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The Key to Grocery Shopper Retention

March 24, 2017 | Elaine Arnold

With increasing competition from big-box retailers, independent grocers need to find new ways to increase shopper retention and reduce churn. In fact, grocers who increase their shopper retention by as little as 5% can increase profits by up to 95%. The key to retention is personalization: delivering the right offer, to the right shopper, at the right time.

The Era of Customer Experience

Today’s grocery shopper is looking for low prices, but also expects an Amazon-like customer experience. Grocers who truly understand their shoppers’ preferences and anticipate their needs can provide personalized offers and recommendations that today’s shoppers have come to expect. For brick and mortar businesses, providing this kind of personalized experience begins with a shift in the way shopper data is collected, analyzed, and ultimately leveraged.

One of the major challenges is that nearly all grocers are still fully dependent on their Point of Sale (POS) systems. Grocers are approaching this challenge by shifting toward cloud-based systems that consolidate data from POS systems, eCommerce, and mobile platforms. The goal is to achieve a simplified, omni-channel shopping experience.

Using Data to Truly Understand Your Shoppers

Big-box grocers, backed by teams of technologists, PhDs, data scientists, and marketing experts, have gained a head start on providing this kind of customer-centric experience. They’ve achieved this by turning their formerly one-sided loyalty programs into true relationship-building programs; a one-to-one conversation between retailer and shopper. They’re gathering shopper and purchase data from the transactions, learning shopper preferences, and delivering personalized offers. Luckily for independent grocers, technology advancements have made this kind of data capture, analysis, and communication much more accessible.

Big-Box Technology for Independent Grocers

With data capture technology, independent grocers can unlock the data that’s traditionally been trapped in the POS system to glean actionable insights about their shoppers and their buying habits. AppCard’s patented technology can capture this data in real time from any POS, and empowers independent grocers to provide the same seamless, multi-channel shopping experience that big-box retailers offer. In a single platform, grocers can engage customers with digital circulars, surveys, digital receipts, and personalized offers via mobile app, text messaging, or email.

Learn how AppCard brings Big-Box Technology to Independent Grocers >>

 

About Elaine Arnold

Elaine is a Senior Customer Success Manager at AppCard, the personalized marketing and rewards platform. Elaine specializes in helping independent grocers to engage their customers with data-driven marketing campaigns to grow their business.