8 Reasons Why Carrefour Is Leading The Digital Retail Revolution In Kenya.

Localizing the Brand

There are several very good reasons why Carrefour is killing it in Kenya’s retail sector! One of the things I have admired about their marketing campaigns is how well they have managed to localize and contextualize the brand in Kenya to make it actually feel ‘Kenyan’, even though it’s clearly not! This in itself is working wonders.

Digital-First Approach

However, for me, what really stands out is that Carrefour is clearly a digital-first organization. In many ways, if you look at how they have approached their e-commerce and mobile app propositions, everything is designed to be seamless and integrated at the same time. It all seems to start and end via their digital touch points.

MyClub Loyalty Program

Secondly, the onboarding process for their MyClub loyalty offering is an end-to-end digital workflow that is simple, and dare I say it, nearly frictionless.

Self-Checkout Integration

Thirdly, the integration of the same to the self-checkout counters provides accountability and clarity on who is using the service and probably dissuades wayward customers from nicking anything since they know who you are!

Mobile App Offers and Promotions

The fourth thing is that Carrefour’s mobile app also has lots of offers and promotions that are proactively and automatically communicated to you in good time that compels you to go shopping at one of their supermarkets even if it’s out of your way at any given time.

Easy Points Redemption

Another feature is that when you accrue a decent number of points in MyClub, and want to redeem them for your shopping at the checkout counter, you simply tell the attendant to debit them and there is no clunky or elaborate process to do so.

Innovative Ad Campaigns

This morning, as it turns out, quite coincidentally, I saw this poster on the back of a bus where it prompts you to use the keyword ‘bus’ via their mobile app to get a Kes. 300.00 discount on your next shopping activity in the app for any shopping above Kes. 1,500.00.

This campaign is brilliant in that there is a clear attribution showing which offline ad placement creates a digital sale so that they can see a traceable return on ad spend (ROAS) from traditional media to a digital commercial channel.

Personalized Shopping Experience

Lastly, using the Carrefour mobile app and website, Carrefour knows your shopping history with them at all times and this enables them to fine-tune and personalize your shopping experience(s) to upsell and cross-sell you just like Amazon does.

Conclusion

So, basically, as a retailer in Kenya, Carrefour is making all the right moves from a digital-first perspective and I’d honestly hate to compete with them! At the end of the day, using technology to create delightful and frictionless customer experiences will always win!