The grocery industry talks a lot about existing customers and what you can do to improve the experience for those shoppers. And frankly, they should — it’s important to take care of existing customers with loyalty programming and upgrades to the in-store experience, for example. 

What isn’t discussed as frequently, however, is how to connect with lapsed customers and shoppers that you’ve never met before. At Upside, we call both of these “uncommitted customers” because they prioritize the value they receive from each transaction above all — they’re uncommitted to your brand.

Jennifer Hopper, Save A Lot’s CIO, is one leader actively addressing this challenge. I had the privilege of joining her on stage at Progressive Grocer’s Grocery Impact 2024 to discuss their strategy for customer growth.

Like most grocery retailers, Save A Lot serves a core group of shoppers who visit regularly and purchase large baskets. Hopper points to the success of recent efforts, including launching a loyalty program, expanding delivery services, and hosting hyper-local in-store events, as keys to strengthening relationships with these customers and finding some new ones.

That being said, the opportunity presented by the uncommitted customer is very large. The real challenge at hand is connecting with shoppers that don’t know the chain yet, or perhaps used to shop there but have since made other brands a larger part of their routine. Jennifer explained to me on stage that without a better picture of exactly who those shoppers are and exactly what they need to change their behavior, the traditional methods yield unsatisfying results.   

“We have legacy ways to reach customers,” she said. “We have print ads, digital ads, a website, we're on Facebook. We can run those promotions, but if you're uncommitted, you’re unknown. That’s where we’re challenged.”

Technology has been one growth enabler for the retailer. Jennifer said that Save A Lot has invested in a few different areas, including third-party delivery and a new loyalty program, to better serve customers and expand the reach of the business. 

Save A Lot is far from unique in searching for ways to connect with these uncommitted customers. Nearly all grocers have cross-shopping customers in their orbit. True, it’s challenging to win their business, because these shoppers won’t compromise on value. But it’s not impossible — and given that uncommitted customers make up the majority of shoppers today, winning more spend from this group is critical. 

“Why are these customers going to different stores? Why aren’t they coming to Save A Lot for their grocery shop?” Jennifer asked. “That's where we spend a lot of our time.”

It’s a tough problem to solve, but it’s one we know well and it’s why Upside exists — we help grocers crack the code on those hard-to-reach shoppers. Upside’s digital marketplace uses personalized promotions to facilitate more visits and more spend for brick-and-mortar retail partners. These margin-bound offers find the exact amount an individual shopper needs to change their behavior, leading to more profitable foot traffic for the retailer.

Learning exactly who they are and what they need to be influenced to visit your store is a challenge. Jennifer joked that she’d take any retailer who knows exactly how to speak with uncommitted customers and convince them to try something new out to lunch to pick their brain. 

But it is possible to win these customers. And not only that — for grocers looking to continue hitting lofty growth goals in this competitive space, it’s critical to win them.

One way that Jennifer says Save A Lot can attract uncommitted customers is through a strategy she calls “localization.” With each of the brand’s 750 stores independently owned and operated, store owners have leeway to bring in the products or vendors that resonate in their particular communities.

“It helps to localize a store, make it personalized for the customer, so they really feel like it is their grocery store,” she said.  

Because personalization helps Save A Lot win more uncommitted customers, the brand is also partnering with Upside. Together, we’re identifying, reaching, and converting uncommitted customers with personalized promotions. Our key metric for success is incrementality — identifying and measuring new customer spending above baseline trends. 

“Showing the incrementality, and we can do this in just five short months, it’s incredible,” Jennifer said of her experience with Upside. “We think about the exponential impact we’re seeing, and how we’re reaching new customers that have not heard of us before.”

After this session, I felt inspired by Save A Lot’s innovative approach to winning new customers. In the past, retailers may not have had a way to find the needle in the haystack when it comes to targeting uncommitted customers. But with the help of new technologies, retailers like Save A Lot can think differently, and they can turn that uncommitted customer into a loyal and frequent visitor.