Canadian food retailer Metro is making grocery savings more personal for shoppers with a mobile application and a Web site section that include a flyer with deals and weekly recipe ideas tailored to individual tastes and lifestyles.

The app also includes personalized coupons that let the shopper earn air miles rewards on favorite products and the ability to easily add items to grocery lists. The program shows how mobile can be leveraged to integrate value in the grocery vertical with the shopper lifestyle.

“Offering personalized coupons and recipes, as well as a personalized flyer showing the weekly specials organized according to customers purchasing preferences, will increase our loyalty members’ engagement with our digital platforms,” said Marc Giroux, chief marketing officer of Metro, Canada’s third-largest grocer, which is headquartered in Montreal.

“This is a core pillar to achieve our overall business strategy,” he said. “With the rapid transformation of retail in the digital world, purchasing habits in the food industry are changing, and we are determined to stand alongside consumers in a personalized way as things evolve.”

Shopping journey
Supermarkets increasingly are turning to mobile to improve the way they address the grocery shopping journey which begins at home when the consumer plans meals and ends at checkout.

Streamlining grocery shopping via mobile.

In Metro’s JustForMe program, the user first is asked to provide address information to get the flyer, offers and coupons available in his or her region. A page then provides a map showing each store’s location and lists the names and addresses of each store.

After logging in, the user is served with options to receive a newsletter which includes recipe ideas, special offers and promotions.

Once on JustForMe, he or she sees drop-down menus for coupons, weekly menus, recipes and a personal shopping list.

Under flyer deals, the shopper can find alerts of discounts on various products from one date to another, based on shopping behavior. Offers may come with bonus air miles.

The recipes section points to items that can be made with ingredients featured in the flyer, with categories such as beef, poultry and pork. The page also includes recipe sub-headings such as quick and easy, world cuisine, and good for the kids.

The weekly menu gives daily meal and food ideas, such as Monday, fresh strawberries and Tuesday, juicy prime rib.

The coupons section contains time-sensitive discounts offered on a multitude of products.

The shopping list section lets the consumer add from the site’s suggestions and search for items to add them a list.

Nielsen research shows that 63 percent of Canadians who are use the Web, including mobile, look for recipes, Mr. Giroux said. Sixty-two percent check online flyers while 52 percent research products.

Forty-nine percent look for promotions and sales, 48 percent look for coupons and 48 percent compare prices between brands.

Integrating rewards
Earlier this month, California-based Save Mart Supermarkets’ Save Mart and Lucky stores launched a mobile application that integrated rewards with a program that simplified the in-store shopping experience by allowing customers to plan meals, keep shopping lists and check for advertised items and coupons all before they shopped.

Making grocery shopping more personal.

Members of the new “Save Smart” and “Lucky You” programs could accrue airline-style points that could be redeemed for in-store rewards.

“Metro is the only food retailer in North America to offer its customers such a personalized experience on Web and mobile platforms based on their insights and purchase history,” Mr. Giroux said.

Final Take
Michael Barris is staff reporter on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York