Kroger: A Marketing 50 Case Study

As consumers hit by higher prices and a weakening economy flock to
lower-price big-box stores such as Wal-Mart and Costco, most
supermarket retailers have struggled to post same-store-sales
growth.
Then there's Kroger Co., which has consistently been notching
comparable-store-growth rates of about 5% in the past year and 4.7%
for the recently concluded second quarter, excluding gasoline.
According to Kroger senior management, much of the credit for that
growth goes to a loyalty-card program with more than 43 million
households operating under various supermarket brands and led by
David Ciancio, VP-customer relationship management.
Dunnhumby USA analyzes the payoff from each offer at the household
and customer-segment levels to boost sales, which for Kroger were
up 11.9% for the second quarter to $18.1 billion.
"One of the most sophisticated tools we use to leverage
opportunities in any economy is our vast collection of consumer
data," Kroger Chairman-CEO David Dillon said in a September
earnings conference call.