A2Z Cust2Mate: Scaling a Dual-Platform Model in a Crowded Market

For a growth investor, the story starts with the market. A2Z Cust2Mate is building a dual-platform business, and the total addressable markets for both its core products are massive and accelerating. The smart shopping cart market is projected to grow from USD 326.0 million in 2025 to USD 1,423.1 million by 2030, a compound annual growth rate of 34.3%. This isn't just incremental; it's a secular shift driven by retailers' urgent need to cut labor costs and improve efficiency, while also meeting consumer demand for a frictionless, online-like in-store experience. The second leg of the model taps into the even larger retail media wave. U.S. retail media spending is expected to reach $60 billion this year and $100 billion by 2028, growing 20% in 2025 alone. This explosive growth is fueled by advertisers' hunger for first-party data and the promise of connecting with shoppers in the moment of truth.

The company's commercial traction is now moving from promise to concrete execution. Its recent deal with Israeli supermarket chain Super Sapir is a blueprint for scaling. A2Z secured a $30 million purchase order for 3,000 smart shopping carts, with deployment set to begin in the first half of 2026. The deal's structure is critical: it uses a 60-month per-cart monthly fee covering hardware, software, and ongoing support. This creates a predictable, recurring revenue stream essential for valuation. More importantly, the agreement grants A2Z exclusive rights to commercialize digital services on the platform within Super Sapir, including advertising and data services. This directly monetizes the second, high-margin TAM.

This dual TAM alignment is the core of the scalability thesis. By embedding its technology into the physical shopping journey, A2Z captures data and attention at a key consumer touchpoint. It can then leverage that platform to sell retail media inventory, creating a powerful flywheel. The challenge is capturing share from established players like Amazon and Caper, who have deeper pockets and brand recognition. But the Super Sapir deal proves the model works with a major retailer, providing a referenceable case. For A2Z, the path to dominance isn't just about selling carts; it's about owning the digital layer of the store.

Business Model Economics: Recurring Revenue Quality and Capital Needs

The financial structure of A2Z's dual model is designed for scalability and resilience. Revenue comes not from one-time hardware sales, but from a minimal upfront fee paired with recurring monthly per-cart subscriptions under multiyear agreements. This creates a predictable, high-margin revenue stream. For investors, this is the ideal setup: it reduces reliance on volatile capital expenditure cycles and dramatically improves customer lifetime value. The subscription model also locks in retailers, turning each cart into a long-term digital platform.

This shift is the foundation for the second, higher-margin growth engine: retail media. The company's recent launch of a dedicated Retail Media Division is a direct investment in building this network. To support its accelerating strategy, A2Z is expanding its development, data analytics, sales, business and product teams, backed by senior executives with deep retail media experience. This isn't just a side project; it's a full-scale build-out to compete in a segment where brands are hungry for first-party data and closed-loop measurement.

The capital needs here are clear. Scaling a retail media network requires significant upfront investment in talent and technology to develop the platform, analytics, and sales force needed to attract advertisers. A2Z is funding this expansion internally, using the cash flow from its smart-cart subscriptions to subsidize the build-out of its second, high-margin revenue stream. The goal is to create a competitive network effect, where more carts attract more advertisers, which in turn makes the platform more valuable to retailers and shoppers. For a growth investor, this is the classic playbook: use the cash cow of subscriptions to fund the next growth engine, aiming to capture a dominant share of the massive retail media TAM.

Valuation and Competitive Realities

A2Z Cust2Mate's ambitious growth story must be weighed against a stark competitive reality and a valuation that prices in near-perfect execution. The company trades at a market capitalization of $217.82 million. For a growth investor, the question is whether that price adequately accounts for the company's potential to capture a meaningful share of two massive but fiercely contested markets.

The smart cart arena is led by established giants. According to market research, the top players-Caper, SuperHii, Amazon, and others-consolidate a dominant 68-78% share of the market. Amazon, in particular, is a formidable incumbent with its Dash Cart technology deployed in its own stores, leveraging its vast ecosystem and resources. A2Z's path to scaling will require not just superior technology, but also the capital and sales muscle to win deals away from these entrenched competitors.

The retail media landscape presents an even steeper challenge. While the overall market is expanding rapidly, the growth is highly concentrated. In 2026, Amazon and Walmart are projected to capture over 89% of the incremental ad spending in retail media. This leaves a very small slice of the $10+ billion growth pie for all other players combined. For A2Z, building a competitive retail media network from scratch in this environment is a monumental task, requiring not just a platform but a critical mass of advertisers and shoppers to generate network effects.

This competitive context is the essential backdrop for the valuation. The ~$218 million market cap implies that investors see a credible path for A2Z to become a significant player in both markets. It assumes the company can leverage its dual-platform model to achieve scale faster than the giants can respond, and that its exclusive service rights with partners like Super Sapir will serve as a springboard. The valuation also likely factors in the high-margin potential of retail media, which could dramatically improve profitability once the network gains traction.

The bottom line is that A2Z's growth thesis is high-risk, high-reward. The company is attempting to disrupt two consolidated markets dominated by tech and retail titans. Its valuation must account for the significant capital and time required to build a defensible position against these giants. For the growth investor, the opportunity lies in betting that A2Z's dual-platform flywheel-using smart carts to capture data and attention, then monetizing that platform for retail media-can create a unique, scalable moat that the incumbents cannot easily replicate.

Catalysts, Scenarios, and What to Watch

For a growth investor, the path from promise to profit is paved with concrete milestones. The near-term catalyst for A2Z Cust2Mate is clear: concrete announcements of retail media platform partnerships or pilot programs with major retailers. The company has launched its dedicated division and hired seasoned executives, but the thesis hinges on demonstrating commercial traction. A deal with a major chain like Target or Kroger-mirroring the exclusivity granted by Super Sapir-would be the ultimate validation. It would prove the company can move beyond a single reference customer to build a scalable network, attracting advertisers and generating the recurring revenue that justifies the valuation.

The key financial metrics to monitor are the engine's health. First is the recurring revenue growth rate from the smart-cart subscriptions. This is the cash cow funding the retail media build-out. A steady, accelerating growth rate signals successful scaling and customer lock-in. Second, watch gross margin trends. The dual-platform model aims for high margins, but the capital-intensive nature of hardware and the significant investment in retail media talent and tech will pressure profitability initially. The market will scrutinize whether the company can maintain pricing power and operational efficiency as it scales.

The primary risk is execution, specifically on two fronts. The first is building a competitive retail media network. The evidence shows a stark reality: Amazon and Walmart are projected to capture over 89% of the incremental ad spending in 2026. A2Z must prove it can carve out a niche by leveraging its unique in-store data and platform, a monumental task against giants with established advertiser relationships and massive scale.

The second execution challenge is achieving meaningful smart-cart penetration in a capital-intensive market. The company's model relies on multiyear subscription agreements, but converting retailers away from entrenched competitors requires not just superior technology, but also the sales force and financial resources to compete on price and service. The recent team expansion is a step, but the real test is converting that capability into signed contracts and deployed carts.

The bottom line is that the next 12 months will be decisive. Investors should watch for announcements that move the needle on the retail media network, while tracking the underlying subscription growth and margin trajectory. Success on both fronts is required to turn the dual-platform flywheel into a dominant, scalable business.