Sam’s Club leans into members to create the perfect grill

Sam’s Club members will play a more active role in the Member’s Mark private-label products that are stocked on the shelves.

The retailer unveiled a new engagement program on Thursday through the Member’s Mark Community, which is an opt-in network. The Member’s Mark Community allows 50,000 members to engage in such things as flavor voting and product testing.

“This is more than just an idea, it’s a collaboration that is already happening at scale,” Megan Crozier, chief merchant at Sam’s Club, said in a statement. “We see the opportunity to include all members in the future.”

The Members Mark Community was on full display for this season’s grill offering. The product development team identified grillers through a questionnaire, and 20 grill prototypes were distributed to members in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Members tested the grills, and feedback led to the development of a grill that included adjusted features to ensure it was tailor-made to match member needs and preferences.

“The future of customer engagement is participatory as retailers and customers collaborate in commerce to create win-win experiences,” said R “Ray” Wang, CEO of Constellation Research, a Silicon Valley-based research and advisory firm, in a statement.

The Members Mark Community is currently engaging with members who regularly purchase Member’s Mark items from the club.

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