Dive Brief:

• ShoptoCook’s website and kiosk service; AppCard’s personalized marketing and digital coupons; and Rosie’s e-commerce platform are now integrated into a new personalized program for independent grocers, Rosie announced Monday. 
• Using their mobile phone numbers to sign up, shoppers can access digital receipts, loyalty pricing and rewards and single-sign-on across in-store, mobile and web platforms. The program also lets shoppers clip and redeem digital coupons.
• The omnichannel tie-up is aimed at offering an array of personalized tools for retailers and their shoppers at a time when demand for e-commerce, mobile checkout and other digital services remains very high. The program “makes the high-tech capabilities of large, nationwide chains available to independent grocers across the U.S.," Jenna Irish, content marketer for Rosie, said in a statement.

Dive Insight:

The new omnichannel commerce platform from Rosie, AppCard and ShoptoCook comes at a time when local grocers are trying to improve their online presence amidst a pandemic-fueled e-commerce boom this year. 

The companies' CEOs say the omnichannel program gives their retail partners a boost, especially with online shopping. “We are seeing spikes in e-commerce growth like never before, and being able to offer a more integrated omnichannel commerce program is the natural next step for our retailer and wholesaler partners,” Nick Nickitas, founder and CEO of Rosie, said. 

Three grocers in Pennsylvania — Schiel's Family Markets, Gerrity's Supermarkets and Stauffers of Kissel Hill — are using the platform, the announcement said. 

By offering machine learning and AI to predict shopper behavior, the program allows grocers to entice purchases in a new way, Yair Goldfinger, CEO of AppCard, said. 

Previously, Rosie and ShoptoCook worked on a joint omnichannel digital marketing platform for local grocers, announcing the rollout in October 2018. 

Rosie, which focuses on bringing e-commerce software to independent grocers, has also worked with DoorDash this year. In late February, the companies announced retailers using the Rosie platform could utilize DoorDash for delivery fulfillment. Then in September, Rosie and DoorDash offered shoppers free delivery through the end of the month. 

The boom of vendor partnerships combines the companies’ complementary skills in a bid to help independent grocers compete with large-scale retailers like Walmart, Target and Amazon. 

Pointing to increased demand for personalization, Mi9 Retail, which owns MyWebGrocer, and intelligence firm Halla announced in August a partnership to offer an enhanced personalization tool on Mi9 Retail’s grocery e-commerce platform, ThryveAI. Regional and independent grocery chains desire enhanced personalization to help with discovery, increase basket size and keep shoppers, Neil Moses, CEO of Mi9, said.