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Kroger has always been an innovator. It was the first store to combine meats and groceries under one roof, and the first grocery store to have its own bakery. Kroger pioneered the use of optical scanners in the checkout aisles and was one of the first grocery chains to open superstores, a move that has helped it weather competition from big box stores like Sam’s Club and Costco. That drive to innovate has helped make Kroger the nation’s largest grocery chain and the second largest retailer in the country after Walmart.

But, what has really driven Kroger’s recent success is its commitment to the customer experience, and particularly how well it has applied its customer loyalty program. Kroger launched its “Kroger Plus Card” program in 2003. In 2010, Kroger partnered with Shell gas stations allowing customers to redeem points earned on their Kroger Plus Cards for fuel. Well over two million customers use Kroger’s shopping app, which allows users to download coupons, sort coupons by relevance, sync coupons with their shopping lists, monitor their Kroger Plus reward points, and even refill prescriptions.

Last year, a study by Maritz Loyalty Marketing found that Kroger had the highest rated loyalty program in the grocery sector, with an overall satisfaction rate of eighty-three percent. In fact, ninety percent of register transactions are completed with a Kroger Plus card, and eighty-five percent of all United States households in markets where Kroger operates have a Kroger Plus card.

The Way I See It

  • As behemoths like Walmart and Amazon continue to gobble up market share – in everything from groceries to clothing to consumer electronics – I see more “traditional” retailers needing to double down on the customer experience in order to compete.
  • Successful competition is going to be increasingly dependent on maintaining an ongoing conversation with customers via the tools and channels they prefer, namely their mobile phones and social media.
  • Data – not just gathering it, but using it in novel and effective ways, and ways customers are comfortable with – may wind up being the biggest difference-maker for retailers.

The Way the Industry Sees It

I sat down with Natalie Ream, Vice President of Customer Communications & Marketing at Kroger to discuss customer service and customer loyalty programs as a way to differentiate.

What’s made your Kroger Plus program so successful? What have you been able to tap into about the way customers like to use these programs that your competitors haven’t?

Our Plus Card program is successful simply because of our ability to deliver real value, and to uphold the trust that our customers place in us as it relates to their shopper data.  Through our shopper card program we are able to capture and analyze shopping behavior, and then apply the insights we gather to create offers, discounts, and recommendations that are meaningful and relevant.  We are very careful to protect our shoppers’ data and their privacy.  Our customers have come to expect us to know them better, and they tell us that they look forward to hearing from us!

What’s the relationship between the Kroger shopping app and more traditional print coupons and circulars?  Will the app and social media eventually replace coupons delivered in the mail, by newspaper, or handed out at the checkout counter?

For more than ten years we have been perfecting our ability to deliver highly-relevant, personalized coupons for the products that our customers like and buy the most through our ‘Loyal Customer Mailings.’  We are now applying that expertise to the digital channel through our mobile app, which allows customers to sort digital coupons by relevance to them.  By applying real-time insight derived from their shopper profile, we can sort and deliver relevant offers based on what we know about a customer’s product preferences or lifestyle segment.  Because we have five generations of customers shopping with us – and because each generation and each customer is unique in terms of their preference for how we talk to them – our aim is to meet our customers and talk with them in the channel or channels that they prefer.

Continue Reading Kroger Gets Its Fuel from Customer Rewards

Concluding the three part prediction series, I turn to Will Smith, Brown Shoe Company’s Chief Marketing Officer, to get his thoughts on what 2014 holds for the retail industry.

2014 Predictions within the Retail Industry and How They Have the Potential to Affect Marketing and Advertising, with Brown Shoe Company’s Chief Marketing Officer, Will…

Spotting industry trends and making forecasts for a year ahead is a challenge, especially in an age of constant change and technological developments.  The way I see it, in terms of trends, it is critical to seek out the best when you need to spot trends and discern the real change elements at work.  After offering my year in review and looking back at the trends in 2012, it’s time to also look ahead.  We are at the dawn of a new year – a year filled with potential and uncertainty.  So, let’s get some clarity on what the future holds.

The Way the Industry Sees It


I had the pleasure of speaking with Marian Salzman, CEO of Havas (formerly Euro RSCG) Worldwide PR, North America, who is viewed as the trendspotter in the world today, about her thoughts for the year ahead and some secret tips to spotting trends for the advertising industry.

I’m always fascinated by your annual trends reports.  Without revealing any secrets, could you explain your process for identifying trends and making forecasts for the coming year?

