NEW YORK — The supermarket industry is on "the edge of a totally different world" in terms of communicating with consumers, David Dillon, chairman and chief executive officer of Cincinnati-based Kroger Co., told investors at the Retail Days Conference sponsored by Citicorp here.
He said he was referring to a variety of loyalty-building programs Kroger and other supermarkets are developing that create "complex relationships that touch customers' lives in a variety of ways," including loyalty cards, paperless coupons and a Kroger program called "iWireless" that sends a text message to customers’ cell phones when they qualify for special discounts because they've spent a certain amount of money at Kroger.
"It's not clear how this will all develop," Dillon added. "There are dozens, if not hundreds, of companies trying to find new opportunities to use technology, and as we sift through those, it will be a totally different world for shoppers."
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