Social Rocket
Snapchat wants to establish Snap Map more strongly as an advertising environment for local businesses. A study published by Snap, eye square and Horizon on 15 October 2026 shows that the social map is used to discover places, but does not replace classic navigation services. For German retailers and event organisers, the key distinction is between being found, intent to visit, and actual store visits.
One map serves two different purposes
According to the companies, the study surveyed more than 17.000 people aged 13 to 44 in the USA, Canada, the UK, France, Germany and Saudi Arabia. While classic maps are used for routes and specific destinations, Snap Map also serves to share with friends and to look for interesting places.
In the official analysis, 76 percent of surveyed Snap Map users say they look there for their friends' locations. 27 percent use it to arrange meetups. In the published study graphic, 29 percent each name Snapchat as a tool for finding trendy shopping locations, or prefer Snap Map over classic navigation services when browsing for shops, restaurants or local events.
This is a complement to local search, not evidence that Google Maps becomes redundant. The figure of "2,9 times more likely" cited by Snap explicitly compares the discovery of popular shops on Snapchat with other social platforms, not generally with Google Maps.
Advertising effect is not the same as measured customer visits
Snap also examined Promoted Places, i.e. paid location markers on the map. According to the study description, the comparison with sponsored pins on navigation maps involved a test environment with more than 11.000 people and follow-up surveys of 2.100 people.
In the test, participants more often found Snapchat's location ads noticeable and interesting to click. 71 percent said they would be open to visiting after seeing a sponsored pin. This statement describes stated willingness, not measured additional store visits or purchases.
The published summary does not report separate effect figures for Germany either. Anyone deriving a campaign from this should therefore not treat global survey results as German conversion rates. The question resembles other measurement problems in social advertising, which we cover in our piece on Snapchat's Unified Attribution: a contact signal is not yet a reliably attributed business outcome.
What local brands can practically test
For cafés, shops, clubs or events, a location pin with opening hours, event details and clear directions can be useful. The study names information about events, new openings and travel routes as particularly welcome ad content. The message must fit precisely the place someone is currently exploring.
A sensible test separates three goals: visibility of a location, interaction with the pin, and traceable visits. For the last step you need a reliable method, such as clearly defined actions or suitable measurement partners, rather than just comparing clicks and stated intentions.
At the same time, local marketing should not be narrowed to a single map platform. Google is developing a more transaction-oriented counterpart with Promoted Pins in Maps and new ad pathways. Snapchat, by contrast, combines place discovery with connections among friends. For operational implementation, it is also worth looking at how Snapchat is expanding other commerce ad formats.
The new survey thus provides a plausible role for social maps in the marketing mix. Whether an additional Snap Map budget makes economic sense, however, must be shown by your own campaign measurement.