Wegman's New Website

With enough commitment, creativity and technical know-how, a retailer’s website can open up new pathways to customer loyalty. Wegman’s has long understood this, populating its site with recipes, an impressive product database, a dietician’s blog, and more.

Now the Northeastern retailer has gone a step further by redesigning the site and adding several new features, including new recipes and an interactive shopping list tool that helps customers choose products and then track them down to the aisle level. On the wellness side, Wegman’s has added employee testimonials; store manager Joe, for example, writes about his journey to becoming a triathlete. There are also additional links and a clean new layout under the website’s “wellness” tab.

Far too many retailers do the bare minimum when it comes to developing their website. The slogans, logos and pictures are all there, and often presented in an attractive format. But consumers aren’t interested in learning about the company (no offense, retailers). They want what they can use, and wellness information is often just what they’re looking for.

There are limitations, however. People won’t go to a supermarket website to read the latest health news, or browse through an encyclopedia of medical terms. They’ll go there to find what they perceive as the supermarket’s area of expertise: food. That’s why smart online ideas include healthy and delicious recipes, dieting advice from in-store dieticians and nutrition facts about products.

Every consumer is asking the same question of the companies they find on the web: What can you do for me today? Wegman’s has provided answers, and so should other retailers.