My thing is pattern recognition, incorporating an eye for the oddball statistic.  There would have been no metrosexual mania, at least not instigated by me, if there hadn’t been a few stunning numbers popping.  Back in 2003, guys began to feel they were no longer guaranteed to be CEO of the bedroom or the boardroom.  They suddenly had a serious interest in the kitchen.   Straight men were increasingly comfortable socializing with gay men.  2003 seems like the dark ages, but it illustrates the kinds of observations that set me off on an investigation.  Ever since Al Gore invented the Internet (kidding) in the early 1990s, I have been a huge information surfer.  Today, this process can be automated for me with services such as Factiva clipping in real time.  Finally, my trendspotting would be much less robust if not for an informal network of trendspotters around the globe who log in all kinds of sightings.  (In fact, I did not invent the word metrosexual—it was invented by journalist Mark Simpson in the early 1990s.  But it was forwarded to me by a colleague and I matched the word to my sighting, Men Get Softer – the rest was history.)  This past year, I launched TrendsU, an e-learning program about how to trendspot, for all Havas staff around the world.  About 550 people from around the world studied the four modules and shared their sightings with me, and even pictures are now compiled (the thousand-words adage never rang more true) on our TrendsU Pinterest board.[/a]

In 2012, you focused on the trend toward achieving a grainy, “Polaroid” effect for digital photography with the popularity of apps like Instagram and Hipstamatic. How do you think the world of apps and wireless will evolve in 2013?

Wireless will be so ubiquitous that discussing it will be almost like talking about the Internet or even the dial tone.  I agree with a recent post of yours that it will be very interesting to see how the advertising, marketing and communications industries will adapt to a wireless world.  I remember helping on a pitch for IBM back in the dark ages for which we interviewed people about the future, and Kevin Kelly, the co-founding editor of Wired, talked to us about the future like it would happen a week from Thursday.  Well, it’s finally a week from Thursday, and always-on, constant connectivity is the new normal.  People take mobile devices to bed, to the toilet and onto airplanes and assume, voilà, they’ll be connected because connectivity is a given.  Back in 1993, Kelly told us connectivity would be like air or water.  Apps for 2013 are like software was a decade ago, except that the innovations are coming every 22 seconds.  Before you know you need an app, there it is.  Simplification has been a trend for 15 years, and apps are the epitome of simplification.  Branded apps are a given.  Tablets are making apps even more essential.  I want to do more on the fly, more quickly, and an app ensures I get it done, seamlessly.  The app I expect next year is for voting – the most prehistoric thing we still do without much connectivity.  Seriously, in 2013, you want me to walk to a school and fill out some paperwork and pull levers?  How very last century.  Once Americans can vote online using apps and smartphones or tablets, expect a much more engaged population to be that much more connected on issues and topics that matter to them.

Continue Reading What’s Next in 2013: A Lesson in Trendspotting with Marian Salzman

Ah, December 31st.  Each year, the ball drops in Times Square, and people count down excitedly from ten as they plan their resolutions for the New Year, and clink champagne flutes to toast to the year ahead.  New Year’s Eve is all about glitz and glamour, from the sparkle of the Times Square crystal ball to the abundance of black tie affairs.  New Year’s Eve is the top and the most festive of holiday celebrations.  The holiday has become synonymous with a certain alcoholic beverage in particular: champagne.  Bubbly is the drink of choice for party-goers.  And leading up to this night, champagne brands are busy marketing to have their corks popped most on New Year’s Eve.

The Way I See It

  • I see champagne advertisers reflect the mood of the audience to ensure that its presentation is true to both the holiday and how consumers feel based on the economy and current events.
  • I see brands continue to focus on fun and romance. The holiday is synonymous with romance – kissing at the stroke of Midnight, planning a proposal for the big night, or even a New Year’s Eve wedding.
  • I see champagne marketers continue the shift towards advertising in digital and social in new and unique ways.
  • I see champagne brands continue to increase sales and market penetration beyond simply the traditional buyers and holidays.

The Way the Industry Sees It


I sat down with Jon Potter, Executive Vice President of Brands at Moët Hennessy USA, to discuss marketing around New Year’s and effective campaigns for the champagne market.

There’s no question that champagne is the drink of New Year’s Eve. But how did it become that way?  What role does marketing and advertising play in terms of ensuring champagne “owns” the holiday? How do you continue to make champagne relevant for each new generation?

For as long as people have been socializing together, having fun and enjoying each other’s company, champagne has been present.  And what other night of the year embodies that better than New Year’s Eve, when friends and family join together to toast the past and look ahead to the future.  Champagne is the quintessential drink to mark occasions big or small.  As Napoleon is quoted as saying, “Champagne – in victory you deserve it; in defeat you need it.”  Today, consumers have more choice than ever when it comes to champagne, wine and spirits so marketing plays an important role in keeping champagne top of mind and relevant for consumers whether that is through limited edition packaging, special events or unique partnerships.

With champagne typically viewed as a luxury good, how do champagne brands remain competitive in a tough economic environment? Did the economic downturn have an impact on champagne sales in recent years?

The recent economic downturn was challenging for many sectors of the luxury market.  However, we are fortunate that the Moët Hennessy portfolio of champagnes is second to none.  Our champagne houses have incredible heritage and an uncompromising focus on quality that consumers know and trust.  This is important in times of uncertainty when consumers are more cautious and less likely to try an unknown brand.

Continue Reading Toasting to the New Year