Albertsons Companies to Transform Experiences for Shoppers with Microsoft Cloud and AI

Grocer to deliver frictionless experiences for customers powered by Microsoft Azure and Azure AI; launches One Touch Fuel as first instantiation of partnership

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Microsoft Corp.

Feb 22, 2019, 08:00 ET

BOISE, Idaho and REDMOND, Wash., Feb. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Albertsons Companies, one of the largest food and drug retailers in the United States, is betting on cloud solutions from Microsoft Corp., including Microsoft Azure and Microsoft 365, to provide new and transformative experiences to customers and employees. By leveraging Microsoft Azure as the grocer's preferred cloud platform, Albertsons Cos. will be able to reduce friction in the shopping experience.

"We are reimagining the future to serve customers in a way they want to interact with us across all channels," said Anuj Dhanda, Albertsons Cos. executive vice president and CIO. "Our partnership has already produced an innovative way to save time at the gas pump. Microsoft's strengths in cognitive technologies, artificial intelligence and data science applied at scale at Albertsons Companies will transform the customer experience in our stores and digitally."

Using Microsoft Azure, Azure AI and Azure Cognitive Services, the partnership between the two companies includes immediate and long-term initiatives to digitally transform the customer journey, optimize operations and deliver better products and services. Microsoft 365 is enabling both corporate and store employees today to benefit from a modern and secure work environment.

The 'frictionless future' of grocery shopping
Moving forward, the two companies plan to work together to leverage Azure and Azure AI and other Microsoft Cognitive Services to transform the shopping experience by eliminating the friction customers experience at the grocery store, such as not finding the products they want, longer-than-usual waits at the deli or meat counters and, of course, checkout lines. For store managers and associates, these intelligent solutions can also help anticipate out-of-stocks and misplaced products.

"Customers today have endless choices when it comes to where they shop for groceries, gas and everything in between," said Shelley Bransten, corporate vice president of Worldwide Retail and Consumer Goods at Microsoft. "We're excited about the unique experiences that Azure and Azure AI are enabling for Albertsons Companies that will allow it to build loyalty in this fiercely competitive market."

Partnership already proving results with One Touch Fuel
Fuel stops are a whole lot faster with Albertsons Cos.' new One Touch Fuel app, which eliminates the hassle of prompts at the pump and saves an average of at least 90 seconds during a fuel-up. The app allows customers to pay for fuel, claim rewards, and activate the pump in just one tap of the phone.

The new solution, which is being piloted in 25 stores across five divisions, uses Microsoft Azure and geo-fencing to allow customers to complete almost all the tasks associated with paying for gas from within the comfort of their car. The pilot results have exceeded expectations with app downloads continually increasing. Albertsons Cos. plans to introduce One Touch Fuel to more of its fuel stations throughout 2019.

Cloud solutions powering digital workloads and employee productivity
In addition to creating frictionless experiences for customers and employees, Albertsons Cos. has moved its digital workloads – including its eCommerce sites, loyalty applications and more – to Azure. Albertsons Cos. Plans to build its data science and analytics platform on Azure, with a vision to gain additional insight into its data and allow store managers to use predictive scenarios to anticipate and act on revenue-driving opportunities.

For employees, Microsoft 365 is enabling corporate workers to collaborate across the organization. Store associates are also empowered with the information they need to provide the best service to shoppers via Albertsons Cos.' online Retail Portal. The Retail Portal ensures that store associates have access to real-time information about specials, promotions, product recalls and more.

Finally, Microsoft Azure Active Directory and Microsoft Intune are allowing Albertsons Cos. to provide these modern solutions to employees securely and across devices.

About Albertsons Companies
Albertsons Companies, Inc. is one of the largest food and drug retailers in the United States, with both a strong local presence and national scale. Albertsons Cos. operates stores across 34 states and the District of Columbia under 20 well-known banners including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw's, Acme, Tom Thumb, Randalls, United Supermarkets, Pavilions, Star Market, Haggen and Carrs, as well as meal kit company Plated, based in New York City. Albertsons Cos. is committed to helping people across the country live better lives by making a meaningful difference, neighborhood by neighborhood. In 2017 alone, along with the Albertsons Companies Foundation, the Company gave nearly $300 million in food and financial support. These efforts helped millions of people in the areas of hunger relief, education, cancer research and treatment, programs for people with disabilities and veterans outreach.

About Microsoft
Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT" @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.

For more information, press only:
Albertsons Companies:
Lynda Friesz-Martin
Director of Integrated Communication, Albertsons Companies
[email protected]

Microsoft Media Relations, WE Communications for Microsoft, (425) 638-7777, [email protected]

SOURCE Microsoft Corp.