Metro Personalizing All Shopper Interactions

MONTREAL — Metro Inc. here, in partnership with Dunnhumby Canada, is collecting a range of loyalty and digital data that is employed to “personalize every interaction we can with customers,” said Marc Giroux, chief marketing and communications officer, Metro, in a presentation at the National Retail Federation’s Annual Conference in mid-January.

The personalized communications include targeted promotions sent with quarterly reward checks, personalized fliers and store assortments tailored to the needs of its most loyal customers.

For example, Metro has defined certain items that are important to loyal shoppers as the “diamond line.” When store associates replenish stock, “they know which items are key and should be over-stocked, never understocked,” said Giroux.

Read more: Metro Boosts Q1 Earnings

The combination of loyalty rewards and personalized offers has led to “a good increase in the frequency of visits and the average size of the baskets by our most loyal customers,” said Giroux.

On the other hand, data programs like Metro’s are not without a significant investment. Retailers may need to spend between 1% and 2% of top-line sales “to have a successful loyalty program,” said Marc Fischli, chief operating officer, international markets, Dunnhumby Canada, who also spoke at the NRF session.

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