Southeastern Grocers taps dunnhumby to drive media business

Southeastern Grocers has tapped customer data science firm dunnhumby to power SEG Connects, the retailer’s media business.

Through SEG Connects, consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies can connect with the customers of Southeastern Grocers’ Winn-Dixie, Harveys Supermarket and Fresco y Más grocery store banners by putting the brands in front of the shoppers they want to reach in stores, online and via mobile devices, Chicago-based dunnumby North America said Monday.

SEG Connects gives Southeastern Grocers’ CPG brand partners ready access to dunnhumby’s data-driven customer insights, providing a sharper picture of marketing activity and sales attribution, according to dunnhumby. The data specialist added that its closed-loop measurement performance system also will drive enhanced return on advertising spend for long-term media buys.

“Southeastern Grocers has quickly established itself at the forefront of retail media by sharing their customer data insights with and providing insights and measurement solutions to CPGs to support media planning, and the negotiation of retail media placements,” Grant Steadman, president of dunnhumby’s Chicago-based North America unit, said in a statement. “By building an already impressive retail media business, SEG Connects is proving that retail media is a unique media channel in its ability to provide clear, measurable and transparent results.”

Related:Southeastern Grocers eyes more effective promotions

First launched in 2019, SEG Connects has added new capabilities for a broader reach across the customer journey, dunnhumby noted. The augmented partnership now enables SEG Connects to create Connected Personalized Marketing solutions to help brands meet their objectives more efficiently and effectively through channels their customers respond to most, reaching the right customers, at the right time, with relevant offers to fit their needs, according to the company. In turn, Southeastern Grocers can incorporate these customer insights into its media planning process for optimal performance at each shopper touchpoint in campaigns.

“By building an already impressive retail media business, SEG Connects is proving that retail media is a unique media channel in its ability to provide clear, measurable and transparent results,” Steadman added. “We are proud to have worked together with SEG and its partners early on to help develop their omnichannel strategy by analyzing customer data points into targetable customer cohorts and actions and look forward to the next phase of our partnership.”

Jacksonville, Fla.-based Southeastern Grocers has steadily built up its ability to personalize customer engagement by making its promotions more effective.

Related:Southeastern Grocers cranks up digital coupons and offers

In June 2020, the grocer implemented the Eagle Eye Solutions AIR Platform to create a central hub for continuously capturing customer data and interactions across retail channels, with a goal of improving personalization. Then in September 2020, Toronto-based Eagle Eye announcing that it was collaborating with dunnhumby to help Southeastern Grocers gain a deeper understanding of customer behaviors and preferences.

While Eagle Eye’s AIR hub powers the interactions and processes shopper data, dunnhumby’s technology analyzes the information to identify offers most relevant to specific shoppers and most likely to deliver positive sales outcomes. Dunnhumby’s analytics give Southeastern Grocers a better handle on which shoppers are likely to respond to specific deals and CPG brand offers — including item availability at specific store locations and times of day — and enable targeted promotions and rewards via retail websites and mobile apps.

Overall, Southeastern Grocers operates approximately 420 supermarkets in Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia and Mississippi under the Winn-Dixie, Harveys Supermarket and Fresco y Más banners, as well as 231 in-store pharmacies, a specialty pharmacy and 140 liquor stores.