Roberts Company Boosts Loyalty at Corner Market, Grocery Depot
Tech company Upside has partnered with Roberts Company Inc., a grocery chain operating Corner Market and Grocery Depot locations in the Jackson/Hattiesburg area of Mississippi. This collaboration builds on Upside’s ongoing efforts to support Associated Wholesale Grocers Inc. (AWG) members like Roberts Company.
Upside is a marketplace that connects consumers with brick-and-mortar retailers through personalized offers via its app and partner apps. Upside works with nearly 100,000 U.S. grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations and convenience stores nationwide, helping them reach new shoppers and convert them into regular customers.
“We are committed to delivering exceptional service, and Upside’s work to drive more customers to our Corner Market and Grocery Depot stores means we’ll be able to provide that service to more people. In this highly competitive market, our partnership with Upside is helping to make our stores the easy choice for the customers we know and the ones we don’t,” said Price Mabry, Roberts Company VP of sales and marketing.
Last year, Upside partnered with AWG, the nation’s largest cooperative food wholesaler serving independently owned supermarkets, to unlock new profit opportunities for AWG members.
“We’re thrilled to have connected Roberts Company Inc. with the Upside team to help grow Roberts’ customer base and capture untapped market share,” said Tye Anthony, AWG’s chief of merchandising. “At AWG, our mission is to provide our member retailers all the tools, products and services they need to compete favorably in all markets served. Upside is a key partner in helping Roberts achieve those goals.”
Upside also noted that this partnership is timely given the rise of the “uncommitted customer,” a key trend identified in its "2024 Consumer Spend Report." These shoppers, who are not loyal to any particular brand, represent a growing opportunity for retailers to capture incremental visits and spending.
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"As consumer behaviors evolve, we’re proud to offer a solution that helps grocers attract new and lapsed customers profitably. By joining early, Roberts Company Inc., is positioned to capitalize on a first-mover advantage, driving even more incremental profit as consumers earn cash back with every transaction,” said Tyler Renaghan, VP of grocery for Washington, D.C.-based Upside.
Kansas City, Kan.-based AWG serves 1,100 member companies and more than 3,500 locations throughout 33 states from nine wholesale divisions. Consolidated sales for AWG in 2023 were $12.4 billion. In addition to its cooperative wholesale operations, the company also operates subsidiary companies that provide certain real estate and supermarket development services, health and beauty care, general merchandise, pharmaceutical products, specialty foods, and natural and organic products.
