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Trade Connect

Connect your brand directly with the shops, taverns, venues and reps that sell it.

Trade Connect is the part of Hello Brand OS that links a brand to the trade. Outlets join, order, earn and grow on any phone, with no app, and every interaction comes back to the brand as one record per outlet.

  • Connect
  • Order
  • Earn
  • Redeem
  • Grow
Get the free demo How it works

Part of Hello Brand OS, powered by Social Wiiv

How Trade Connect works, in five steps

  1. The brand

    The brand sets the offer

    A launch, a promotion or a reward, and the outlets it is for.

  2. On the outlet's phone

    Trade Connect reaches every outlet

    By WhatsApp, SMS, USSD or a data-light web page. No app to download.

  3. At the outlet

    Outlets order and earn

    Retailers order stock and earn Trade Tokens. Reps verify outlets and log their visits.

  4. Where the shopper buys

    The shopper buys

    The stock is on the shelf and the promotion is live where the shopper buys.

  5. Back to the brand

    The data comes back

    Every order, scan and visit adds to one record per outlet, and the brand sees it.

From the PepsiCo Trade Connect proposal: today's model runs from PepsiCo to distributor, to wholesaler, to the informal-trade retailer, with a blind spot beyond the wholesaler.
From our PepsiCo Trade Connect proposal: today's model, and the blind spot beyond the wholesaler.

Why it matters

Beyond the wholesaler is a blind spot.

Most brands reach small retailers through distributors and wholesalers. Past the wholesaler, they cannot reliably identify retailers, talk to them, reward them, track stock, measure compliance or forecast demand.

Trade Connect gives the brand a direct, measurable line to every outlet, built for the phones retailers already have.

The goal is accessibility, not sophistication.

How it works

Six steps, from the first message to the full picture.

  1. Reach them, no appUSSD on any mobile phone with no data needed, a chat on WhatsApp, or a data-light web page in any browser.
  2. Join and verifyThe retailer registers with a name, mobile number, store type and location. A rep checks the outlet by GPS and photo, and it gets its own retailer ID.
  3. Order stockRetailers pre-order on WhatsApp, USSD or the web, and collect once the stock is reserved, so fewer trips are wasted.
  4. Earn and redeemTrade Tokens for ordering, keeping stock, following prices, joining promotions and learning. Tokens unlock rewards and benefits.
  5. Build a trade scoreOrdering, compliance, stock, activity and payments add up to a score that moves the outlet from Bronze to Silver to Gold.
  6. See every outletEvery interaction adds to a single retailer record, with dashboards, scheduled reports and exports for the brand.
From the PepsiCo Trade Connect proposal: a phone receiving Trade Connect messages (a new product launch, a special promotion, a stock alert, learn and grow, and a survey), linked to WhatsApp, SMS, USSD and web icons.
From the PepsiCo Trade Connect proposal: an illustrated township spaza shop where a Trade Connect rep and the shop owner use a phone at the counter.
The Trade Connect phone screen Place New Order: choose your preferred channel, order via USSD or order on mobile web.
From the PepsiCo Trade Connect proposal: a Trade Token coin surrounded by ways to earn (order more, keep stock, follow prices, join promos, know more, engage more) beside a phone showing 1,250 Trade Connect tokens and a View Rewards button.
From the PepsiCo Trade Connect proposal: a trade score dial reading 782, good, out of 1,000, above Bronze (entry level), Silver (growth retailer) and Gold (high value retailer) badges.
Step 1 of 6

Everything on one platform

For the retailer

  1. Onboarding and verification Registration, outlet checks and approval.
  2. Retailer and outlet profiles Location, business details and trading activity.
  3. Catalogue and pre-ordering See the products, order, and track collection.
  4. Trade Tokens and rewards Earn, track and redeem approved trade benefits.
  5. Promotions and campaigns Targeted trade activity, with who took part.
  6. Payments and wallet Payments, balances and statements.
The Trade Connect brand dashboard on a laptop, with retailer, order and token totals, sales by brand, orders over time and a map, next to a phone showing a spaza shop's token balance.

For the brand and its team

  1. Field force Territories, outlet visits and rep activity.
  2. Training and compliance Product knowledge, assessments and responsible trading.
  3. Reporting and analytics Dashboards, scheduled reports and exports.
  4. Administration and audit Access, permissions, settings and audit trails.
  5. Messages on every channel WhatsApp, SMS, USSD and mobile web.

