Introduction

What’s the Story? The Coresight Research team will attend and participate in this year’s Shoptalk conference, which will be held on March 27–30, 2022, in Las Vegas, US. Shoptalk 2022 will address the sudden transformation in the retail environment since the outbreak of Covid-19, as the industry is looking to embrace technology and innovation to address new challenges. On March 27, 2022, Deborah Weinswig, CEO and Founder of Coresight Research, will emcee and feature on the judging panel of Shoptalk 2022’s “Shark Reef” Startup Pitch Competition, which will see 15 early-stage US retail-technology innovators compete to win the Shark’s Choice and Audience Choice awards. In the lead-up to the event, we are profiling the participating innovators. This report forms part of our Innovator Profile series, which focuses on emerging technologies that are disrupting traditional retail and fueling innovation across the retail value chain. We present Sayollo, a retail-technology company that provides a platform for advertising and purchasing in mobile video games. Coresight Research collaborated with Sayollo to offer insights into its service capabilities and offerings. Why It Matters Coresight Research categorizes the 15 participating innovators into four areas of disruption in retail. Sayollo falls under “groundbreaking digital commerce.” As advances in innovative technologies, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, transform automated capabilities within retail, digital commerce is set to grow rapidly in functionality and popularity. Technology innovators focusing on groundbreaking digital commerce can assist retailers in marketing automation, social media campaigns, business analytics, order management and more.

Sayollo: In Detail

Headquarters Israel Funding Stage Seed stage Total funding amount: $7.5 million Company Description Sayollo was founded in 2018. Its platform allows video gamers to view advertisements and buy physical products directly inside mobile games. The company incorporates advertisements on billboards and posters to blend into the gaming environment and not disrupt the gaming experience for users. Sayollo’s solution helps direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands expand their marketing footprint in the rapidly growing digital video-gaming world and specifically target Gen Z mobile gamers—one of the biggest sources of growth in the video-game market. The company aims to tap into the growth of social commerce and bridge the gap between DTC brands, advertisers and game publishers by helping facilitate a digital experience that combines all three. [caption id="attachment_143129" align="aligncenter" width="480"] Source: Company website[/caption]   What Problem Is the Company Solving? Advertisers, brands and retailers have long tried to integrate their product promotions within video games to tap into one of the most rapidly growing markets in the digital world. However, video gamers often push back against the concept, citing an interruption to the gaming experience due to the isolated and disruptive nature of stopping play to view an advertisement. This issue limits the extent to which DTC brands and retailers can reach the video-gaming community, which is made up of predominantly younger generations such as Gen Z and millennials. By integrating advertisements into internal objects within the gaming environment—such as billboards, posters and signs—advertisements can be displayed without interrupting play. As these advertisements are more subtly integrated relative to traditional isolated advertisements, they can often be considerably cheaper as well. Market Opportunity As the digital world expands, brands and retailers will have an immense opportunity to expand their marketing footprints to new channels such as video games. The global video-gaming market totaled $178 billion in 2021 and is set to grow to $269 billion by 2025, representing a CAGR of around 11%, according to Statista. As video gaming becomes more popular, game publishers are coming up with innovative ways to integrate advertisements while simultaneously enhancing the gaming experience. Advertising through video games is a great way for brands and retailers to target Gen Z and millennial consumers: 58% of video gamers in the US are under 34 years old, according to Statista. As online gaming and influencer livestreaming bolster the social aspect of gaming, brands and retailers have the oppurtunity to strategically tap into niche social communities likely to be interested in their offerings.

What We Think

We believe that both digital and social commerce will continue to evolve alongside each other, presenting new and diverse opportunities for brands and retailers to market their offerings, including through in-game advertisements. We believe that brands and retailers can leverage in-game advertising to capitalize on the growing popularity of video games globally and target younger generations of consumers that are primed to dominate retail spending in the future.