Bashas' Brings Social Power to Aisles

Bashas’ is delivering significant engagement in its stores with "The Like Machine," an innovative new media innovation from Insignia Systems that harnesses the power of social media, consumer engagement and word-of-mouth recommendation directly at the point of purchase.

Through the first six months of beta testing in 40 Bashas’ and Food City retail locations, The Like Machine has garnered more than 480,000 shopper endorsements. By bringing the scale of endorsement and shopper engagement to the shelf, The Like Machine helps answer what social media marketers have been grappling with for years: What is the value of a “like?”

“Bashas’ continuously seeks feedback from our customers and strives to make the shopping experience better throughout our family of stores," said Dave Vehon, category manager for the 120-store, Phoenix-based regional retailer. "The Like Machine gives customers a way to easily express their feedback, while at the same time helping us to better understand neighborhood preferences throughout our market.”

John Gonsior, Insignia Systems' president/CEO, said the underpinnings of the POP device are "simple. We have created an easy and immediate way for shoppers to express their opinions about what they’re buying, and to be informed by the decisions of others in their neighborhood at scale. It is a powerful indicator whether shoppers are buying cereal, laundry detergent or orange juice, and a unique new data set for retailers and manufacturers to leverage.”

Family-owned Bashas’ Family of Stores operates Food City, AJ’s Fine Foods, Sportsman’s Fine Wines & Spirits, Eddie’s Country Store, as well as its eponymous banner and Bashas’ Diné supermarkets.