Visuals from our PepsiCo Trade Connect proposal. The people shown are illustrations, not real retailers.

An aerial view of a South African township: rows of small homes, shops and a main road busy with minibus taxis.
Informal trade runs through thousands of small outlets. Trade Connect puts each one on the map.

What brands learn

Every order, message and visit becomes something you can see.

Spaza shops, hawkers, taverns and small stores sell a large share of what brands make, yet past the wholesaler most of that trade is invisible. Trade Connect turns it into a data layer the brand owns.

  • Who and where

    A verified record for every outlet: the owner, the store type, its GPS location and a photo.

  • Store profile

    Group outlets by type, size and tier, so you can plan by the kind of store, not only by region.

  • What sells

    Orders show which products, pack sizes and quantities each outlet buys, and how often.

  • Where stock runs out

    Stock-out alerts and gaps in ordering show where shelves are empty before sales are lost.

  • Who supplies them

    See which wholesalers and distributors serve which outlets, and where the gaps are.

  • Which promotions work

    Compare stock and sales in the outlets that ran a promotion with the ones that did not.

  • Compliance

    Pricing, display and promotion compliance, checked by reps and reported outlet by outlet.

  • Demand ahead

    Order history by area feeds demand forecasts and maps of where sales are growing.

Every figure in the brand's dashboards says how it was measured: estimated, modelled, measured or verified. How we label numbers

In the outlet

Stock, promotions and screens: how they work.

Three things change in the outlet: how the stock arrives, how promotions reach the counter, and what the shopper sees.

Stock: order before you travel

Retailers pre-order on WhatsApp, USSD or the web. The stock is reserved before they set out to collect it.

  1. The retailer ordersOn WhatsApp, USSD or a data-light web page.
  2. The order is routedTo the distributor or wholesaler that serves the outlet.
  3. The stock is reservedSo nobody travels for stock that is not there.
  4. Collection is confirmedWith the place, a reference number and a stock alert.
  5. The retailer collectsOne trip, the order ready.

Order together

Where outlets trade close together, their orders combine into one collection or delivery point and share the transport cost: bigger baskets, better stock planning and fewer wasted trips.

Promotions: talk to every counter

The brand sends messages straight to the outlet by WhatsApp, SMS, USSD or a notification on the phone.

  • Product launches
  • Special promotions
  • Stock alerts
  • Learn and grow
  • Surveys

Reward what happens

Outlets earn Trade Tokens for joining a promotion, keeping the product in stock and following the price. Each outlet's take-up and orders come back to the brand, so the next promotion goes where the last one worked.

Screens: show it where shoppers buy

Where an outlet has a screen, or a Brand Box on its TV, the same promotion plays in store. A QR code opens the offer on the shopper's phone, and a till slip or voucher proves the purchase.

A rendered mini market: beer fridges and display stands at the entrance, then shelves of bottles with shelf talkers, and an offer marker on one product.
In-store (render) An illustration of a mini market: displays at the door, shelf talkers in the aisle and an offer on the product itself. Retail media, Off Trade
A smiling shop owner in an apron stands with her arms folded at the door of her spaza shop, shelves of groceries behind her and fruit stalls on the pavement.
Built for the people who run the outlet, on the phone they already have.

For the retailer

Trade well, and it pays.

Trade Tokens reward good trading. The trade score turns that track record into something a retailer can use.

  • Earn tokens for

    • Ordering
    • Keeping stock
    • Following prices
    • Joining promotions
    • Learning about products
    • Answering surveys

  • Use tokens for

    • Stock purchases
    • Part-payment of future orders
    • Airtime and data
    • Merchant services
    • Approved trade benefits

From trade score to trade credit

The trade score reads ordering, compliance, stock, platform activity and payments. In our proposals, a higher score unlocks trade credit for stock, which the brand, financial partners or fintech lenders can fund.

  • Bronze

    R500 credit · entry level

  • Silver

    R1,500 credit · growing retailer

  • Gold

    R5,000+ credit · high-value retailer

Example credit levels from a Trade Connect proposal, not a credit offer.

Who it is for

Brands, the trade and the people in between.

