Food Lion plays mobile savings tune

Food Lion is launching an omnichannel coupon initiative that combines fun with savings.



Now through Jan. 1, customers can access digital coupons through the Shazam smartphone app while shopping in Food Lion stores. Food Lion has partnered with interactive marketing firm Mood Media Corp. on the campaign.



"At Food Lion we're always looking for more ways for our customers to save while grocery shopping," said Keith Nicks, director of loyalty and digital marketing. "We believe this is an easy and fun way to do just that during the busy holiday season, while continuing to make groceries more affordable for our customers.”



The service is available at all Food Lion grocery stores. To access digital coupons, customers can open their Shazam app when grocery shopping and use the phone to "Shazam" music in the store. Shazam is an online music app that has been expanding its functionality to serve as a tool for capturing sales.



As shoppers use their Shazam app in store, they will be directed to Food Lion's MVP Coupon Hub where they can access digital coupons that are immediately loaded onto their MVP loyalty card and redeemed at check out.



"Leveraging Mood's existing audio infrastructure, our Presence beacon technology and the popular Shazam app, we are able to provide Food Lion with a compelling solution that encourages direct mobile interaction with the brand, enhancing the in-store experience and customer loyalty," said Jaime Bettencourt, senior VP of premier sales and account management for Mood. "Mobile is a vital touch-point and channel to build highly tailored and personal connections with customers, and Food Lion is an innovative brand that really understands that."



Food Lion is enhancing what could be a fairly routine in-store mobile couponing program with the gamification aspect of the Shazam music app. Increasingly, retailers are recognizing the “soft” benefits of customer engagement that entertains as well as drives sales, such as enhanced brand image and overall customer satisfaction.