Supermarket Perimeter - June 2020 - 13

based on shoppers' basket, past purchase and adjacent
proﬁle data; enhance the overall shopping experience for
a faster, more enjoyable checkout process; and gain full
transparency into and control over their customers' data
and product recommendations.
"A year ago, we launched online ordering with
curbside pickup service to 100 stores across Brookshire's,
Super 1 Foods and FRESH by Brookshire's banners," said
John D'Anna, chief strategy officer for Brookshire. "Now,
we're excited to expand our partnership with Mercatus
by adding AisleOne personalization to our online
shopping capabilities and creating a more personalized,
convenient and enjoyable customer experience."
Ron Bonacci, Weis Markets' vice president of
marketing and advertising, said AisleOne is helping Weis
understand both online and offline shopping behavior to
create engaging experiences for its customers.
"We've already made signiﬁcant progress with our
company's digital grocery shopping program since
partnering with Mercatus and look to do even more
in 2020," Bonacci said. "AisleOne represents the next
phase of our program. It will help us deepen our
relationships with customers and personalize values
and incentives."

Electronic shelf labels: ﬁnding products fast
American Retail Supply helps its retail customers boost
their personalization proﬁles in two ways, Turner said:
electronic shelf labels (ESLs) and people counting.
European retailers have been using ESLs for years,
Turner said. But they're a relatively new addition to our
product line and are slowly being adapted in the US for
both grocery and non-grocery retailers.
There are many ways to use ESLs, Turner said. One of
the most relevant features is locating items in the store.
"The label can be programmed to alert the customer,
or personal shopper, to ﬂash when they are getting near
an item that they put on a shopping list," he said.
With COVID-19, personal shoppers, curbside pickup
and customers wanting to limit time in the store are
issues retailers must deal with, and ESLs can help. Some
American Retail Supply labels have built in Bluetooth

technology, where, for example, the label can send a
message to the customer's cell phone about a special
price for club members.
"With our PE line, the label is NFC-compatible," Turner
said. "This opens up many options, including allowing
the customer to see the 'club' price on their cell phone."
A less invasive option, with the same end goal, would
allow the customer to download a coupon while in front
of the label. These labels can also deliver real time star
ratings, nutritional information, instructions, recipes and
much more, Turner said.
For example, they can have the prices update
throughout the day so customers "think or know" they
are getting the best deal or have competitors' prices.
"It's truly all up to the store how these are used,"
Turner said. "Retailers are ﬁnding more and more uses
for these labels."

People counting - more important than ever
Brand new to American Retail Supply is the company's
people counting technology, which, given the pandemic,
Turner calls "very timely."
The product, SmartOccupancy, comes from loss
prevention specialists CheckPoint. It was originally
designed to show how many people are in a store for
staffing and other management purposes.
"The number of people in the store can also be
displayed for the customer to see, good in these COVID
times," Turner said. "It is of the utmost importance that
retailers gain and keep their customers' trust, and people
counting will go a long way to this end."
As a bonus, management, and their customers for that
matter, can see how many people are in a department
within the store.
In addition to its electronic shelf label and people
counting products, American Retail Supply has a new,
affordable product called "Review-It." It allows customers
to give a "star rating" while they are still in the store.
"The other day I was shopping for some plants, and
the store was laid out very badly for social distancing,"
Turner said. "I sure would have liked to let them know
how I felt while still in the store."

84%

of consumers say being
treated like a person,
not a number, is very
important to winning
their business.

74%

of consumers
expect companies to
understand their needs
and expectations.

Source: Salesforce

PUBLIX GETS PERSONAL
This spring, Lakeland, Fla.-based grocery chain Publix launched its ﬁrst personalized membership
program, Club Publix. The free program bundles together a number of digital features, including early
notiﬁcations of BOGOs and other sales, the ability to pay with a simple scan of the Publix app, and the
option to receive e-receipts. Club Publix adds personalization to these digital features with exclusive
member perks and personalized content. Current publix.com account holders will automatically be
enrolled in the program and can immediately take advantage of these beneﬁts.

www.supermarketperimeter.com

JUNE 2020 - 13

http://www.publix.com http://www.supermarketperimeter.com

Supermarket Perimeter - June 2020

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