Hannaford Expanding Loyalty Program Chainwide

Calling it a “reinvention of grocery store loyalty programs” built around store-brand purchases and personalized offers, Hannaford Supermarkets is launching its My Hannaford Rewards program chainwide this week.

The Scarborough, Maine-based retailer, a division of Ahold Delhaize, began testing the program in October at a group of 11 stores around Burlington, Vt., and has expanded it to all 181 of its stores in the Northeast. The program represents a departure for Hannaford, which for years resisted operating a loyalty program because officials felt doing so would interfere with its everyday low price marketing strategy.

The new program offers participating shoppers a 2% reward on every store brand product and leaves prices untouched. Around 5,200 fresh and center store items qualify for such awards in a typical Hannaford store. Shoppers will also receive personalized coupon offers for the national- and regional-brand products they buy.

“My Hannaford Rewards is a new way to thank customers, with a 2% reward on private-brand items and coupon offers that are meaningful to them as individuals," Hannaford President Michael Vail said in a statement. “The things that people love about Hannaford – including great fresh food, low everyday prices and excellent service – are our foundation.  My Hannaford Rewards builds on that to provide customers with additional benefits for the shopping they do each week.”

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The program is different from traditional supermarket loyalty programs because in-store prices remain the same for all customers whether they enroll in the program or not, officials said. By contrast, club models or two-tiered loyalty programs require customers to subscribe to access a better level of store pricing.

The rewards apply to all Hannaford, Taste of Inspirations, Nature's Place, Home 360, Cha-Ching, Etos, Companion, CareOne and Healthy Accents products. Officials said the program, designed to generate more frequent and higher-volume trips shopping trips and take advantage of momentum behind private-labels items, exceeded expectations of participation during the Burlington test period.