About Foodland’s Loyalty Program

In the early 1990s, Foodland, a grocery store chain in Hawaii, launched a loyalty program that quickly became a cornerstone of its customer engagement strategy. In a market as geographically isolated as Hawaii, customer loyalty isn’t just beneficial—it’s essential. However, as the decades passed, Foodland’s loyalty program began to show its age. Most of the program still relied on paper card handouts, a far cry from the data-driven, digital systems used that has become the standard today. Recognizing the need to modernize, Foodland partnered with Clutch to breathe new life into their loyalty program. The Results led to the Maika'i rewards program which provides more to their customers than just points and rewards. It has generated unique, experiential engagements that have brought customers back in the door and impacted Foodland's bottom line.

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Challenges

Lack of a Data Platform: Foodland had no centralized system to consolidate and analyze customer behavior. Without a unified data platform, their loyalty program engagements were largely guesswork, missing the opportunity to tailor experiences based on actual customer preferences.

Lack of Intelligent Communications: The tools at Foodland’s disposal were basic, allowing only for rudimentary email campaigns. With no way to track performance or refine messaging, the effectiveness of their communications was limited, hindering the potential to connect meaningfully with their customers.

Lack of Visibility into ROI: Without an effective platform to manage their loyalty program and marketing efforts, Foodland struggled to measure the return on investment. This lack of visibility made it challenging to justify the business case for their marketing expenditures.

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Solution

Customer Data Platform (CDP): Clutch provided Foodland with an advanced customer data platform that advanced their understanding of customer behavior. By capturing and analyzing data beyond simple demographics—such as purchasing patterns and engagement with the loyalty program—Foodland could now create more targeted and effective marketing strategies.

Faster and More effective Customer Communications: A sophisticated marketing orchestration platform empowered Foodland to deliver truly personalized customer engagements. With AI-driven optimizations and automation, they could reach customers with the right message at the right time, ensuring that communications were not just sent, but impactful.

Intelligent Reporting & Analytics: Finally, powerful reporting tools offered deep insights into the performance of their campaigns, allowing Foodland to adjust their strategies quickly. This newfound ability to track and measure ROI ensured that every marketing effort was not only effective but also aligned with the company’s financial goals.

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Impact:

Average Order Value: When points from the Foodland loyalty program are redeemed, the average order value increases by 63%. This suggests that loyal customers have increased perceived value that leads them to order more per visit.

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Increase in Visit Frequency: Over the course of the last year, customers enrolled in the loyalty program returned 20 times more often than those not enrolled. This tells us that by creating increased value and an improved customer experience for your customers, Foodland is able to keep its core business away from their competition.

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Increase in Customer Lifetime Value: Increasing average order value and increasing order frequency leads to the strongest metric, CLV (customer lifetime value). Members enrolled in the Foodland loyalty program have a Lifetime Value that is 14 times greater than those customers not enrolled in Loyalty.

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Better than the 80/20 rule: We've heard that all businesses experience the 80/20 rule (80% of your business comes from 20% of your customers). In Foodland's case, their implemented loyalty programs have helped them overachieve that standard metric. In the last year 75% of their revenue came only from 9% of their customers.

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Conclusion

Foodland’s journey from an outdated, paper-based loyalty program to a modern, data-driven marketing powerhouse highlights the importance of adapting to technological advancements. By partnering with Clutch, they were able to transform their approach to customer engagement, ensuring that their loyalty program remained as vital and effective today as it was when it first launched.

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