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Smart & Final launches revamped shopping portals

New websites bring customized experiences for consumers, businesses

Russell Redman

October 30, 2019

4 Min Read
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Smart & Final

Warehouse-style grocery chain Smart & Final has launched redesigned shopping websites for consumer and business customers.

Now live, the new SmartandFinal.com and Business.SmartandFinal.com sites bring a fresh look plus a range of new features and tools, Commerce, Calif.-based Smart & Final said Wednesday.

Household customers can see weekly specials on Smart & Final’s digital circular and coupons, as well as add items from a shopping list or their virtual cart for delivery. They also can now shop by recipe for simpler meal planning and build and save customized shopping lists. Customers, too, can create a profile to reflect dietary allergies or preferences, and through their personal account they can manage subscriptions, payment options and purchase history.

Smart & Final said the website also offers more intuitive shopping suggestions based on each shopper’s views and previous purchases.

Smart & Final new business customer website - Copy.PNG

For business shoppers, the Business.SmartandFinal.com site enables users to create an account under their business name, apply for tax exemptions, receive tax exemptions for online orders, and complete online payment for delivery orders.

With the new online shopping experience, Smart & Final also has released two new mobile apps. The retailer said customers using the Smart & Final app or Smart & Final Business app can seamlessly switch between apps and websites, and their profile and cart will remain intact.

Related:Smart & Final becomes private company

Smart & Final noted that pricing on its consumer shopping portal is consistent with the pricing in its stores, which offer discounts of up to 25% versus conventional supermarkets. Same-day deliveries are available in less than two hours for a $4.99 delivery fee and $6.40 service fee.

“With the new SmartandFinal.com, we set out to create a simple and customizable shopping experience that’s tailored to each person’s needs,” Ed Wong, executive vice president and chief digital officer at Smart & Final, said in a statement. “Our customers want the convenience of delivery combined with the high-quality products and great value from our stores, but in one seamless online experience. We are excited to be expanding and improving our online presence and will continue to listen, test and explore new ways to enhance SmartandFinal.com.”

To provide an enhanced experience on both websites, Smart & Final leveraged household and business customer data and insights, according to Toronto-based Mercatus, the retailer’s technology partner for the new online platform.

With the partnership, Smart & Final now offers delivery via Mercatus Dispatch, an integrated white-label, last-mile delivery solution that seamlessly connects household and business customers to third-party delivery providers. Smart & Final said customers are able to continue using current online marketplaces such as Shipt and Instacart.

Related:Smart Foodservice Warehouse launches Shipt delivery

A range of Mercatus partners also are providing functionality and services to Smart & Final, including AgilOne (customer analytics), Flipp (digital advertising), GK Software (virtual point-of-sale), TForce (logistics for business customer shipments), InfoSys (systems integration) and Tata Consultancy Services (digital commerce).

Smart & Final will also leverage new platform capabilities from Mercatus, including a bilingual English and Spanish shopping experience as well as call-center management and support in both languages.

“The ability to grow our digital offering, while maintaining direct contact with our customers, is essential,” Wong commented. “As we continuously strive to maintain a lasting relationship with our shoppers, partnering with Mercatus and other platform partners is the logical next step towards enhancing and ultimately owning our e-commerce experience. With the Mercatus platform, we believe that our online experience will serve the evolving needs of our valued customers.”

Mercatus noted that its platform brings Smart & Final a branded experience that can scale with the growth of its online shopping business.

“Today’s grocers are at risk of losing their shopper relationships. Many have unknowingly given up control over the one thing they can’t afford to lose: ownership of the digital shopping experience,” according to Sylvain Perrier, president and CEO of Mercatus. “With assistance from our expansive network of technology partners, we’re excited to work with Smart & Final to offer online shopping in ways that positively affect not only its bottom line, but also control over its digital future.”

Smart & Final, which went private in June, operates 324 stores, including 255 Smart & Final Extra! and legacy Smart & Final locations plus 69 Smart Foodservice Warehouse stores.

Smart & Final Extra! stores blend a wholesale club-style store — but no membership fee — with a traditional supermarket in a one-stop shop, including farm-fresh produce and natural/organic options. The Smart Foodservice stores, located in the Pacific Northwest and Northern California, offer a “no-frills” warehouse format that mainly targets business customers, such as restaurants, caterers and other foodservice businesses.

During fiscal 2019, Smart & Final plans to open one Smart & Final Extra! store and four Smart Foodservice Warehouse stores — including a 20,265-square-foot Smart Foodservice location on Nov. 2 in Idaho Falls, Idaho — and to relocate one or two Smart & Final stores.

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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