Grocers chase the promise of e-commerce personalization – Grocery Dive
Summary
This article is the third in a four-part series exploring the opportunities and challenges retailers face in center store. On Thursday, Grocery Dive will explore some of the ways retailers are updating their center store layouts.
Grocery stores and hotels might at first glance seem to have little in common. But for Ryan Draude, the similarities are crystal clear.
Just as hotels offer rewards to people who regularly stay with them and take steps to re…….
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This article is the third in a four-part series exploring the opportunities and challenges retailers face in center store. On Thursday, Grocery Dive will explore some of the ways retailers are updating their center store layouts.
Grocery stores and hotels might at first glance seem to have little in common. But for Ryan Draude, the similarities are crystal clear.
Just as hotels offer rewards to people who regularly stay with them and take steps to recognize guests when they walk in, Draude, head of loyalty and digital for Giant Food, thinks one of the most effective ways food retailers can build ties with their customers is by turning grocery shopping into a personalized experience built around their needs and preferences.
To accomplish this for the Ahold Delhaize-owned grocery chain, Draude is looking for inspiration to his former role overseeing the frequent-guest program operated by lodging chain Choice Hotels International. Among his key takeaways from that job is that customers want to feel that a merchant appreciates them and is committed to helping them get what they want — and won’t hesitate to leave if they spot a better option, Draude said.
For now, Draude is focused on using Giant Food’s e-commerce program, Giant Flexible Rewards, to deliver personalized pricing, product recommendations and rewards to customers that also relate to their experience in the chain’s stores. Later, the company may add technology to its locations that gives customers the ability to signal their presence in stores using a smartphone and then receive location-based promotions, he said.
“My biggest fear is if a grocery store opened up half a mile closer to my member’s home than a Giant was, what are we doing [that is] so differentiated that would continue to make them drive that extra half a mile to go to our store?” Draude said
Optional Caption
Courtesy of Kroger
Personalizing the center store
Giant Food is focusing on personalizing the shopping experience at a time when grocers are looking for strategies to maintain the momentum they have made connecting consumers with essential goods during the pandemic.
Findings from a poll of 1,000 consumers Grocery Dive recently conducted with market research firm Inmar Intelligence suggest that the grocery industry faces obstacles as it looks to convert customer relationships built in stores to online — especially where the center store sales that are key to grocers’ bottom lines are concerned.
Three-quarters of participants in …….
Source: https://www.grocerydive.com/news/grocers-chase-the-promise-of-e-commerce-personalization/609790/