Albertsons’ Mobile Updates See Sales Continue to Trend Upward

On the strength of its digital investments, Albertsons continues to see its sales rise not only over pre-pandemic levels but also over late-2020, mid-quarantine highs.

In the quarter ended Dec. 4, which followed on the heels of the grocer’s launch of a new app back in August, the grocer’s loyalty program membership grew 17% to 28 million. Additionally, digital sales rose 9% year over year, 234% on a two-year stack, contributing to an overall identical sales increase of 5% year over year, 18% relative to 2019.

“As omnichannel households spend three times more than in-store only shoppers, we continue to increase our investments in digital, omnichannel and loyalty, which drove increased identified households and higher customer engagement and retention,” Albertsons CEO Vivek Sankaran told analysts. “In the Just for U loyalty program … actively engaged members continued to increase.”

He added that these active users, those who redeem their rewards, spend an average of four times more than shoppers who are not enrolled in the program.

Loyalty programs can boost consumers’ spending and attract them to a brand, according to data from PYMNTS’ study, “What Consumers Expect From Their Grocery Shopping Experiences,” created in collaboration with ACI Worldwide, which surveyed more than 2,300 U.S. grocery shoppers about their buying behaviors.

The study found that, of the 54% of grocery shoppers who are enrolled in at least one loyalty program, 63% reported that such programs impact their decisions about which grocery stores to frequent. Moreover, 61% reported spending more at grocery stores that have loyalty programs, and 48% said loyalty programs would encourage them to purchase items that they now purchase online at their favorite grocery store instead.

Read more: Digital Features Can Help Grocers Win Over 43% of Shoppers

“Wallet share’s highest with our top tier of our loyal group, and we find that once they engage in our loyalty program, you see that,” Sankaran said. “The second thing is, we gain massive wallet share when people engage with us in omnichannel, and we can see that because there’s no [other] reason for a household to suddenly start spending three, four times [more] with us than they did before they engaged in omnichannel.”

The grocer’s new app serves to unify its various digital offerings, including ordering, loyalty and deals, among other functions.

These investments are key to tapping the underpenetrated online grocery market. In the connected “Eat” category, comprising all the ways that consumers get their food needs met, grocers lag behind restaurants in capturing the spending of today’s digital consumers, according to data from PYMNTS’ December study, “The Connected Consumer In The Digital Economy: Who Wants To Live In A Digital Connected Economy — And Why?” which surveyed more than 3,100 U.S. adults about how they engage digitally with their everyday activities. The results of the survey revealed that 49% of consumers place restaurant orders through restaurants’ websites or via their mobile apps, while only 32% purchase groceries online.

Get the study: The Connected Consumer In The Digital Economy

In an effort to further monetize its digital presence, Albertsons announced in November it will be launching a retail media network at the end of February, the Albertsons Media Collective, which will integrate sponsored content from brands into its online platforms, driving additional income for the grocer from its app and website.