While Snapchat took the world by storm when it was initially launched, over the years, it finds itself struggling to compete with the likes of Instagram and TikTok, which has some of the deepest pockets in the industry backing them up. This is why the company is making a push into new sectors, and as a part of that push, the platform may now be seen in the e-commerce business, helping its users shop for clothing and other accessories.
Snap Inc.- the parent Snapchat, has made a significant move to establish itself in the e-commerce and shopping industry with the acquisition of Fit Analytics, a Berlin-based apparel size-recommendation engine that helps online shoppers virtually find the right clothing size.
The financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
Fit Analytics, the maker of a product called Fit Finder, which uses machine learning and customer-provided information to make its recommendations, counts over 18,000 retailers and brands as its users. Snap’s latest acquisition might just be the key to lure more apparel brands to advertise on its platform and get its user base to buy more things through the Snapchat app.
In a blog post, Fit Analytics CEO Sebastian Schulze said, “By leveraging Snap’s scale and capabilities, we will not only continue to service our existing clients, but also deepen our relationships and offerings with our brand partners and retailers. Our main focus going forward will be to scale the Fit Analytics business and work with Snap to grow their shopping platform, leveraging our technology and expertise. Our teams will be jointly executing on next-generation shopping, fashion, and style offerings.”
The acquisition will mean that more than 100 Fit Analytics team members, most of which are technical staff across engineering, data science, and product roles, will be joining Snap, but will continue to operate out of Berlin, reporting to Snap VP of engineering Nima Khajehnouri.
Not only is Snap focusing on bringing more e-commerce and in-app purchases to Snapchat, but it is also prioritizing in-app purchases to balance the upcoming privacy changes to Apple’s iOS devices, which is set to make it harder for companies to track whether their advertisements are leading to conversions and generating revenue.
Fit Analytics announced the acquisition in a blog post, saying, “Our main focus going forward will be to scale the Fit Analytics business and work with Snap to grow their shopping platform, leveraging our technology and expertise. Our teams will be jointly executing on next-gen shopping, fashion, and style offerings.”
As part of Snap, Fit Analytics will continue to serve its existing clients and work closely with Snap to grow its e-commerce and shopping offerings, which include both AR and video formats.
Since apparel and accessories make up one-third of spending by teenagers in the United States, it is hardly a surprise that Snap is eyeing clothing as a massive opportunity to further its growth.
Snap, which is projecting top-line increases of at least 50% annually over the next several years, is sparing no expenses in its journey to becoming a “super app.” The acquisition of Fit Analytics is the latest in its drive to boost e-commerce revenue as part of Snap’s ambitious growth strategy. Earlier, Snap had made agreements that allowed musicians to license their work on Snapchat directly, partnered with the NBA to promote the All-Star Game, and entered into a deal with newspaper chain Gannett. It also partnered with Indian social media platform Moj to to integrate its Camera Kit on its short video app.
