When it comes to technology and consumers, retail giant Albertsons Companies is focused on providing its shoppers with connected, digital experiences that align with the company’s purpose to inspire well-being and bring people together around food, according to a spokesperson.
“The company’s mobile app is one of the best examples of how we’re using technology to create a fast and easy digital shopping experience.”
Albertsons was voted the ‘People’s Voice’ winner for best shopping and retail app in the 28th annual Webby Awards earlier this year.
The app has more than 10 million active visitors each month and boasts a 4.8 rating in the app store, according to the spokesperson.
Features of the Albertsons app include:
Shoppable Meal Plans and Recipes Tool
Designed to provide customers with culinary inspiration throughout the week while saving time and money, the meal plan feature includes a budget tracker, an expanded library of more than 9,000 exclusive recipes, shoppable ingredient lists and hands-free cooking mode with step-by-step timer. The tool also boasts an artificial intelligence-powered “Scan Your Own Recipe” feature that allows customers to snap a photo with their phone of grandma’s handwritten, not-so-secret recipe, for instance, and transforms it into a digital version saved in the app. Recipes are instantly turned into shoppable ingredients and are added to shoppers’ carts for quick, convenient checkout.
In-Store Mode
This feature acts as a personalized remote control for the store, providing customers with quick access to store-specific deals, aisle locations, wayfinding and more, directly from their smartphones.
Schedule and Save
A subscription service that allows customers to automate their weekly grocery shopping, ensuring they never run out of their favorite items.
Personalization
Features like ‘Buy it again,’ ‘Don’t forget to add’ and ‘Quick start cart’ offer a tailored shopping experience, making it easier for customers to repurchase their favorites and discover new items.
Albertsons has leveraged other technologies to make shopping easier than ever, according to the spokesperson.
One of them, Flash 30-Minute Grocery Pickup and Delivery, allows customers to receive their DriveUp & Go™ and delivery orders in as little as 30 minutes.
Available at more than 2,000 Albertsons Cos. locations through its websites and mobile apps, shoppers can select up to 35 of their favorite items for either Flash pickup or for delivery.
In addition, the retailer’s Simplified for U Loyalty Program has been revamped. Albertsons’ 38 million loyalty members now enjoy a single points-based system, double the time to earn points and a new automatic cash off option for more convenient savings, among other benefits.
“The program retains all the benefits customers love with exciting enhancements to celebrate their loyalty and create customers for life,” according to the spokesperson.
Supermarket consumer insights:
- 2 in 10 shoppers purchase groceries online ‘often’ or ‘always’
- Another 25% shop online half the time
- Two-thirds of online grocery shoppers are driven by time saving and effort, 52% by convenience, and 1/3 report it’s “easier to find items I need”
- 56% of online shoppers find online offers/promotions/coupons
- 4 in 10 like to read product reviews before buying
- 46% of online shoppers are driven by the scheduled delivery feature
- 45% like the ability to track order/delivery progress online.
- More than 6 in 10 consumers prefer to select perimeter items in-store vs. purchasing online
Source: 2024 Supermarket Tech Trends and the Consumer study commissioned by Supermarket Perimeter and conducted by Cypress Research
This article is an excerpt from the August 2024 issue of Supermarket Perimeter. You can read the entire Technology and the Consumer feature and more in the digital edition here.