Lowes Foods is a relatively young, family-owned grocery store chain based in North Carolina USA. It is growing rapidly, specialises in truly local, homegrown products and is very focused on delivering its shoppers the most pleasant experience. In October 2016, Lowes Foods launched its first-ever digital loyalty programme in collaboration with BrandLoyalty and IceMobile. Together we created the successful recipe for the first digital loyalty programme in the USA: Lowes Foods My Kaboodle.
Making shopper experience a number one priority
The retailer always wanted to prioritise shopper experience, and therefore undertook several changes with the aim of attracting new shoppers. To enhance the shopper experience and accelerate growth, Lowes rebranded its stores and looked for new ways to build loyalty with their shoppers. They decided to collaborate with BrandLoyalty to try an innovative new way to accelerate the growth of its supermarket chain and to build a stronger long-term relationship with their shoppers.
Lowes Foods was therefore looking for ways to reward those shoppers who came into its stores week in, week out to buy their groceries. Over 16 weeks, customers could save for highly discounted rewards from vivo | Villeroy & Boch Group. But this wasn’t just your normal paper stamp-based programme, as Lowes decided to offer its shoppers a digital alternative – the first of its kind in North America. The digital rewards and innovative experience positively surprised shoppers used to the traditional American coupon collection culture.
'Pushing' shoppers into stores with 1-1 messaging
'Push’ notifications or messages were sent to My Kaboodle app users to remind them of the stamp totals, as well as to ask for confirmation about personal information that perhaps needed to be updated in the Lowes CRM system. This one-to-one communication helped create a more personal connection with its shoppers.
When a shopper scanned their Lowes Fresh Rewards card, the cash register knew if they were a physical or digital stamp collector. The cashier could then hand out the stamps to physical shoppers or could update their balance in real time. Easier for the cashier and easier for the shopper.