Save A Lot Debuts Mobile App for First Loyalty Program

In a move that elevates the company’s digital transformation and modernizes the grocery shopping experience, Save A Lot is launching of its first loyalty program.

Save A Lot, which operates 750 stores across 32 states, introduced its loyalty program, Save A Lot Rewards, through a mobile app that allows members to earn points, or “dots,” for rewards at their local stores. 

In an interview with PYMNTS, Katie Kobus, vice president of marketing for Save A Lot, said more customers are using digital channels when shopping and deciding where to shop and what to buy.

“The new Save A Lot Rewards program will help keep the brand top-of-mind for customers in the digital space,” Kobus explained. “It also gives us the opportunity to further integrate our various digital touchpoints — including the savealot.com website, customer emails, social media, and other digital marketing channels.”

This focus on digital engagement aligns with broader consumer trends. According to the PYMNTS Intelligence report, “2024 Global Digital Shopping Index: U.S. Edition,” created in collaboration with Visa Acceptance Solutions, 54% of grocery shoppers expect digital rewards or loyalty programs.

Additionally, streamlined shopping experiences are crucial for creating customer loyalty. The PYMNTS Intelligence report, “The Online Features Driving Consumers to Shop With Brands, Retailers or Marketplaces,” found 40% of shoppers consider how user-friendly a merchant’s online store is when deciding where to shop.

The emphasis on user experience extends to personalized offers, where email remains the preferred method of communication across generations. According to the PYMNTS Intelligence report, “Personalized Offers Are Powerful — but Too Often Off-Base,” email is the preferred method for receiving personalized offers. Sixty-five percent of baby boomers and seniors, 68% of Generation X, 63% of millennials, and 52% of Generation Z indicated they prefer to receive these offers via email.

This understanding of consumer preferences informs the structure of Save A Lot’s loyalty program, which allows independent retailers the flexibility to customize local promotions while maintaining a nationwide framework for redeeming dots for free products, Kobus said. Additionally, the app will feature exclusive coupons and deals

“Our goal with this program is to provide personalized deals and discounts, giving shoppers added value and even more savings on their grocery purchases,” she explained. “For example, shoppers will get exclusive in-app savings on national brand and Save A Lot’s assortment of private label products, like 99 cent Crystal Falls 24-pack water. Shoppers will also earn dots in the app which can be redeemed for rewards. The loyalty program also allows us to better understand shopper preferences and habits, leading to more tailored and effective promotions in the future.”

Customers can use those dots to redeem rewards, including free products or other exclusive deals. New offers will appear periodically in the “Rewards Marketplace” on the app. In its initial phase, the program will feature promotional offers, such as discounted eggs and water, to entice new and existing customers, Kobus said.

To support this customization, Save A Lot and many of its suppliers will provide core offers available in all stores.

“While Save A Lot and many of our suppliers will supply core offers available in all stores, independent Save A Lot retail partners will have flexibility to customize the app with local offers at the store and market levels to cater to the specific wants and needs of their shoppers,” Kobus explained. “Localized offers can be specific coupons or deals or even redeemable rewards.”

This adaptability is complemented by the insights gained from the new Save A Lot Rewards program, Kobus said.

“The new Save A Lot Rewards program gives us the opportunity to have greater understanding about how our customers shop — how frequently they shop, what they buy, and what products and offers bring them back,” she said.

“We can translate that data into specific recommendations for pricing, promotions, or even assortment that ultimately should improve the customer experience.”

 


Humane, Whose AI Pin Flopped, to Sell Assets to HP

Humane AI pin

Humane, creator of the Ai Pin that received a wave of negative user reviews, is shutting down and selling its assets to HP for $116 million.

HP will get Humane’s artificial intelligence (AI)-powered platform called Cosmos, its technical staff and intellectual property with more than 300 patents and patent applications, Humane announced Tuesday (Feb. 18). The Humane team will form HP’s new innovation lab, HP IQ.

The HP acquisition marks a swift downfall for the AI wearable, which began shipping less than a year ago. It was aiming for sales of 100,000 units but fell far short at 10,000. Now, the startup is telling Ai Pin owners that their devices will stop working after Feb. 28, and all stored data will be deleted.

