Unified Grocers Selects ESI's WIN Rewards
Retailer-owned grocery distributor Unified Grocers has opted to offer the WIN Rewards Loyalty platform from San Mateo, Calif.-based Electronic Scrip Inc. (ESI) to all Unified members. Los Angeles-based Unified serves around 500 retail members and supplies about 3,000 stores in the western United States.
The distributor chose the WIN platform because of its ease of use, affordability and, most importantly, its focus on the needs of the independent grocer. The program enables independents to identify and reward their best customers without the huge data and cost burdens typical of many loyalty offerings.
“Our loyalty philosophy is simple: Focus on those elements which keep the consumer loyal while taking the burden off the grocer,” said ESI CEO Ian Diery. “Sometimes too much information is simply too much, and it is our responsibility to provide our partner the optimum amount of information that allows them to maintain a strong consumer focus within a reasonable budget.”
Among the additional benefits of WIN Rewards are that it’s highly customizable, permitting grocers to pick the features they can afford and that are relevant to their businesses; provides one-stop shopping by offering such services as POS integration, management of program launch from start to finish, the mining of consumer insights for clear and actionable recommendations, marketing, and administration for a low monthly fee; helps grocers create a cost-saving online communication platform that enables improved consumer targeting; and supports green initiatives by reducing the need for paper.
“In today's challenging times, the independent grocer needs the right information in order to compete effectively and grow,” noted Unified executive director of retail support services Kory Burwell. “ESI's WIN Rewards Program is designed to increase customer loyalty and sales. Undifferentiated discounting has not proven to be effective against large grocery chains that use electronic media for targeted customer marketing. WIN adds tremendous value by bringing to the grocer the technical, marketing and analytical expertise to compete in today’s economy.”