Associated Supermarket Group Adds New Loyalty Program

Associated Supermarket Group LLC (ASG) and Wonder Rewards have entered a partnership that introduces Wonder Rewards as a loyalty marketing program for ASG’s banner stores and independent grocers. The program made its official debut at the Feb. 7 ASG Retailer Summit as part of the company’s “What’s New for 2019 in Technology” platform for spurring sales and profitability, in addition to enhancing the customer experience.

Wonder Rewards aims to drive incremental sales for retailers through customer acquisition, retention and upsell/cross-sell strategies. To join the program, consumers can log onto the Wonder Rewards website or download the Wonder Rewards app available in the Apple Store and Google Play. It’s free to join, and the only information requested is the consumer’s mobile phone number and ZIP code – even providing an email address is optional.

“Our relationship with ASG is a positive step in the expansion of Wonder Rewards,” said Chris Cialone, director of U.S. sales operations at the New York-based global provider of end-to-end digital customer loyalty and engagement solutions. “ASG grocers will join a growing number of businesses in the five [New York City] boroughs, along with a variety of other merchant and restaurant partners, providing many places for consumers to earn and redeem points. With our growing network, consumers will reach redemption levels more rapidly than with any other single-brand loyalty program. The Wonder Rewards earn-and-redeem model will be [woven] into the daily fabric of everyday living for consumers, offering unlimited ways to earn and redeem points.”

Added Sterling Hawkins, head of venture at Walnut, Calif.-based CART (Center for Advancing Retail & Technology), and a thought leader in the retail grocery arena: “The industry is facing furious competition, with major technological advances around emerging technology. Every retailer can and should be using third-party technology to level the playing field.”

Port Washington, N.Y.-based ASG serves independent grocers in the New York tri-state area and other cities along the East Coast, providing store financing and leveraging its relationships with suppliers and vendors, as well as its collective buying power, to provide procurement, distribution, marketing, merchandising, advertising, promotion and other retail solutions. The group’s supermarket banners include Associated, Compare, Met, Met Fresh, Metropolitan City Market and Pioneer.