In the first month following the launch of its mobile application, grocery store chain Longo’s found mobile users had a 61 percent higher spend and visited the retailer’s stores 72 percent more frequently than the average Longo’s loyalty member.

The app is connected to Longo’s loyalty program, enabling members to access their points balance, use their phone as a digital loyalty card at checkout and instantly earn points by completing various actions in the app. The app, which was launched on July 23, is available for iPhone and Android devices.

“Shoppers are using their phones across the path to purchase at home, in-store and post-purchase,” said Chris Bryson, CEO/founder of Unata, Toronto.

“A majority of the users are creating lists before going into the store, and are spending the majority of their time in sections of the app that have personalized content based on their past purchases,” he said.

The Longo’s app was built on Unata’s mobile platform that connects to retailer’s ERP/loyalty system.

Longo’s Brothers Fruit Markets is a Canadian retail chain operating 22 traditional grocery stores, four small format stores as well as GroceryGateway.com, a leader in online sales for home-delivered groceries.

39pc provide ratings
Using the Longo’s app, loyalty members can build shopping lists from past purchases, obtain personalized product recommendations and access a personalized flyer.

Users can display the app to earn points at check-out. Other ways for earning points include rating purchased products, creating lists and interacting with in-store signage.

Key learnings from the app’s initial month of availability include that more than 50 percent of mobile users created a shopping list, 43 percent used the app in-store before making a purchase and 85 percent used the app within 24 hours before making a purchase.

Additionally, 41 percent of products added to the shopping list were subsequently purchased, with 29 percent of the products on shopping lists recommended by the app.

Once users had made a purchase, 39 percent provided ratings for the products they purchased.

Other findings include that 63 percent of users are female and 59 percent are between the ages of 30 and 50 years old.

Personalized content
With Longo’s shoppers already engaging with the app, going forward the focus will be on presenting personalized content to the right customers at the right time both in-store and at-home.

For example, the app includes a personalized flyer highlighting products on sale that the shopper has previously purchased. The flyer features specials that shoppers are most likely to enjoy based on their purchase history.

“The results reflect the app’s deep integration into the full product catalogue and purchase history, allowing us to find the right products for the right shopper,” Mr. Bryson said.

“This is more than just a weekly circular; we’re putting the right products in front of the right shopper at the right time,” he said.

Final Take
Chantal Tode is associate editor on Mobile Daily, New York