“We know people want to eat healthy and they want to eat produce, so find a way to get information to them,” Sansone suggests. “It’s so painless to do these days because nearly everyone has a smartphone.”
Smartphone Apps
There is no shortage of smartphone apps in the world, or even in the grocery sector. Beacon technology is a new way to reach customers while in the store, with some specific applications for the produce section. Small transmitters send a variety of marketing or educational materials to shoppers with a special app on their phone.
A form of location-based marketing, beacon technology sends digital coupons to shoppers near a particular product or item. According to Tanya Bhothinard, senior director at Partners in Loyalty Marketing (PILM) in Chicago, the technology is beginning to catch on with consumers and grocers, and coupons can be linked to store loyalty cards.
ONLINE SHOPPING HABITS
The Retail Feedback Group in Lake Success, NY polled 446 primary grocery shoppers about their purchasing patterns in today’s highly digitized world. Of those surveyed, the study found:• Those who shop online with some regularity: 38%
• Frequency: once per week or more (5%); a few times per month (8%); about once per month (5%), less than once per month (20%)
• How purchases are received: by mail or truck (58%); picked up at local store (36%); delivery from a local store (11%); delivered by online grocery service (9%); at a designated location (4%); delivery from a third-party like Instacart (2%)
• Top purchase categories: natural/organic (55%); health/beauty (49%); dietary needs/nutritional supplements (45%); produce (14%)
• Top reasons: availability of hard-to-find products (56%); lower prices/better deals (54%); saves time (44%); more convenient (33%).
“We’ve seen some cross-marketing with produce,” Bhothinard says, citing Grand Rapids, MI-based Meijer as an example. “Using beacon technology, Meijer offers coupons with produce based on their ‘mPerks’ store card,” she explains, such as “an offer of buy $20 worth of produce and get $5 off the total order.” Other grocers trying out similar beacon programs include national chain Safeway and Marsh Supermarkets in Indiana and Ohio.
But retailers must be careful about the intrusiveness of their technology. “There is a limit to how much you can interrupt consumers before they either delete an application or just turn it off. If a consumer gets frustrated,” Bhothinard cautions, “you’re done—you’re not going to get that second or third [chance] to improve on your message.”
Some retailers have been testing limited-time “flash” deals, sent via social media for free or discounted products. Examples include Meijer’s offer of a free cheesecake and $10 gift card, while Schnucks in St. Louis promoted one-day specials, and a Kroger in Cincinnati used Facebook for its “Free Friday Download” of digital coupons.
Although digital and load-to-card coupons are still relatively new technology, Bhothinard says shoppers have embraced them and they can be more effective than traditional paper coupons.
