The roles technology can play in bringing consumers back to the perimeter — and keeping them there, and guaranteeing repeat visits — are countless.

Digital experiences have the power to engage shoppers, creating both “stickiness” and loyalty by delivering value shoppers can’t attain elsewhere, said Katie Hotze, CEO of Charlotte, N.C.-based Grocery Shopii, a digital meal planning platform for grocers that uses recipes to fill carts, expediting the online shopping journey while solving the meal planning headache for shoppers. 

“Considering the massive digital transformation that grocery has experienced during the pandemic, technology can create high-performing revenue channels for fresh perimeter sales by leaning into mobile, social, and other digital experiences that deliver value for the shopper by offering experiences that are more personal, more connected, and faster than ever,” Hotze said.

Grocery Shopii does that by asking retailers to think of a recipe as a bundle that contains all the necessary ingredients to produce a meal.  That bundle may contain items from the bakery, meat department, dairy, fresh perimeter, and center store. And, Hotze said, it’s where the power of technology can drive bigger baskets and impulse purchases as it simplifies the purchase process by delivering value for the shopper. 

“When a grocer employs Grocery Shopii’s retailer-branded meal planning platform onto their existing website, shoppers who do their meal planning spend up to 20% more per shopping journey and return to the grocer’s site four times more often,” Hotze said. “This is a direct boost to fresh perimeter as carts are filled with recipes, which tend to be comprised of either fruits or vegetables. “

Not only does the platform boost sales but it also supports last-minute merchandising efforts when farmers need to move surplus product. A recipe featuring that product can be deployed both in-store and digitally within hours to fire up sales specific to a select item.

Grocery Shopii is a retailer-first platform that provides essential support to retailers who sell groceries online today, Hotze said.  The company’s platform embraces a retailer’s logo, colors, imager, and Grocery Shopii even can add their recipes to its existing catalog, creating a recipe shopping experience that aligns with the grocer’s brand while serving shoppers with fast and convenient meal planning and grocery shopping in five minutes or less. 

“Our platform will always be free to shoppers, and it focuses on pulling shoppers back to the grocer’s website to leverage the meal planning capability, which intensifies customer loyalty.”