  • For brands and their sales teams

    Brands

    • See past the wholesaler: who the outlets are, where they are and what they order.
    • Talk to every outlet directly: launches, promotions, stock alerts and surveys.
    • Reward the outlets that order, stock and follow your promotions.

  • For spaza shops, taverns, stores and venues

    Retailers and venues

    • Order without a wasted trip: stock is reserved before you travel.
    • Earn tokens for doing business well, and swap them for rewards.
    • Build a trade score that grows with your business.

  • For the people on the road

    Reps and field teams

    • Territories, outlet visits and checks in one place.
    • Verify new outlets with GPS and a photo.
    • Everyone involved is rewarded for performance.

Bars, restaurants and taverns connect to the brands they sell through their venue profile. See how a venue connects to its brands.

Run a liquor store, spaza or mini market? List your shop and choose Off Trade in the first step, or see how Hello Brand OS works in Off Trade.

More for each side: for brands, and for venues and outlets.

Proof

Where it is being built.

We say how far each one got. The PepsiCo programme is a proposal, Pick n Pay a pilot under discussion, and Tyger Valley is live and growing.

  • Trade

    PepsiCo Trade Connect

    A proposed platform that connects PepsiCo directly with hawkers, spaza shops and independent convenience stores through ordering, rewards and first-party retail data, starting with a 500-retailer pilot.

  • Retail

    Pick n Pay

    A proposed Pick n Pay Connect pilot: see, scan, buy, verify, reward and measure at the last three feet of the shelf.

  • Retail

    Tyger Valley

    A retail media network at Tyger Valley in Cape Town, launched in October 2026, with LED screens at the food court and the Woolworths entrance.

From pilot to national

Start with 500 outlets. Prove it. Then scale.

Every Trade Connect programme starts as a pilot, so the brand sees how real retailers behave before it commits to scale.

  1. Weeks 1 to 7

    Configure and build

    Agree the trade rules, set up the brand's platform, onboarding, wallet and field-force tools, and the USSD and WhatsApp journeys.

  2. Weeks 7 to 11

    Test and launch

    Testing, then a controlled launch with 50 retailers before the full pilot group goes live.

  3. 90 days

    Pilot with 500 retailers

    Spaza shops, hawkers and independent convenience stores in the agreed regions. Onboarding, ordering, tokens and the commercial model are tested.

  4. 12 months and beyond

    Scale

    5,000 retailers in more regions, then a national roll-out to 20,000 and more, with trade credit and a marketplace to follow.

What a pilot aims for Targets, not results

  • 500Retailers registered
  • 70%Active every month
  • 30%+Ordering through the platform
  • 60%+Taking part in compliance
  • 80%+Retailer satisfaction
  • 80%Of pilot locations sending data
A field rep in a navy shirt shows his phone to a smiling shop owner at the counter of her shop, a leaflet in her hands.
Outlets are signed up and verified in person, then trade on their own phone.

How outlets join

Retailers are signed up in the field, where they already buy and trade. A rep checks each new outlet by GPS and photo before it gets its retailer ID and starts ordering.

  • Brand reps
  • Wholesalers
  • Field promoters
  • Existing retail networks
  • Taxi rank activations
  • Cash-and-carry stores

Timeline, numbers and targets come from our Trade Connect proposals. The regions and outlet mix are agreed with each brand.

What's inside

  • Retailer onboarding and verification
  • Retailer and outlet profiles
  • Digital catalogue and pre-ordering
  • Payments and retailer wallet
  • Trade Tokens and rewards
  • Promotions and campaigns
  • WhatsApp, SMS, USSD and web messages
  • Field-force management
  • Training and compliance
  • Admin, audit and reporting

See every module in Hello Brand OS

Questions we hear

Do retailers need a smartphone or an app?
No. USSD works on any mobile phone with no data. Retailers with a smartphone can use WhatsApp or a data-light web page instead.
How does Trade Connect relate to Hello Brand OS?
It is part of Hello Brand OS, which is built on Social Wiiv's SaaS CRM and mobile engagement platform. Hello Brand designs and runs your programme and is your single point of contact.
Where is the data kept?
Data is hosted in South Africa. Each record carries what the person agreed to and when, in line with POPIA.

Keep exploring

Bring your trade closer.

Tell us which outlets you want to reach and what you want them to do. We will come back with how Trade Connect could work for you.

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