Attracting more customers and increasing sales—these are the age-old conundrums affecting every retail business in the world, and grocery stores are no exception.
Supermarkets do have a notable advantage, however. Everybody needs to eat, right? Not so surprisingly, it's convincing grocery store customers to stay loyal that can be the biggest challenge. In fact, according to a recent study by the Food Marketing Institute: "Shoppers increasingly rely on a broad number of retail channels for grocery shopping, claiming no single retailer as their primary source for food."
What does this mean? That more and more people are relying on multiple stores to meet their needs. They go to the organic market for produce, to the discount warehouse club for bulk goods, and to their local neighborhood grocer for those last-minute items.
It's therefore a matter of convincing them to rely on you for most if not all of their grocery shopping needs.
Let's look at several ways to boost retail sales and increase customer loyalty at your grocery store.
Advertising
Grocery stores are no strangers to adverts. Whether promoted in circulars, fliers or catalogs, multiple campaigns running simultaneously can have the most impact. Take care to ensure the deals are clear and concise, with a heavy emphasis on value, rather than merely pricing.
To effectively target customers, consider creating a digital presence for these ads, too. Digital advertising can help deliver deals via social media platforms, on a website where potential customers are looking up recipes, or in search engines, such as Google or Bing.
Loyalty Programs
Loyalty programs are other proven ways to improve customer loyalty and increase visits. Providing exclusive coupons, deals, gifts and discounts if they purchase from you frequently inspires an emotional connection and makes customers feel special. Such programs also reward them when they return, resulting in your business becoming a must-go destination.
Data Gathering & Analysis
Intel is powerful. It will help guide the most effective approach and create a fact-based foundation for strategies going forward. Demographics, purchases made, frequency, favorite products, spend—this is all extremely valuable data that can be gleamed from loyalty programs. Once you have this, you'll be better informed when creating marketing campaigns and adverts, and relying on facts.
Customer Experience
Positive in-store experiences increase the likelihood customers will return. This could mean extra staff out on the floor to assist with inquiries, to ensuring checkout lines run as smoothly as possible.
Keep Up to Date
Always review labels, expiration dates, pricing, etc. Incorrect messaging, or even expired products on your shelves, can quickly damage a company's reputation as a reliable grocer.
Product Placement
Product placement plays a big role in customers purchasing certain products. Ideally, you'll want to rearrange your products, or even whole sections of inventory, at least once per quarter, to analyze how those placements performed. Adjust accordingly.
Technology
In an era characterized by near-daily technological advancements, it's no surprise that grocery stores are beginning to recognize the value in incorporating digital assets into their business models.
Enter: grocery store apps.
While customers are increasingly more comfortable conducting business and making purchases right through their mobile devices, grocery stores are catching on, utilizing grocery development apps for white label solutions and transporting customers to digital store aisles.
Keeping up in the industry means evolving along with it, and with 43% of millennials reportedly “using some kind of mobile app to grocery shop" in 2016, according to a "Shopper STAT" study by retail food industry research trade publication Progressive Grocer, the digital grocery space is only increasing in popularity, and perhaps the most important frontier for retailers to focus efforts.
This doesn't mean grocery stores should fear technology, but rather, embrace it, recognizing grocery apps as new ways to harness the power of ads, engagement, customer outreach and customer service, while also offering customers new and convenient ways to make purchases at their stores. 
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