SHOPRITE PROMOTION 'PAMPERS' NEW MOMS 2004-08-23 (2)

Stephanie Fagnani

ELIZABETH, N.J. -- ShopRite supermarkets has partnered with Procter & Gamble to add the "Pampers Mom of the Month" promotion to its ongoing Baby Bucks program, providing mothers with an incentive to buy specific baby products.

The sweepstakes, which runs through July 31, 2005, selects one winner per month in the states of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Delaware, where ShopRite operates supermarkets. Participating customers are automatically entered into the contest when they purchase any three Pampers, Luvs or Dreft branded products each month and use their ShopRite Price Plus loyalty card. Customers who don't have a loyalty card can register for the contest by mail.

Prizes include a $250 gift certificate to a spa, 10 digital prints from the ShopRite photo-processing lab, a Pampers Koala backpack, and movie cash for two in the amount of $34. Winners in the months of December 2004 and May 2005 will also receive a digital camera and a year's supply of Pampers.

Category killers like Babies 'R' Us and Wal-Mart have been pillaging sales of baby-related products like diapers from the grocery channel for several years. Playing up the one-stop-shopping component of the supermarket format has been key to maintaining relationships with mothers, chain officials said.

"It's certainly an important market for us. New moms, or moms in general, are stressed. We're looking at this kind of a program to give them incentives so they can take time for themselves," said Mary Ellen Gowin, spokeswoman for ShopRite, which is run by Wakefern Food Corp. "The real key here is that it's one-stop shopping. For moms, and especially moms with babies, they need to be able to negotiate the stores and get in and out fast.

"One-stop shopping is really the name of the game for them. If we can offer them a value on the price of the product [and] an additional incentive, then that's a win-win for each of us," Gowin added.

According to Bryan Brown, spokesman, P&G Baby Care, Cincinnati, this regional program is part of P&G's overall shopper marketing efforts, which seek to foster brand loyalty via partnerships with retail customers. P&G's customer team collaborated with ShopRite executives to design this specific program.

"One of the key aspects of the program is that it rewards mom for her time and says thanks for her business," Brown said. "We think it's important to develop programs that show a deep understanding about the consumer and what the retail customer is looking for."

One constant of the ShopRite Baby Bucks program is that it always offers dollars-off incentives to shoppers who use their Price Plus cards. Currently, for every $75 spent on baby items, customers receive $10 off their next shopping order of $50 or more through Nov. 6. Discounts are given at checkout.

Gowin told SN the program is constantly being modernized, but she declined to discuss specifics of the next phase.

"The program is always fresh and it's always updated so that there is a continued interest in participating," she said. "Everybody has a different set of problems, needs and desires. That's what we have to determine and figure out how to meet those needs best."