Grocery Gateway is looking to increase its e-commerce revenue with a new mobile app.
Grocery Gateway, which previously offered online shopping and delivery, is operated by the Longo’s retail chain. Grocery Gateway co-founder Stephen Tallevi said the app is a response to a steep rise in mobile traffic on Longo’s own web properties.
He said the grocer was also inspired by Tesco, a U.K.-based grocer that built virtual stores allowing consumers to scan bar codes and order groceries that would later be delivered to their homes in a Seoul subway station and at London’s Gatwick airport.
Several major Canadian grocers have apps, but most focus on recipes or assembling shopping lists. Sobey’s has an app called Moodie Foodie that let’s users choose foods based on their moods, while IGA, Loblaws and Whole Foods have recipe-based apps. Tallevi said it was important for Longo’s to include e-commerce when it launched its Grocery Gateway app.
“The app is really about what we do – selling groceries,” Tallevi said. “The other grocers have really tried to provide something that will get you into their store, a recipe or something. We’re about driving sales through the mobile app and website.”
The company also has plans for a Longo’s branded app. Both are part of a partnership with Unata, a digital shopper marketing company that released a loyalty-based grocery app called Fresh Points in August.
Unata CEO Chris Bryson said there are plans to further integrate Unata’s loyalty-based mobile platform with Longo’s “Thank You Rewards” loyalty program. Bryson said Longo’s plans to roll out new features, including personalized suggestions and special offers for products that fit consumer’s previous shopping habits.
Bryson said the mobile approach is a new incarnation of Longo’s long-held brand attributes. “They were a small company, and one of the reasons they became really big was that their store owners used to know everybody by name,” Bryson said. “As a company grows, you can’t do that, but they’re hoping technology can help to assist in reinforcing that personalized experience as they grow bigger.”
