While Whole Foods isn’t scheduled to roll out a national loyalty program until sometime in 2017, it appears it’s on its way to a splendid proposition.
Whole Foods, the Austin, TX-based organic grocer, first tested the loyalty program in Philadelphia two years ago, and now in Dallas, which is just the second pilot city. During the company’s recent third-quarter earnings call, co-CEO Walter Robb noted that he expects the program to roll out nationally “sometime next year.”
Don Smith, SVP, Chief Analytics Officer, Brierley+Partners, told Loyalty360 that Whole Foods sits on the brink of a truly differentiated customer experience.
“Whole Foods is breaking new ground in its space by offering consumers opportunities to earn valued rewards through the combination of an ‘earn and burn’ incentive structure and personalized CRM,” Smith explained. “Whole Foods is poised to offer a differentiated value proposition in the organic food space. In this competitive and bifurcated sector, where consumers cross-shop across organic and mainstream grocery retailers when stocking their pantries, rewarding customers for their brand loyalty has serious potential to consolidate spending and increase retention.”
Robb noted last month that the company “took another big step forward in our efforts to better understand and provide personalized offers to our customers, with the market test launch of our new rewards program in the Dallas and Fort Worth metro area.”
In this test launch, local customers can register at wholefoodsmarket.com to save instantly on member-only deals like 10% off their first purchase, earn rewards for free products, and receive surprises just for shopping. With each scan at the checkout, customers increase their savings and personalize their future rewards.
Last month, Whole Foods opened its second 365 store.
Designed around affordability and convenience and supported by enhanced digital experiences, 365 delivers a fresh new format to the marketplace, and, Robb said, “The customer response has been overwhelmingly positive. Our 365 stores are firsts for us in so many ways, from a streamlined operating model, to centralized buying, to auto-replenishment of inventory. With 20 stores in development, we’re very excited about the learning potential, and we are already using these to shape and evolve not just future 365 stores, but Whole Foods Market stores as well.”
Company officials believe the new 365 by Whole Foods Market stores will enable them to take their high quality standards and great shopping experience to even more people in a smaller format with value pricing throughout these new stores.
If Whole Foods’ national loyalty program rollout in 2017 is successful, the company could be well on its way to forging a tighter stranglehold in the organic grocer category.