Notes and Thoughts on Grocery 2.0

I remember my mother sitting on the living room floor on Sundays, spread out with the weekly circular in front of her, planning our family’s shopping list for the week.

“Woo hoo! Another deal! Special K–two for one this week!” she’d announce gloriously, while clipping out the coupon and adding it to the collection she carried around in a tattered envelope in her purse. “Woo hoo! Fifty cents off Quilted Northern!”

Flash forward 25 years, and here I am doing the very same thing…on my iPhone.

Yesterday, MyWebGrocer and ShopRite launched the very first weekly specials iPhone App. We’re all very excited about it here at MWG because it’s a product we all believe in and use personally.

Click on image below view a video demo of the App

The App is the latest incarnation of MyWebGrocer’s efforts to make ShopRite’s customers’ lives easier. It functions as a portable circular and invites consumers to “start saving” before they even arrive at the store by browsing hundreds of items instantly. Among its many groundbreaking features, ShopRite Weekly Specials enables consumers to see what’s on sale in real time at their regular ShopRite store. Once they select an item, it literally tumbles into their shopping list, which is neatly organized by category with pictures, descriptions and real time prices. The App syncs and downloads store specials directly to an iPhone or iPod Touch and can even sync with customers’ shopping lists at ShopRite.com.

At the gym this morning, while plugging along on an excercise bike, I put together a dinner menu for tomorrow night based on the current sale items at ShopRite . I planned the meal around what’s on sale, and I was able to stay within budget my because the App gave me a running total of my basket price. When I got to the office, I printed out a paper copy of my list, and I will stop at the store tonight and pick up my groceries after work. I saved myself time and money, all while burning calories on the bike! I felt so good I added a box of chololate cookies to my shopping list…hey! I’d earned it!

Our App doesn’t try to be “all things to all people…” and I like that. This App focuses on what I want to know: what’s on sale at my local store. It’s simple and efficient and it gets the job done.

Twenty-five years later, I am “clipping coupons” just like mom. As I click around on my iPhone, I can understand the excitement she felt there on the living room floor clipping for “deals.” And I’m doing it from the gym…bonus.

So I might as well just say it: I am turning into my mother. Woo-hoo!

-Alison

Colchester VT, September 22nd, 2009:  The continuing shift of media spending from offline to online advertising has led MyWebGrocer to expand its presence in the key New York City market. To meet this demand, MyWebGrocer is opening its first dedicated Manhattan office and has hired Dan Vanchieri as Vice President of Sales for the Eastern Region.

Dan joins MyWebGrocer with more than 10 years of digital media and sales experience. Most recently, Dan spent two years at Fox Interactive Media, where he led strategic development and revenue generation within MySpace for partners like Colgate-Palmolive, General Mills, AT&T, Pfizer, Heineken and Yum Brands. Prior to Fox, Dan served at Microsoft, executing online sales and strategy for numerous e-commerce and Fortune 500 companies.

“Dan is a consummate pro in the digital space,” said Alec Newcomb, Executive Vice President of MyWebGrocer. “With our continuing expansion and the shifts in the marketplace, Dan’s strategic insights and experience in generating real growth for partners will be key. We’re all excited to have him lead the new Manhattan office.”

MyWebGrocer’s new offices in New York City are located at 260 Madison Avenue. It operates the nation’s largest grocery media platform. In August of 2009, the company received a $13 million equity investment from Stripes Group, a private investment firm focused on rapidly growing and profitable Internet and software-as-a-service companies.

About MyWebGrocer, Inc.

MyWebGrocer, founded in 1999 and based in Colchester, VT, is the leading digital service provider for retail grocers, connecting retail brands to their customers through ecommerce and online tools. MyWebGrocer has the largest online grocery-advertising media platform in the country with more than 5,000 grocery stores nationwide using their services. Advertisers include Kellogg’s, Unilever, Nestle, P&G and 60 other leading brands.

On Wednesday, August 5, 2009, Stripes Group completed a $13 million equity investment in MyWebGrocer Inc., a rapidly growing and profitable Colchester, VT‐based software‐as‐a‐service company providing leading regional and national grocery store chains and consumer packaged goods companies with online commerce and digital media services. As part of their unique platform, MyWebGrocer operates the nation’s largest grocery ad network with over 4 million monthly shoppers.

DanMarriott, Managing Partner of Stripes Group, will be joining the MyWebGrocer Board of Directors.

About Stripes Group:

Stripes Group, founded in 2003 and based in New York, is a private investment firm focused on growth stage minority and majority investments in rapidly growing and profitable internet, software‐as‐a‐service, technology‐enabled services and consumer products companies. Stripes Group typically partners with founder‐owned and operated companies that have had no prior institutional investors.  For more information on Stripes Group, visit www.stripesgroup.com.

About MyWebGrocer, Inc.:
MyWebGrocer, founded in 1999 and based in Colchester, VT, is a founder‐owned and managed software‐as‐a‐service company providing online commerce, communications and digital media services to leading grocery store chains and consumer packaged goods companies while also operating the nation’s largest grocery ad network. MyWebGrocer has been profitable nearly since inception and has established itself as the leader in the industry with over 5,000 grocery stores nationwide using their platform and over 60 globally recognized brands, including Kelloggs, Unilever, Nestle and P&G, reaching 4 million monthly shoppers on their industry‐leading grocery ad network.

A recent story on “This Week.com” highlighted MyWebGrocer’s client Buehler’s Fresh Foods for their online grocery shopping service.

A new location in Delaware is now offering the online shopping service and it has been more than well received:

Photo By By Ann Tormet/ThisWeek courtesy of ThisWeek.com

“As she loads groceries, Vance said she is often thanked by the customer.

‘They love it,’ Vance said. ‘They don’t like shopping.’

‘I had a lady who came in the other night all the way from Westerville,’ Conley added.

The first shopping experience is free, said Deb McKee, service and facilities manager of the Delaware Buehler’s. After that, the cost is $7.95 per order or $24.95 for unlimited shopping within a 30-day period.”

Finish the full story here

In the last six months MyWebGrocer’s customer reach has grown 40%, to 3.8 million monthly grocery shoppers.  This expanded consumer demand has seen a matching growth in CPG programs running on the network. To meet this demand, MyWebGrocer’s advertising team has promoted Helen Earling to lead an expanding Midwest team.

Helen Earling joined the MyWebGrocer team in October 2007 with a decade of industry knowledge and experience.  Her continued success and leadership has lead to her recent promotion to Senior Vice President of Western Ad Sales.  Earling has been instrumental in helping MyWebGrocer’s key Midwest advertisers, Kellogg’s and General Mills.

“Helen has been a driving force in MyWebGrocer’s continued success and I’m excited about her building out an expanded team in Minnesota to better serve our Western customers.”  Alec Newcomb, Vice President, MyWebGrocer.

The expanded office is located in Minnetonka, Minnesota and includes a new team member, Colleen Pruyn. Pruyn’s background includes work in broadcasting and media advertising fields.

With the shift in media spend from offline to online advertising, MyWebGrocer will continue its rapid expansion.  MyWebGrocer’s grocery network now reaches 3.8 million grocery shoppers every month.