Supermarket Chains Leveraging Technology to Better Service Shoppers
CHICAGO — Supermarket chains Ahold Delhaize and Kroger operate thousands of stores across the United States, but digital executives from these retail giants discussed the importance of leveraging data, predictive analytics and digital platforms to get very micro in their reach at the 2019 Path to Purchase Expo (P2PX).
Ahold operates more than 2,000 stores under various banners across the East Coast. Speaking at the event, Linda Crowder, sales team lead for Peapod Digital Labs, an Ahold Delhaize Co., acknowledged that the company’s banners such as Food Lion, Hannaford, Giant/Martin’s and Giant are spread across different regions and working on different digital platforms that are disjointed and misaligned. For instance, Food Lion customers get grocery delivery from Instacart, while Hannaford shoppers use Hannaford to Go, and the rest use Peapod.
The company is now working on developing a single digital site, all powered by Peapod Digital Labs. Crowder’s presentation detailed the retailer’s efforts to better streamline its digital efforts into one universal platform to better serve shoppers.
“Our DNA is built on innovation and collaboration,” Crowder said, noting that Ahold through Peapod has been delivering groceries for 30 years.
Kroger has even more outlets across 35 states and 22 banners. In their P2PX presentation, Lindsay Pullins and Michael Schuh, the retailer’s top digital executives, met audience members head-on with one question: “What data are you using to drive effectiveness in your media campaigns?”
They stressed the importance of verified behavior data and spoke about Kroger Precision Marketing, which can target different messages to different shoppers, such as identifying a shopper who’s never purchased a brand and curating a deep offer to get that person to buy. On the other hand, a shopper who is very loyal to a brand can get a message that rewards the purchase.
“The game has changed,” Pullins said. “We have to get personalized.”
Visit Convenience Store News sister publication Retail Leader to learn more about how these retailers are utilizing technology to better know their shoppers and meet their needs.
This year’s Path to Purchase Expo was held Nov. 13-14 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago. P2PX is a three-day dynamic learning event produced by the Path to Purchase Institute, a sister organization of CSNews, focused on omnichannel shopper marketing strategies and technologies throughout the supply chain. It includes educational learning labs and innovative product and service exhibitions.
The Path to Purchase Institute is a global member community serving the needs of brand manufacturers, retailers, agencies and the entire ecosystem of solution providers along the path to purchase. The Institute exists to engage and inform its members and the industry at large about best practices and a deeper understanding of marketing efforts along the path to purchase.
Both the Path to Purchase Institute and Convenience Store News are properties of EnsembleIQ, a premier business intelligence resource that believes in solving big problems and inspiring bold ideas.
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Path to Purchase Institute members can access more than 1,800 shopper marketing and technology insight articles, more than 14,000 marketing and merchandising images, and detailed retailer profiles — including operations and strategy info. See profiles for Kroger and Ahold Delhaize on p2pi.org.