How Save A Lot Is Meeting Customers Where They Are
The grocery industry often focuses on better serving its existing customers — finding ways to deepen loyalty and enhance their experiences. However, during Progressive Grocer’s recent Grocery Impact event in Orlando, Fla., Save A Lot CIO Jennifer Hopper and Upside CEO Alex Kinnier took to the stage to discuss the challenges of finding and reaching the customers that grocers don't have. In other words, turning "uncommitted customers" – those who don’t shop at certain stores or only do so occasionally because they frequent multiple banners – into loyal shoppers.
“From our surveys, the average customer is now shopping at three or more grocery stores, and this trend has been fueled by the options and accelerated by the macro-economic uncertainty,” pointed out Kinnier. “Inflation pushed them to do this to meet their overall budget needs, but now this trend has stuck, and it's only growing.”
Reaching and understanding these shoppers is no small task. Hopper highlighted some ways that Save A Lot is addressing this through delivery partnerships, the launch of its first-ever loyalty program, and strategic investments designed to meet customers both in-store and online.
In regard to delivery, Save A Lot implemented Instacart back in 2020. Realizing that delivery apps are the cornerstone of meeting customers where they are, Save A Lot introduced e-commerce optionality this year. “We brought in DoorDash; we brought in Uber Eats,” explained Hopper. “I fought internally and externally to say this is the way of the future. Our metrics are there, our sales are there at an aggregate level, by bringing in those customers that are using those platforms.”
Hopper mentioned that Save A Lot looked at healthy benefits, too. Shoppers with an approved health benefit card issued by a Medicare Advantage or Medicaid plan can use that card as a payment method for eligible grocery items on Uber Eats.
“If you're familiar with Medicare Advantage and those dollars coming in from the Medicare space, it's really focused on meeting our customers where they are,” she noted. “That's kind of the tagline that we're using in this customer-centricity space.”
Save A Lot also debuted a loyalty program in October. Save A Lot Rewards is available via a new mobile app, which can be customized by each independent Save A Lot retail partner with local offers, and will also include exclusive coupons and deals
At the physical store level, Hopper detailed how Save a Lot brought customers in-store through a remodeling program that refreshed its locations from floor to ceiling to outside branding.
Save a Lot also uses a localization strategy in its stores as part of its personalization efforts to attract customers to its stores. Each store owner can localize to differentiate their locations from national chains. “It can be a produce vendor down the street or local farmers market, and they can bring that in,” Hopper said. “That helps them to localize the store, make it personalized for that customer so they feel like it is their grocery store.”
In addition, Save A lot partnered with Upside to help reach uncommitted customers in new, fun ways. Upside is a marketplace that connects consumers through personalized promotions and offers. This provides added value to users while allowing retailers to access new consumer segments.
Save a Lot has been piloting Upside since this past April in one of its markets, about 35 stores, and has already gained 91% new customer acquisition.
“We've had a quarter of a million signups and registrants,” said Hopper. ”We can see that from a loyalty perspective, we can start to know our customer. From the delivery side of it, we can see those sales volumes. We can see how many transactions, the basket size.
“We're just getting to know our customer more -- we're getting there, we're on that journey," added Hopper. "We're excited for 2025 as this data comes through and us being able to really serve our customers in a more personalized way.”
