EXCLUSIVE Q&A: Food Lion connects with shoppers via loyalty programs
Food Lion and its customers see numerous benefits from the grocer’s digital rewards offerings.
Neil Norman, head of loyalty & CPG marketing partnerships, Food Lion, recently sat down with Chain Store Age to discuss the company’s digital rewards activities, including its Shop & Earn monthly rewards program that recently signed up its millionth member.
A banner of Ahold Delhaize USA, Food Lion operates more than 1,100 stores across 10 Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states.
What benefits do digital grocery rewards programs offer consumers?
The Food Lion MVP Program allows customers to save on top of everyday low prices across our 10-state footprint. When customers create a Digital MVP loyalty account, they can earn rewards on purchases, load exclusive digital coupons and activate Shop & Earn monthly rewards.
Digital grocery rewards programs like Shop & Earn meet customers exactly where they are, both in how they shop and what they value most from their grocery store. Customers are looking for ways to save that don’t require extra time or effort.
With Shop & Earn, the experience is straightforward and without friction. Customers can activate offers, track progress and redeem rewards through the Food Lion app or website, whether they’re planning a trip, shopping in-store or ordering groceries using curbside pickup and/or home delivery.
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Personalization also plays an important role. Offers are based on what customers are already buying, but they can also introduce new items or categories, giving shoppers opportunities to try something different while still saving; unlocking additional rewards and adding another layer of value.
What benefits do digital grocery rewards programs offer retailers?
Digital grocery rewards programs offer retailers valuable insight, allowing them to deliver more relevant, personalized offers to customers that strengthen engagement and long-term loyalty. They also help reinforce consistent value for customers, which supports ongoing engagement and strengthens relationships over time.
From an operational perspective, digital rewards play an important role in creating an omnichannel experience by making savings easy to access whether customers are shopping in-store or online.
In addition, these programs can help retailers build stronger community connections. For example, our customers can choose to donate their Shop & Earn rewards through our Food Lion Feeds program, which helps provide support to local food banks and hunger relief partners in the communities we serve.
Why did Food Lion launch Shop & Earn?
Food Lion introduced Shop & Earn monthly rewards in February 2018 as an extension of our low-price heritage and longstanding commitment to affordability, making it easier for customers to access personalized savings on the items they already buy.
The program allows customers to activate monthly offers, earn rewards on qualifying purchases and track their progress through the Food Lion app or website. On average, customers can save an additional $20 each month, and rewards are automatically applied to a future trip.
How has Shop & Earn evolved to a one-million-member program?
Since launching in 2018, Shop & Earn has evolved based on how customers shop and how they want to save. One of the biggest strengths of the program is rewards are tied to individual purchase behavior, so customers are earning savings on the items they already buy.
Over time, we’ve expanded the program to make it more flexible and accessible. Customers can track their savings in one convenient place through the MVP Wallet, available online or in the Food Lion app. Within the MVP Wallet, they can view redeemed Shop & Earn rewards, redeemed coupons and year-to-date MVP savings.
Overall, the focus has been on keeping the program simple, relevant and easy to use, helping customers save more across every shopping experience.
Are there any future plans for Shop & Earn?
Our focus in 2026 is continuing to simplify and enhance the customer experience, making it even easier to save across every shopping trip. That includes improving how customers gain access to personalized offers, track their savings and move seamlessly between in-store and online shopping. Many of the enhancements are centered on making the experience more intuitive and connected, rather than introducing complexity.
When it comes to what we roll out, Food Lion is guided by customer behavior and feedback. We look closely at how customers are using the program, where there may be friction points and where there are opportunities to make saving easier or more relevant. That applies to both customer-facing updates and behind-the-scenes improvements.
