Ahold Delhaize USA’s banner websites and apps have been down for at least one week as of Monday morning, resulting in halted in-house e-commerce operations and limited access to discounts and loyalty programs for customers.
In response, ADUSA’s banners have been finding ways to communicate with their customers as well as offer additional savings to make up for the inconvenience.
One key message is reassuring shoppers that their points will not go to waste.
“We understand how important [rewards points] are, and we’re committed to making sure you don’t lose value during this disruption,” Giant Food President Ira Kress wrote in a Saturday email to customers. “Once our website and app are back online, we will extend points that would have expired during this time to ensure you have sufficient time to redeem them.”
Giant Food confirmed with Grocery Dive that customers will also continue to earn points with every purchase and can activate digital coupons and personalized savings by checking in at in-store kiosks called Savings Stations.
In emailed remarks on Friday, The Giant Company said it began automatically activating every digital coupon in its weekly circular on customers’ Giant or Martin’s cards. These chains’ loyalty members can earn points by entering their phone number or scanning their card at checkout in-store.
Social media has played a vital role in the ADUSA banners' messaging to customers during the past week. For instance, Hannaford announced Friday on social media that shoppers can redeem unused My Hannaford Rewards through Dec. 31, and customers will continue to earn 2% rewards on all private brand purchases.
Similarly, Food Lion posted on Instagram Thursday that customers can activate loyalty program coupons at in-store kiosks and redeem previously activated digital coupons and Shop & Earn offers.
Stop & Shop wrote on Instagram over the weekend that the banner’s customers will continue to earn GO Points normally on qualifying purchases and that unused points originally expiring on Oct. 31 will now expire on Nov. 30.
Several ADUSA have also added new savings, many of which rely heavily on the chains’ in-store kiosks. Stop & Shop President Roger Wheeler wrote in a LinkedIn message to shoppers on Friday that Stop & Shop stores are offering all shoppers 10% off their next in-store purchase, an offer that will run through Thursday. To apply the discount, shoppers must visit an in-store Savings Station.
Giant Food is offering a similar deal. Customers can get an exclusive Savings Station offer of $10 off purchases totaling more than $50, the company confirmed. The deal is available until Thursday.
The Giant Company told Grocery Dive that its customers received an email as early as Friday offering 10% off their next in-store purchase in place of the usual weekly promotional email. The chain noted that shoppers need to mention the email offer to a cashier and that scan cards have been distributed to stores to make the discount process simple at checkout.
While Food Lion has not posted about any savings initiatives directly tied to the ongoing outages, the grocery chain shared on Instagram over the weekend step-by-step instructions for using in-store kiosks to print out personalized offers and noted that coupons apply automatically at checkout.
Making the weekly flyer available is another hurdle ADUSA banners cleared. At the end of last week, despite websites remaining down, Hannaford, Stop & Shop, Giant Food, The Giant Company and Food Lion all added links directing shoppers to their weekly ads.
