How retailers can profit from online grocery

A Wisconsin company that specializes in software for online grocery has developed a product that allows stores to promote specific items and brands to shoppers.

GrocerKey now offers retailer-centric ad campaign capabilities to highlight, promote and drive shopper behavior to specific items and brands during online shopping. Additionally, GrocerKey is partnering with CPG manufacturers and retailers to reward their online shoppers with additional ad dollars.

As grocers offer more online capabilities for shoppers, there is increasing pressure to make digital transactions profitable. With rising e-commerce costs, grocers can now collaborate with CPG manufacturers for additional promotional funding.

"If trade dollars are removed from the digital equation, there is a missed opportunity to bring in incremental revenue to eCommerce and mobile applications for grocers," said Jeremy Neren, CEO of GrocerKey. "In the rush to implement eCommerce, it's critical to have those CPG dollars flowing directly to their shoppers, versus losing them altogether to a third-party marketplace, in order to achieve sustained profitability."

GrocerKey's latest software release includes key functionality to enable grocers to target shoppers with modular banners and product spotlights, driving shoppers to more profitable products in the assortment. Grocers have flexibility on which CPG brands to promote, including their own private-label products.

"With online sales expected to reach 22% of total grocery sales soon, CPG brands stand to benefit from technologies like GrocerKey," said David Calle, who has 30 years of CPG experience including more than 20 years at Unilever. "Online ad campaigns offer CPGs new, powerful ways to target – whether a demographic profile or a shopping behavior. GrocerKey functionality meets the shopper at the purchase decision point. Its solutions benefit both retailers and manufacturers, and most importantly add value for shoppers."