Humane was founded by Apple executives Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno, who are married. The startup raised $230 million since its 2018 inception, according to Crunchbase. Its investors included Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, SoftBank and Microsoft.

Once named a Time magazine best invention of the year, the Ai Pin disappointed users who complained about malfunctions, its high price and overheating problems. Due to sluggish sales, the Ai Pin had to cut its price from $699 to $499. Users also had to pay $24 a month excluding taxes and fees for connectivity and cloud storage.

“The pin was more vanity than practical. There was really nothing more people could do with the Humane Ai Pin that they couldn’t otherwise do with their smartphones,” Kushank Aggarwal, founder of Digital Samaritan, told PYMNTS. “Plus, voice-only devices haven’t experienced mass adoption yet, so in that respect, it was destined to fail.”

Everything That’s Wrong With a Wearable

Once compared to the Star Trek communicator badge, the Ai Pin has a square shape and attaches to a shirt or coat using magnets. It uses AI to answer questions and perform tasks, such as making calls, sending messages or taking notes. A laser display projects text onto the user’s palm. Sensors detect hand gestures to control the device.

But early adopters complained that the pin would drag down the front of thinner shirts, that it would overheat, it didn’t work well, had slow response times, made frequent mistakes and its laser projector beaming text onto the hand was hard to read in bright light.

An Engadget reviewer said that “the combination of holding out my hand to see the projected screen, waving it around to navigate the interface and tapping my chest and waiting for an answer all just made me look really stupid.”

Reviewer Marques Brownlee said it was “the worst product I’ve ever reviewed … for now.” Wired magazine’s reviewer opined that “right now, there’s nothing here that makes me want to use it over my smartphone,” although he held out for the next version to be better.

Anant Sood, co-founder of Worxogo, told PYMNTS that “people develop strong habits around existing technologies. … The Humane Ai Pin required users to break smartphone habits across the board instead of breaking one small habit at a time. For new technology adoption, the perceived value had to significantly outweigh the effort to unlearn.”

Andrey Meshcheryakov, an engagement manager at Recombinators, said the company “struggled to identify a compelling use case and validate that its solution truly addresses it. If you’re creating a new category, make sure there’s a real demand or subpar consumer experience you’re [hoping to solve] — not just a futuristic concept people might find cool.”

Meshcheryakov pointed out that Humane, despite having “a dream team with Apple pedigrees,” missed “several blind spots: a deep understanding of customer needs, orchestrating an impactful go-to-market strategy, offering a reasonable business model, and ultimately acing the solution design — getting the combination of hardware, AI and user experience right.”

Moreover, Humane hyped its device before it was ready for prime time, Meshcheryakov told PYMNTS. “It’s better to debut a quietly excellent product than a loudly proclaimed flop,” he said. “Even a great product can falter with poor marketing, and a flawed product has no cushion at all. Additionally, the pricing model was a hard sell without proven value​.”

HP’s Plans for Humane’s AI Tech

For HP, the deal marks a significant step in its strategic transformation toward experience-driven computing and AI-powered devices.

“This investment will rapidly accelerate our ability to develop a new generation of devices that seamlessly orchestrate AI requests both locally and in the cloud,” Tuan Tran, president of technology and innovation at HP, said in a statement.

HP plans to integrate Humane’s AI capabilities across its entire product line, from AI-enabled PCs to smart printers and connected conference rooms.

As part of the acquisition, Humane’s engineers, architects and product innovators will join HP’s Technology and Innovation Organization, forming a new division called HP IQ. This AI innovation lab will focus on developing intelligent ecosystems across HP’s product range, specifically targeting workplace productivity solutions.

Humane co-founders Bongiorno and Chaudhri highlighted the potential of combining HP’s global reach with Humane’s design-led approach and engineering expertise. “HP’s scale, global reach, and operational excellence — combined with our design-led approach, integration technology, and engineering expertise — will redefine workforce productivity,” they said.

The move comes at a crucial time in the tech industry, as major hardware manufacturers race to integrate AI capabilities into their products. HP’s acquisition positions the company to compete more effectively in the growing market for AI-enabled devices and workplace solutions.

The transaction is expected to close by the end of this month, subject to customary closing conditions.

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