize reach and engagement.

“We are delighted that Tops Markets has chosen Inmar’s Retail Cloud to build out their Shopper Link Digital Media Network,” said Spencer Baird, EVP and president of Inmar Intelligence's MarTech division. “It is our goal to not only enable scalable retail media solutions for organizations like Tops, but to create full retail marketing platforms that seamlessly integrate marketing and merchandising activities, deliver a better experience for the shopper, and drive results.”

Inmar Intelligence’s Retail Cloud is powered by ShopperSync, a data intelligence platform that enables retailers to leverage their first-party, anonymized transactional data across all media and promotions channels in their network while managing permissions and governance rights. 

Tops earlier this year announced it would merge with Price Chopper/Market 32, a rival based in Schenectady, N.Y., but remain a separately run division of the combined companies.