A Case Study in Loyalty At Chester's Markets

Chester’s Markets is a Northwest-owned and operated community grocer based out of John Day, Oregon. Located in rural Oregon, Chester’s is miles away from urban cities with big box retailers. With three locations, Chester’s Markets Lincoln Beach, Chester’s Markets John Day, and Chester’s Markets Pacific City, Chester’s prides itself on its dedication to the community and its ability to provide shoppers with the products they need right there in their hometown. Chester’s offers a full meat and seafood department, fresh produce, bakery items, a full service deli, and more.

Fear of Falling Behind

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, leadership at Chester’s decided they needed to offer something new and exciting to Chester’s loyal customers. As the world became more and more technologically advanced, Chester’s, which is located in a rural area with a large retirement community, worried that without investing in new advancements for its customers, the stores would fall behind and lose shoppers — and with that, lose sales.

Chester’s knew that they wanted to implement an eCommerce platform. But they also knew that what would keep their shoppers coming back was rewarding them for being loyal and choosing Chester’s above other stores. Leadership at Chester’s looked at several different loyalty programs at The NGA Show, but ultimately decided that AppCard would be the most beneficial platform for their stores and shoppers.

Priority #1: Simplicity

Because Chester’s is located in rural areas with large retirement communities, simplicity was top-of-mind for leadership as they considered loyalty programs. The customer experience needed to be easy for cashiers to explain, clear for shoppers to understand, and simple to use for customers who aren’t technologically savvy. Once Operations Manager Bill Wyllie and other members of leadership at Chester’s realized that AppCard had a customer-facing in-lane terminal showing shoppers exactly what they were able to save on their purchases, the choice was clear: AppCard was going to be Chester’s new loyalty program partner.

Ease of Use Leads to Big Results

The customer-facing AppCard in-lane terminal (NTR) has helped Chester’s grow the number of shoppers enrolled in the loyalty program from Day 1 of their partnership with AppCard. Shoppers immediately see the terminal at checkout and are prompted to enter their phone number so they can save. Chester's Digital Marketing & Social Media Coordinator Sierra Sterrett remarked that customers love to hear the chime telling them that they’re saving money. Even the smallest touches from AppCard, like an exciting notification sound, bring customers joy and keep them coming back to Chester’s.

Since implementing the AppCard platform and starting their loyalty program, Chester’s has seen an enormous amount of success. On average, AppCard members spend $14 more than non-AppCard shoppers and increase their basket size by 3 items. Chester’s rewards program makes good use of cash off redemptions. When shoppers are able to see on the in-lane terminal that they’re saving money, their satisfaction skyrockets.

Chester’s wanted a rewards and loyalty program that would keep shoppers coming back to their local supermarket instead of traveling hundreds of miles to go to the big box stores once or twice a month. By implementing AppCard’s personalized marketing, shopper analytics, and digital coupon platform, Chester’s was able to show shoppers that staying loyal and staying local pays off.

This case study was first published on AppCard.com. To view the original post, click here.