Dive Brief:
- Meijer identified sponsored products in its Produce For Kids program through its online shopping and digital coupon platforms for the first time this year, according to Progressive Grocer.
- The campaign, which took place June 4, highlights brands like Dole and Earthbound Farm that have contributed to the Produce For Kids initiative. To date, the campaign has raised $1.2 million for kids' charities through its partnership with Meijer.
- Meijer also placed signage in its stores to identify sponsored products and educate shoppers about the initiative.
Dive Insight:
Charitable outreach can boost a retailer's image, and it can move product as well. As more retailers move their inventories online and expand their loyalty programs, it makes sense to tie in programs like Produce For Kids with their digital efforts.
Meijer's initiative comes at an important stage in the company's digital evolution. The retailer tested out digital home delivery in Detroit last year through Shipt, and saw 65,000 orders placed in just six months. That made leadership take notice, and now the company is expanding its online ordering and delivery platform throughout its six-state footprint.
The company's mPerks program, meanwhile, is one of the leading digital coupon programs in the industry. Started in 2010, mPerks expanded to more than 4 million users within five years. It now includes state-of-the-art features like automatically applying discounts to shoppers when they scan their phones at checkout.
The opportunities in online shopping and digital coupons should continue to grow for Meijer and other retailers. Nielsen’s “The Future of Grocery” report forecasts that ordering online for pickup or delivery will increase substantially in the year ahead, with 55% and 57% trying the respective services by the end of 2017. According to shopper marketing firm Valassis, nine out of 10 millennials use coupons, and a growing number are redeeming them through digital channels.
As far as its outreach and sponsorships go, this summer Meijer will serve as the “Official Food Retailer” of the Big Bite Tour. This should help the grocery chain capture younger demographics as the Meijer brand will now be in front of millions of millennials and Generation Zers expected at these festivals.