Whole Foods Unveils New Rewards Program in Dallas-Fort Worth, Moves Closer to National Launch

As the company continues to strive towards staying at the forefront of consumer demand, and to boost its sales, Whole Foods Market has announced its pilot launch of a new rewards program. Following the completion of the test in the Dallas, Fort Worth, and Philadelphia areas Whole Foods intends to launch the program nationwide.

“With each scan at the checkout, easy-to-use, customers increase their savings and personalize their future rewards. This new program builds upon our initial pilot in Philadelphia, while adding improvements that allow us to be more strategic in the ways in which customers can earn and redeem their rewards,” stated Co-CEO Walter Robb during the company’s Q3 earnings call, as transcribed by Seeking Alpha. “Once the test is complete, we look forward to national rollout of the program sometime next year.”

Whole Foods first began testing its rewards program in 2014 in the Philadelphia region. Dallas-Fort Worth picked up the pilot program this past week before the programs impending expansion. The rewards program is accessible through the company's website and smartphone app. 

The program is designed to benefit consumers with bigger rewards the more they use the Whole Food program. According to Dallas Morning News, registered Whole Foods customers will receive the following perks as part of the program: 

• 10 percent off of their initial purchase
• One-time 15 percent discount on any department of their choosing, including deli or bakery
• Cumulative rewards earned with each purchase
• Surprise discounts and earnings occasionally received at the register 

“Today, we took another big step forward in our efforts to better understand and provide personalized offers to our customers, with the market test launch of our new rewards program in the Dallas and Fort Worth metro area,” finished Robb.

Rob indicated in the earnings call that the rewards program was in part spawned by the addition of digital coupons to the Whole Foods app, which quickly became its most used feature after the launch. Whole Foods also expects to put continued focus on its 365 store format. 

Recently, Whole Foods reported a 2.6 percent decrease of comparable store sales in its 2016 Q3 earnings. The company stated that it remains confident in the evolution of its business to implement new programs and continue to grow.

Deli Market News will have the latest as the rewards program nears national expansion, and as Whole Foods and other retailers in the industry shift strategies in the competitive market.