IGA Launches Insights Marketing Program

IGA USA has launched a new marketing program, IGA Performance Insights, that organizes IGA independent retailers as a single marketing entity, leveraging their combined sales volume to increase individual store sales.

“IGA Performance Insights puts IGA members in a position to win by leveraging all of IGA’s distinctive strengths: our size, scale and nationwide brand Identity; our partnership with premier national brand manufacturers [Red Oval Partners]; and our unique and personalized relationship with IGA licensed wholesalers,” said IGA CEO Mark Batenic. “In the end, working more closely together through this program will enable us to act as a virtual chain, bringing more value to all IGA members and more engagement with shoppers.”

The program was developed to be easy for independents to implement:

• IGA USA develops added-value shopper offers (called IGA Hometown Proud Offers) sponsored by a select group of the industry’s premier food manufacturers (called IGA Red Oval partners).
• Participating IGA retailers promote to shoppers (using digital and print promotional materials) a different IGA Hometown Proud Offer at their store each month.
• Transaction data is aggregated from each store to measure overall program impact and to report results of each IGA Hometown Proud Offer to the sponsor.
• Participating IGA retailers are reimbursed based on their individual sales performance.

To collect, manage and analyze store transaction data, IGA is working with Troy, Mich.-based marketing analytics provider reach?influence. The company will assist participating retailers in the synchronizing of all transaction data into a secure database using standard transfer protocols, which require no additional hardware or software. This information will be provided to product manufacturers for quick and accurate settlement of their IGA exclusive offers.

“We are working together to bring the same shopper marketing dollars afforded to the national chains to IGA’s independent retailers,” said Eric Green, CEO of reach?influence. “We love having a role in leveling the playing field for the independents by combining the size, scale and relationships of IGA with the sales data desired by IGA’s Red Oval manufacture partners. In the end, the process is both simple and impactful.”

IGA is a global voluntary supermarket network with aggregate worldwide retail sales of more than $29 billion per year. The Alliance includes nearly 5,000 Hometown Proud Supermarkets worldwide, supported by 36 distribution centers and more than 55 major manufacturers, vendors and suppliers encompassing everything from grocery to equipment items. IGA has operations in 46 of the United States and more than 30 countries, commonwealths and territories.