Regional Grocers Launch Unified Shopping Experience that Defends Against New Amazon Strategy

TORONTO, June 28, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Amazon's bid to acquire Whole Foods is its biggest move yet into grocery, enabling an omni-commerce strategy by expanding into brick and mortar. Unata, the leader in 1-to-1 digital solutions for grocers, works with a number of regional grocery retailers on similar omni-commerce strategies, and today announces four retailers soon launching Unata's new "Unified Experience," including Lunds & Byerlys and Roche Bros.

Unata's "Unified Experience" interconnects three distinct types of shopping modes -- (1) in-store list-planning, (2) delivery and (3) click and collect -- into one seamless experience. Most retailers have these experiences split among different websites, or confusingly combined. Instead, Unata's Unified Experience prompts shoppers to select their desired, after which the entire web or mobile experience adjusts accordingly, reflecting accurate content, features, product assortment, pricing, button functionality, store selection and more. Shoppers can also change modes at any point and have the experience automatically adapt, notifying the shopper of any product discrepancies that result from the mode change.

This functionality is critical, as today's consumer uses a combination of in-store, delivery and click and collect to grocery shop, depending on the specific day and context, proving the immediate need for a platform that can seamlessly transitions between modes.

"The loyalty of our customers is more important now than ever. We're currently working with the Unata team to build an online shopping experience that is easy, convenient and automatically adapts to how our shoppers choose to shop with us," said Geoff Farrington, Director of eCommerce at Roche Bros. Supermarkets. "Upon release, Unata's updated platform will give our shoppers the ability to list plan or shop online, switching between these as much as they'd like, while still enjoying the best-in-class quality and service that has kept our customers coming back to Roche Bros. for the last 65 years."

This platform update is arriving at a time when grocers are on alert after Amazon announced plans to acquire Whole Foods and are looking for solutions to keep their stores relevant and shoppers loyal.

"Most progressive grocers have been focusing their digital presence on eCommerce alone. The truth is that 95% of online shoppers still shop in-store, something Amazon is acknowledging with its Whole Foods bid," said Chris Bryson, Unata Founder & CEO. "The digital experience needs to be looked at holistically, from the perspective of how it can enhance both the online and in-store experience, regardless of how the shopper chooses to shop. This is what our new 'Unified Experience' solves for."

About Unata
Unata powers industry-leading digital experiences for North America's most well-respected grocers, including Lowes Foods, Raley's, Longo's and more, with the mission to innovate the future of the grocery shopping experience. Unata enables 1-to-1 eCommerce, eCircular and eLoyalty experiences, powering the entire digital grocery experience through a single platform. To learn more, visit www.unata.com or follow Unata on Twitter or LinkedIn.

SOURCE Unata

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