A public excerpt from the market and consumer research that underpinned Payfast, a B2B2C SaaS mobile self-checkout solution for physical retail, focused on consumer convenience and operational efficiency for retailers. The project was selected for the START Fellowship, an international incubation and acceleration programme tied to the University of St. Gallen (Switzerland). I joined as COO, co-leading the venture across product, business, operations and fundraising.
The Brazilian supermarket sector is one of the largest in the world, a structural pillar of the domestic economy. Understanding its scale and friction points was the starting point of the research.
Consumer research focused on urban shoppers in socioeconomic classes A and B, mapping behavioral patterns, purchasing drivers, and attitudes toward technology in the supermarket context.
The appetite for queue-free shopping is fully formed in the target segment. Consumer behaviour already anticipates the technology.
Price sensitivity is high across all classes, with 77% actively searching for promotions, making in-app offers a direct engagement lever.
Quality-first behaviour in the core segment creates a clear premium positioning opportunity for partner supermarkets.
The research presented here is intentionally high-level, a generalised, public-facing excerpt of a much more comprehensive body of work. The full project encompassed competitive benchmarking, stakeholder mapping, go-to-market modelling, and proprietary consumer data that informed every strategic and product decision at Payfast.
As COO and co-founder, I led the operational, strategic and product layers of Payfast alongside the CEO, taking the venture from market thesis to investor-ready. My remit covered everything from validating the pain with retailers to delivering a working MVP, structuring the business model, and pitching to international investors and innovation hubs.