Supermarket chains Grocery Gateway and Longo’s are two of the brands teaming up with omnicommerce solution Unata to offer shoppers personalized circulars and customized deals on mobile, suggesting that grocery marketers may become reliant on digital platforms to stand out in the competitive sector.

Consumers will now be able to enjoy personalized circulars within the grocery stores’ branded mobile applications, which will compile product suggestions based on previous purchases. On the heels of several other supermarkets testing beacons, it appears that the industry is finally realizing the vast potential mobile offers to driving in-store sales.

“Our mobile solutions support the same functionality as our Web experience – you can browse the full catalogue and offers, search, filter based on attributes, create lists, select delivery times and checkout – with the entire journey being personalized based on your purchase history,” said Chris Bryson, founder and CEO of Unata, Toronto, Canada. “With the mobile app, it’s designed for users to do all of this on-the-go.”

One-to-one experiences
The Unata platform offers consumers a one-to-one experience for shopping, a feature that is becoming increasingly more important as busy shoppers look for personalized deals to cut the amount of time spent in-store.

Customers of Grocery Gateway and Longo’s can now experience a customized homepage in their mobile apps, showcasing the most relevant specials based on the users’ frequently purchased items.

They will also receive one-to-one product recommendations, such as complementary products to those added into consumers’ shopping carts. More importantly, they will be able to access a personalized version of the product circular that displays the most relevant items in each grocery store’s department.

Consumers are increasingly looking to recommendations and assistance options within mobile applications during the shopping process, suggesting that merchants should not overlook the initial buying experience in their efforts to streamline the checkout process, according to a report from Contact Solutions (see story).

“Today’s modern consumers are much more time-starved, and they don’t have the time to review the weekly circular and clip coupons,” Mr. Bryson said. “The personalized circular does it for them.

“It presents shoppers offers and suggestions based on their actual shopping history. The personalized circulars help consumers cut the clutter out of their shopping experience.”

Streamlined shopping
The personalized offerings will not only streamline the shopping experience for consumers, but also provide the marketers with additional targeting opportunities for content.

As grocery stores head further into the mobile sector, in-store beacons and push notifications are also likely to become more commonplace.

Regional grocer Niemann Foods was one of the first independent supermarkets to leverage iBeacons in storefronts to provide customers with personalized offers and new in-store services via its branded mobile application (see story).

However, more consumers are also turning to branded mobile applications while shopping in-store for the added convenience of product locations and maps, digital coupons and exclusive deals.

“With Grocery Gateway, one in three of their customers sign up through their mobile app – it has become integral part of their shopping experience,” Mr. Bryson said. “The app adds a convenience factor for consumers, allowing them to move from screen to screen without losing their lists or offers.

“With this convenience and personalization, the Grocery Gateway app is one of the top rated grocery apps in the world, based on customer ratings.”

Final Take
Alex Samuely is an editorial assistant on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York