Big Y Marketplace Debuts
Big Y Foods Inc. has rolled out the Big Y Marketplace as part of its revamped website.The online shopping mall enables customers to earn discounts on groceries when they shop at other retailers online. The Big Y Marketplace positions the Springfield, Mass.-based company as the first supermarket of its kind to leverage online affiliate advertising programs to reward customers for their loyalty both to Big Y and their preferred online merchants.
Customers who are members of Big Y’s premium loyalty club, the Silver Savings Club, have exclusive access to the Big Y Marketplace through the company’s new mobile optimized web portal, myBigY. Once they registered for myBigY, Silver Savings Club members can enter the marketplace and browse more than 150 retailers and brands, earning rewards points based on purchases made at those retailers’ websites. Among the program’s retail partners are Gap, Best Buy, Eddie Bauer, Cabela’s, Hotwire, LEGO, Apple ITunes, Buy.com, Payless, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Sears, Macy’s, Overstock.com and QVC. Rewards points earned differ between retailers and are calculated based on a customer’s online spend. For instance, customers earn two points for every dollar spent at BestBuy.com when they click on the BestBuy.com link within the Big Y Marketplace. Once a customer earns 1,000 points, she’ll will receive $10 off her next grocery bill just by scanning her Silver Savings Club card at checkout. Each customer manages how and when she’d like to redeem her points and, once she’s ready to redeem them, the discounts are loaded directly onto her loyalty card.
“The Big Y Marketplace is straightforward and easy to use,” notes Big Y VP, marketing Antonio Gomes. “Customers are already choosing to buy online. We are not asking them to change anything about what or how they buy. We just suggest that they start their shopping trip at the Big Y Marketplace, so they can earn extra dollars off of their grocery bill.”
myBigY gives customers the opportunity to customize and personalize their Big Y experience online. During myBigY registration, customers create a profile with their interests, special diets and household makeup, information that enables Big Y to deliver relevant and targeted content and offers to the customer. Also during registration, customers can choose their favorite Big Y location, giving them access to store specific hours, services, sales, digital circular, events and more. MyBigY further features a Google map that displays all of the businesses, restaurants and attractions at which Big Y customers can get discounts when they show their Express Rewards Silver or Gold Coins, Express Savings Club Cards or Silver Savings Club Cards.
The development of the website required significant collaboration among several work teams at Big Y over the past 10 months, and all features and functions underwent rigorous testing by employees before the launch. Live customer support is available Monday through Friday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Currently, the new site is being marketed across many traditional and nontraditional media channels, among them Facebook and Twitter and print and radio advertising, in addition to all Big Y World Class Market stores.
Big Y operates 64 stores in Connecticut and Massachusetts, with more than 10,000 employees.