Rapt Commerce: A powerful new offering for the informal and emerging retail markets

This innovative platform delivers brands access to thousands of spaza shops, taverns, and independent retail and wholesale stores, alongside real-time insights from over 2.5 million registered consumers.

Over the next three years, Rapt Commerce, Akelo and Retail Engage plan to expand its network to include over 150,000 independent merchants across wholesale, retail, taverns, and spazas, providing full data and basket statistics, and in parallel growing its member base to over 10 million.

This growth strategy aims to partner with brand companies on a category-exclusive basis to grow brands not only in distribution and sales but also in brand equity.

Sniper-level precision marketing

“Rapt Commerce is here to disrupt the sector for brands looking to make a serious impact in these untapped and mostly elusive markets,” says Garreth van Vuuren, CEO of Rapt Group.

“We’re not just selling media space. We’re offering sniper-level precision marketing powered by real-time shopper data—giving brands the ability to target exactly who they need, where they shop, and when they’re ready to buy.”

Van Vuuren adds, “Moreover, by integrating financial services and Retail Engage’s loyalty programme, Bonsella, through our partnership with Akelo, Retail Engage and Bonsella, we're empowering both consumers, merchants, and manufacturers, fostering financial inclusion in these communities throughout the value chain.”

5 opportunities

Through the key partnership with Retail Engage and Akelo, Rapt Commerce taps into rich, live consumer data, transactional basket data analytics, and financial services, allowing brands to not only engage shoppers but also understand their behaviour like never before.

The platform offers brands the opportunity to:

1. Leverage real-time shopper insights from over 2.5 million consumers, with +2,000 new members added daily.
2. Execute precision-targeted campaigns across SMS, WhatsApp, digital ads, and in-store activations.
3. Adapt campaigns in real-time, based on live transactional data, ensuring campaigns drive measurable sales uplift.
4. Provide financial and operational support to merchants through integrated POS solutions, enabling stock ordering direct to wholesalers, digital wallet payments, and loyalty programmes.
5. Exclusive media access within spaza shops, taverns, and independent retailers, ensuring category dominance and eliminating competitive noise.

Uplifting the entire value chain

“It’s not just about getting noticed. It’s about owning the conversation and uplifting the entire value chain,” says Andrew Weinberg, CEO of Akelo.

“With Rapt Commerce, brands aren’t just running ads—they’re driving sales, supporting merchant growth, and locking out competitors. And with category exclusivity, brands stay top-of-mind, consistently, in every relevant channel.”

The platform’s full-funnel approach combines digital precision, financial inclusion, and on-the-ground activations, not to mention the integral trader platform for ordering. Rapt Commerce delivers both reach and relevance.

Benefits for Traders

1. Brand campaign participation promoting products in spazas to drive increased sales.
   
2. Card Acceptance at a fraction of the market cost.
3. Rebates back into the stock wallet.
   
4. Free loyalty programme targeting consumers around each spaza.
   
5. Trader Platform for Ordering: A seamless system for merchants to order stock directly from suppliers via their phone and benefit from continuous stock replenishment and turnover insights.

“This isn’t just a shopper and media solution. It’s an entire economic and sector-defining product,” says van Vuuren.

“With the perfect mix of in-store exclusivity, digital precision, financial inclusion, and content that doesn’t feel like an ad, Rapt Commerce is redefining what it means to market in the informal sector.”