Metro.ca Taps Into #TIFF To Roll Out Re-Designed Site + App

BY: 

Dave Forde
September 18, 2013

Metro-TIFF.17.42_new“Lights, camera, action,” was the name of the game for grocery retailer Metro as they hosted a party at the Thompson Hotel to unveil their re-designed site and smartphone app following development that required 18 months of work. This first for Quebec food retailers enables the company to take a major step in implementing its personalization strategy, marked by the launch of the metro&moi rewards program in 2010 and the introduction of personalized and mass digital coupons last June.

“With the rapid transformation of retail in the digital world, purchasing habits in the food industry are changing, and we are determined to stand alongside consumers in a personalized way as things evolve.” said today Marc Giroux, Vice-President, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Metro Inc. “Our digital ecosystem (mobile and web) was designed to facilitate customers’ purchasing cycles, to give them more inspiration and savings and develop an even more personalized relationship with them that takes their needs, tastes and lifestyle into consideration.”

Now Metro shoppers can find a store, consult the flyer, receive personalized promotional offers (in the form of coupons), get a weekly menu suited to his/her needs and based on the discounts found in the flyer. He or she can then use the recipes, videos and helpful hints to plan his/her purchases which will be added onto a grocery list as he/she navigates through the site and app. Users will be able to complete their shopping list as they navigate through the website or the app. Discounts and coupons included on the website and the app allow deals to be the quickly identified while planning the family food basket.Metro-TIFF.16.00_new

While in the store, the consumer can access his/her personal grocery list, weekly menus, discounts found in the flyer and available coupons using his/her iPhonei mobile digital device and use it at the checkout to redeem the coupons.

The new Metro website promises to be more user-friendly, more intuitive, richer, better integrated and, most of all, more personalized. Users will be able to synchronize their grocery list with the My Metro app, and in sharing their metro.ca account, all family members will share the list. Users who are also metro&moi members can use their iPhonei mobile digital device at the checkout as their metro&moi card, and redeem their personalized coupons. Users can also use their phone at the “Lights, camera, action,” was the name of the game for grocery retailer Metro as they hosted a party at the Thompson Hotel to unveil their re-designed site and smartphone app following development that required 18 months ofcheckout to redeem their personalized coupons.

“Our ecosystem is a powerful and promising tool that we will continue to develop. Today we are laying the foundation of our infrastructure which will support our future digital initiatives.”, added Marc Giroux. According to a Nielsen study (Canadian Consumer Shopping Behaviour Report – March 2013) on household grocery shopping activities:

  • 51% of consumers consult the online or paper flyer.
  • 47% perform research online (prices and recommendations).
  • 42% look for discounts online.
  • 31% compare the prices of products online.

In Canada, 30% of the population visit a website before going grocery shopping, making the web the 3rd most popular source of information, following flyers and cook books. (emarketer, December, 2012).

Mobile devices are also tools used during the purchasing process, as 62% of mobile devices in Canada are smartphones and that figure is expected to reach 100% by 2015 (comScore, December, 2012). Additionally, traffic from mobile devices (including tablets) on metro.ca has almost doubled over the past year. Metro created a mobile application for iPhone, because 75% of visits to metro.ca from mobile devices (including tablets) come from Apple devices.

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Dave Forde


Dave “The Connector” Forde has been involved in the marketing, public relations and technology industry across Canada for over 20 years in various sales and marketing roles, he launched The Connected One network of business sites which connects buyers to the right sellers. Profectio and PR In Canada covers news about the marketing and public relations industry each day helping professionals advance their career and businesses. He also serves as an advisor to a number of businesses across the country. Find Dave on LinkedIn and Twitter.


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