Mobile Apps Drive 11% Lift in Longo’s Transaction Spend

Canadian independent grocer Longo’s mobile app platform is driving shoppers to spend more per transaction and increasing the average number of transactions per shopper.

The mobile apps, developed by Toronto, Ontario-based Unata, present each shopper with a personalized flyer, highlighting products on sale that the shopper has previously purchased, followed by specials they are most likely to enjoy as determined by Unata’s proprietary predictive engine. The personal flyer is promoted by a weekly push notification that alerts the shopper to the number of products they have previously purchased that are on sale that week at Longo’s.

“By presenting each consumer with the most relevant products and specials, Unata’s platform is changing consumer behavior in a way that benefits both the customer and the retailer,” said Chris Bryson, founder and CEO of Unata. “These results demonstrate that personalized digital experiences will be a key component of the future in-store experience.”

Connected to Longo’s loyalty program, the apps allow loyalty members to use their phone as a “digital loyalty card” at checkout and build a shopping list from the full inventory of products.

According to Unata, users of the app increased their transaction frequency, and those who used the flyer and the shopping list spent more per transaction. Following are the benefits realized by Longo’s broken down my type of user.

• Mobile Users: Shoppers who used the mobile apps spent 5.6 percent more during the four months after the app launched than they did in the four months leading up to the launch, while non-mobile loyalty members (control group) spent 0.26 percent less than they did relative to the prior four months. The main driver of the lift in total spend was due to an increase in transaction frequency, which the non-mobile members did not experience.
• Digital Lists Users: Shoppers who created a digital shopping list within six days of making a purchase spent 11.4 percent more per transaction than they did during the four months leading up to the launch, while the non-mobile members spent 1.39 percent less than they did in the period before.
• Personal Flyer Users: Shoppers who viewed the personal flyer spent 6.1 percent more per transaction than they did in the four months prior to launch of the mobile apps, while the non-mobile members spent 1.39 percent less.

Family-owned Longo’s operates 22 traditional stores, four small format “The Market” by Longo’s stores, and GroceryGateway.com, an online service for home-delivered groceries.