Upside’s grocery experts recently spent the week in Las Vegas for Groceryshop 2024, enjoying conversations and sharing perspectives with some of the brightest minds in the industry. Now that we’ve had some time to digest everything we heard, here’s what we learned. 

Topic 1: Improving the customer experience with personalization

One common thread we heard across educational sessions was the desire to better understand the customer and use that knowledge to deliver the right product or experience. One phrase that we heard often (and admittedly, use often ourselves) is “meeting the customer where they are.” Building an experience that accounts for customers’ needs is top-of-mind for grocers.  

Now, what’s interesting is that retailers can accomplish this in different (sometimes opposite) ways. Take cashiers, for example. Some grocers are reducing the number of cashiers at checkout to remove friction, while others see cashiers as a value-add and have doubled down. Neither of these decisions is wrong; in both cases, retailers are using data to better understand what’s important to their customers and designing their experiences to match.

Furthermore, this means personalizing your offerings to meet what the customer is looking for. More and more, retailers are using customer data, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to create unique experiences for customers. CPG companies and retail media networks, for example, are partnering to create personalized discounts that update as a customer walks different aisles within the store. 

While there’s certainly a balance to strike — too much personalization can feel invasive — grocers agree that relevant, timely, and personalized experiences are key to driving loyalty and building meaningful relationships. Personalization is valuable for shoppers and valuable for the business.

Topic 2: Translating digital engagement into in-store volume

Most retailers reach customers with digital touchpoints before they get to a brick-and-mortar store. Data shared at the conference support that strategy — Chris Nicholas, the CEO of Sam’s Club, shared that his customers spend 3x more when they are digitally engaged and have no friction at checkout. Giant Eagle, meanwhile, sees between a 7x and 10x return on investment from customers engaged in a digital channel.

“Digital engagement” is a nebulous term that comprises a lot of different ideas. Retailers pursue many different methods to earn digital engagement, and customers can engage in many different ways. For shoppers, digital engagement might mean:

• Placing online orders on platforms like DoorDash or Amazon Fresh
• Browsing coupons on the retailer’s own consumer app
• Watching a video ad for the retailer on social media
• Claiming an offer in a digital marketplace

No matter the means, the challenge is how to effectively tie those digital efforts into in-store traffic. At Groceryshop, it was clear that this is something retailers are still trying to figure out. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to digital engagement — many strategies provide meaningful ROI.

Great conversations and fun times

It wasn’t all business in Vegas; we also had a great time connecting directly with retailers! 

LinkedIn Live from Groceryshop with Giant Eagle

At the Upside booth, we hosted a LinkedIn Live conversation with Justin Weinstein, EVP, Chief Strategy & Marketing Officer at Giant Eagle. We spoke with him about how Giant Eagle is personalizing the customer experience and how his team thinks about winning “uncommitted customers.”

With Upside’s personalized promotions, Giant Eagle has earned 3x more visits from its least loyal grocery shoppers. Further, 62% of the new and non-loyalty shoppers delivered by Upside went on to join the chain’s myPerks program.

“That’s a tremendous win for us that goes beyond the base economic case to how we grow market share and relevance within our markets,” Justin said. Hear more from Giant Eagle here.

Retailer happy hours

In the evenings, we gathered retailers to relax and unwind in unique venues around town. First, we hosted retailers from both Groceryshop and NACS (happening at the same time across town) together at AREA15, an immersive entertainment venue with ax throwing, a golf simulator, and Omega Mart, an art installation from Meow Wolf.

Then, we got to spend some dedicated time with grocers at the Foundation Room, a sophisticated rooftop bar high above the Strip. 

Do these topics resonate? 

Let’s keep the conversation from Groceryshop going. Get in touch with our team to discuss your priorities heading into 2025.