EXCLUSIVE: Kroger, Inmar Team Up to Offer Flexible Savings Program

Inmar and Kroger collaborated on more flexible savings options.

It’s no secret that shoppers are looking to save money. Personalization is another priority, as grocers seek to give increasingly discerning customers both what they want and need.

To provide shoppers with more deals and present them with options that best suit their preferences, The Kroger Co. has teamed up with Inmar Intelligence on an expanded savings program. Kroger’s popular Cash Back program is now powered by Inmar’s Flex Offers technology that allows customers at 2,700 locations and via the stores’ online channels to choose how they want to receive their savings.

By giving their consumers a choice between digital coupons and cash back, Kroger is positioning itself as a retailer that understands the dual importance of customization and savings. “Kroger is committed to delivering maximum savings to our shoppers and we are excited to expand our relationship with Inmar to provide shoppers with a choice on how to save. Since our cash back launch with Inmar in August, we have seen more than a 35% increase in the savings enjoyed by our shoppers by providing more choice on how to save,” Pete Miles-Prouten, SVP head of strategic partnerships and data ventures at Kroger, told Progressive Grocer. “With Inmar's Flex Offer technology, we have also simplified the offer publishing and management process for our CPG partners – enabling us to deliver more value to shoppers. We are thrilled with the impact this expanded partnership has had in improving our shopper savings experience.”

In an exclusive interview with Progressive Grocer, Inmar’s President of MarTech solutions, Rob Weisberg, said that the expansion of the five-year relationship with Kroger reflects evolving capabilities and market drivers. “Shoppers are crunched. They are faced with historic inflation and are looking for more savings opportunities, but they want choice.” he said. “Some people want to enjoy savings immediately and others want to accrue the value for bigger purchases at a later date. And that’s where cash back comes in.”

According to Weisberg, the Flex Offer technology is based on Inmar’s relationships with CPGs and allows the tech company to enable toggling between load-to-card offers and cash back offers. “As we have taken over Kroger’s cash back gallery, we are putting money in Kroger shoppers’ wallets and pockets,” he noted.

The program gives shoppers flexibility based on their needs at a particular time. “It can help when the holidays are coming and people say, ‘I want to accrue value,’ for example. Or maybe it’s ‘My spouse’s job was just downsized, and as a result, I want to get savings now'," said Weisberg of shoppers’ flexible use of offers. "We talk about wanting to support people throughout the journey and meet them where they are. This furthers that personalization.”

Weisberg underscored the ways that technology is helping open up more purchase paths in a mutually beneficial way. “We really have three constituents — the shopper first, and the freedom of choice we are giving them, and the CPGs and the retailers we partner with. We are essentially pushing the easy button for retailers.”

The expanded partnership comes as Kroger is getting a jump on a busy holiday season. “We were able to get it out in advance of the major holidays when shoppers are most in need of savings,” said Weisberg, adding, “We continue to learn together and advance those learnings to meet shoppers’ needs to even a greater degree.”

Cincinnati-based Kroger serves more than 11 million customers daily through a digital shopping experience and retail food stores under a variety of banner names. The grocer is No. 4 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2024 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. PG also named Kroger one of the Retailers of the Century.