Sense accelerates the digitalization of the local retail connecting more than 5,000 shops with customers online and offline

Sensethe app born in 2022 with the aim of digitizing local shops, is consolidated in the main Spanish cities –Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia– offering digital tools that They allow emerging brands to compete with great marketplaces. Inspired by models such as Square y Karma, The platform allows you to sell online and connect with more offline customers without having your own application, accessing data on customer behavior, sending custom recommendations and connecting the physical point of sale with the digital channel. All this with an accessible solution adapted to the real resources of small businesses.

With the clear mission of democratizing access to technology, Sense is born to respond to the challenges of accelerated digitalization and changes in consumption habits. Its proposal allows independent businesses to recover competitiveness, grow and connect with their clients also on the online channel to operate on equal terms as the great marketplaces.

A key app in the retail digitalization process

At the moment, Sense connects more than 20,000 users with more than 5,000 local shops, mainly in sectors such as fashion, cosmetics, jewelry and household decoration. In addition, the app facilitates an average of 500 monthly transactions between local users and businesses.

«Small and medium -sized businesses are at a clear disadvantage in front of the great retailers and digital platforms. The shopping experience they offer is usually fragmented: their physical store does not communicate with its online channel, and many times do not have the resources, knowledge or technology necessary to unite both worlds. In addition, they lack tools to meet their customers, customize their experience or generate recurrence. As a result, they lose opportunities for sale, visibility and loyalty. The most frustrating thing is that many of these brands have incredible products, but they do not have effective channels to make known and climb, ”he says Maximum oaksCEO and co -founder of Sense.

Despite representing more than 95% of the total retail businesses in Europe, these businesses remain deeply behind in their digital transformation. According to the European Commission, Only 17% of SMEs sell online actively, and less than 9% have an integrated omnicanal strategy. In Spain, 4 out of 10 shops close for not adapting to the digital consumer. More than 80% of the 450,000 active shops continue to depend on physical stores.

«The necessary technology already exists, but is not adapted to the needs or the real capacities of independent shops. This implies that the vast majority not only lose online sales, but also manages to connect their physical and digital efforts in a coherent way », Add Robles. Sense offers, in this sense, an accessible solution, facilitating digitalization and allowing to compete with the great marketplaces.

The Sense solution: key to local trade and emerging brands

Sense offers on the one hand an app for users where you can discover products from any store, save them for later and receive personalized recommendations. In short, it offers a dropbox of the local trade and emerging brands.

On the other hand, Sense offers shops a SAAS (platform) where they can publish and sell their products, analyze them, understand the behavior of their customers and sell without commissions. In addition, they gain visibility both in the digital environment and in physical events and showrooms organized by Sense. It is a solution designed to facilitate omnichannel and bring technology closer to those who need it most.

The startup has been supported by business angels relevant to the technological ecosystem, with management positions in companies such as Amazon, Google y Stripein addition to counting the support of the US Fund Techstarsone of the most prestigious acceleration programs worldwide, and the shuttle accelerator.

In recent months, Sense has launched key integrations with Shopify y WooCommerce, which has allowed to incorporate larger brands and advance in the mass digitalization of the local retail. Looking ahead to the next quarter, the startup will carry out the second edition of its physical showroom and display new functionalities focused on improving communication between shops and customers, as well as optimizing the experience of users through more precise discovery algorithms and personalized filters.