Roche Bros. Enhances Web site, Launches iPhone App

Roche Bros. has launched several new Web-based tools and technologies to help shoppers of its be more efficient, save money, and shop smarter.

The grocer, which operates 18 stores in the Greater Boston market and Cape Cod under the Roche Bros. and Sudbury Farms Supermarkets banners, updated its online shopping site, rochebros.com, with new features and a real-time iPhone App.

“All these improvements to our online website and the launch of our iPhone App are meant to make the customer’s life, and their shopping experience, easier,” said Rick Roche, second-generation owner and CEO of Roche Bros. Supermarkets. “Our customers have always expected quality, service and value from us, and giving them new ways to manage their busy lives and to let them know we value their time, is always one of our goals.”

Rochebros.com was redesigned through the eyes of the shopper. It uses smart search engine technology that identifies and notices customer habits and requests during their online shopping and uses this information to make future searches more accurate. Additionally, the site’s navigation has been enhanced, and now includes the ability to view store specials by department, scroll through shopping menus, and shop from a “Jumbo List.” An improved “favorites” feature enables shoppers to access frequently shopped items, and a “Mini Basket” feature calculates a running total of savings.

Future updates will include the ability to shop Roche Bros. weekly circular and add it directly to their home delivery shopping basket, and a Culinary Corner feature on the main corporate Web site that will have suggested recipes and videos showcasing food preparations and cooking techniques. Additionally, the Culinary Corner will feature chefs from local restaurants and from Roche Bros. stores cooking their favorite recipes.

Also coming soon will be a blog where visitors can ask food preparation and cooking questions which will be answered by Roche Bros. trained professionals.

Roche Bros. has also entered the mobile marketing space with a Weekly Circular iPhone App, a real-time tool it developed to help customers shop smarter. The App offers automatically updated and uploaded store specials and pricing information that is delivered to the phone weekly. Users can sync the iPhone App with their online shopping list, which is organized and displayed in an “aisle category” feature, which allows the shopper to shop quicker and easier. There are also product photos pre-loaded into the App to help the shopper recognize items on the store shelves. The Roche Bros. App. can be downloaded for free from the iPhone App store.

“We’re leading the way in the use of new technology to make grocery shopping easier and more efficient,” said Arthur Ackles, director of marketing for Roche Bros. “Our customers have grown to expect that from us.”

Wellesley Hills, Mass.-based Roche Bros. is a privately held corporation consisting of 18 supermarket retail operations, which service consumers in the Greater Boston and Eastern Massachusetts marketplace.