Giant Eagle Accelerates Digital Strategy

Giant Eagle, one of the nation's largest multi-format food, fuel and pharmacy retailers, has deployed EPiServer CMS and Commerce Solutions to enhance the customer online experience, to help drive profitable sales growth and support customer loyalty. With more than 4.6 million customers annually and more than 400 retail locations in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and Maryland, Giant Eagle recognized the need for a new, more capable and scalable CMS and e-commerce platform to bolster delivery of their digital strategy. The Company leveraged EPiServer to extend and deliver the multi-channel, multi-platform experience online, complete with an interactive customer tool set and offering including weekly circular, product catalog, shopping list, menu planner, digital coupons and gift card e-commerce. These offerings are designed to enhance the value proposition and customer engagement during the pre-shop, in-store and post-sale experience by offering value, and planning and savings options for time and price conscious shoppers. Using EPiServer, GiantEagle.com, provides shoppers with tools and content to personalize their interaction with the brand from the online planning phase to the in-store experience, with easily accessible information available for every in-store department and product category, and savings and loyalty programs. Up front, the site delivers personalized content to the customer, saving time and increasing relevancy of the content for the shopper, and highlights features customers care about, like weekly specials, robust search options, online shopping list, reward offers and gift card purchases. Loyalty is key to engagement, building on a well-established program; the site delivers what’s relevant to shoppers including loyalty reward balances, beverage club rewards and more. “Our goal has been to provide an Omni-channel customer experience for our shoppers, with each touch point, from online to in-store, offering easily accessible information and tools our customers desire when and where they want it,” said Donna Pahel, Director Digital CRM at Giant Eagle. “The EPiServer technology has enabled us to better engage our customers online to ultimately provide a benefit to the in-store experience, and has allowed us to prepare for future planned enhancements to the site.” The scalability of the platform will allow the grocer to easily ramp up in the future to accommodate planned growth and ecommerce integration, and since launching the EPiServer site, Giant Eagle has already seen the impact. The technology has helped increase impressions of the Weekly Circular by more than 40 percent, increased output for the web team by nearly 30 percent and increased site engagement as shoppers take advantage of available offerings. “Stronger integration between on and off line shopping is a continuing trend in the retail space,” said Marty Leamy, President at EPiServer, Inc.. “Giant Eagle has followed a well thought-through development process with a focus on their customer. This innovative strategy will carry them well into the future as digital demand continues to build, and to drive customer loyalty with more rewarding customer experiences.”