Snapchat turns foot traffic into media strategy with new Place Loyalty data

Turns out your daily emotional-support lap around Circular Quay or Melbourne Central may now qualify as an advertising signal.

Snapchat is giving advertisers a new lens into how Australians move through cities, with fresh data from its Snap Map Place Loyalty feature revealing where consumers repeatedly spend their time - and what that could mean for media planning, out-of-home placement and creative strategy.

The data, which focuses on repeat visitation behaviour across Sydney and Melbourne, identifies three distinct consumer archetypes: convenience-first consumers, food-loyal consumers and experience-seeking consumers.

Shopping centres emerged as dominant repeat destinations in both cities, with Melbourne Central, QV Melbourne and Collins Place ranking highly in Melbourne, while Sydney users repeatedly visited locations including The Galeries, Queen Victoria Building and 25 Martin Place.

Restaurants and cafes accounted for almost half of the top-ranked venues across both cities, ranging from fast-food chains to premium dining destinations, including Bar Totti’s, Higher Ground and Kobe Wagyu Yakiniku.

Entertainment and cultural venues also featured prominently, with the Sydney Opera House, Metro Theatre, Forum Melbourne and Her Majesty’s Theatre ranking among the most frequently revisited locations.

Physical behaviour becomes a media signal

Ryan Ferguson, Managing Director of Snapchat ANZ, said the data reflects changing consumer behaviour and growing opportunities for brands to better understand intent in physical environments.

“Place Loyalty reflects a broader shift in how people engage with the physical world; consumers today are making more intentional decisions about where they spend their time, attention and money,” Ferguson said.

“For brands, understanding the difference between habitual behaviour and high-intent experiences is becoming increasingly important. Someone visiting Melbourne Central every week versus the Sydney Opera House a few times a year represents two very different consumer mindsets and engagement opportunities.”

“Features like Place Loyalty help surface richer signals around real-world behaviour and affinity, enabling brands to think more strategically about relevance, context and how they connect with audiences in moments that genuinely matter.”

The rollout marks the latest evolution of Snap Map, which Snapchat says now reaches more than 435 million monthly active users globally.

Snap Inc. Ryan Ferguson

How Place Loyalty works

The new feature ranks users based on how frequently they visit locations over a 12-month period, assigning Gold, Silver or Bronze tiers to users who fall within the top 1%, 10% or 25% of visitors, respectively.

Snapchat said loyalty rankings are visible only to users themselves, while precise location data is not shared with advertisers. The company also reiterated that Snap Map location sharing remains opt-in and can be controlled through features such as Ghost Mode.

The company also released lists of the top local hotspots visited by Snapchatters in Sydney and Melbourne, with locations spanning retail, dining, entertainment and tourism.

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