Safeway / Albertsons
Aisles of Opportunity: How Safeway Boosted Loyalty and Revenue Share
A Groundbreaking Personalized Loyalty Platform and App
The Challenge
Facing economic challenges and Big Box competitors, Safeway aimed to stand out by shifting from costly print media to a personalized, one-to-one approach—boosting customer frequency, recency, and spend while capturing a bigger share of the basket.
The Strategy
The strategy focused on three key tactics: analyzing customer shopping behavior, segmenting audiences for tailored offers, and launching a first-of-its-kind personalized loyalty program.
The Solution
We launched Just 4 U, a groundbreaking loyalty program and app that rewarded over 15 million customers with fully personalized offers. Using algorithms to analyze shopping behavior—like aisles browsed, 40,000+ SKUs, and 50+ key attributes—digital discounts were tailored to each shopper. This innovation also unlocked a first-of-its-kind opportunity for CPGs to hyper-target ideal consumers with relevant content.
The Results
Safeway’s loyalty program grew to over 25 million active weekly customers, delivering $100+ million in print savings. The top two segments now average 97 visits per year, with increased spend and frequency across key groups. The Just for U app ranks #42 among all shopping apps.
Weekly
Steve Burd
Former CEO
During Launch
There is a much greater propensity for people who have downloaded the app to become regular [loyalty] users. Shoppers who downloaded Safeway’s shopping app were 30% more likely to become regular loyalty users, or users who shop often and spend heavily, and spend between 40% and 50 more than other consumers. The effect of Just for U is to cause people to come to the store more often and to buy more when they’re there. This loyalty program gives them an opportunity to consolidate more business with us.
Driving Retention Through
Engaging Customer Journeys
