How Scan and Go Benefits Data-Driven Retailers

Retailers have been using circulars and leaflets for decades to promote deals and commercial actions to their customers. Everyone of us still gets them by the dozen in our mailboxes. Although these printed circulars can be a useful tool for retailers, they also come with many downsides:

• Grocery circulars often account for the largest share of the marketing budget.
• Printed ads are not targeted. Everyone in the area will receive exactly the same.
• It is hard to measure the effectiveness of printed ads.
• Prints generate enormous amounts of paper waste, with more than a quarter of recipients throwing these circulars away.

On the other side, customers are showing a growing interest for digital shopping experience. In this blog, we will see how Scan & Go allows retailers to offer a more personalized shopping experience, and how it provides grocers with tools to improve their direct marketing strategy.

A shift toward digital

The past few years have however seen a shift in the consumer landscape. And while many people still want their printed circular to get the best deals, there is a noticeable shift that shows the market is starting to much prefer digital coupons over their printed counterparts. With consumers’ habits changing, it’s only normal that the retail industry adapts itself to the new demands of its customers. As Rachel West, Principal at RevTech Ventures said in a previous podcast with us, “adapt or die”.

Digital coupons, or digital advertisement in general, have the main advantage of being easy to adapt for each consumer or for each group of consumers. They are no longer targeted only by their geographical location but can be presented with different promotions depending on their age, their interests and even shopping habits.

Scan & Go and data privacy

If customers share data with retailers when they use Scan & Go, it is important to understand what grocers may or may not do with that data according to the law. As that information is usually linked to a customer’s account, it falls under General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) law.

When it comes to direct marketing and promotions, GDPR says it should respect a basis of legitimate interests. This means that whatever the customer’s data is used for, it should be beneficial to the customer. Retailers should also make sure that customers feel like this particular marketing strategy is legitimate, necessary and proportionate to customers’ interests, and not overly intrusive.