For more than 150 years, Smart & Final has been a destination for warehouse shoppers looking for quality and freshness without the membership fee. That time-honored tradition has gotten your brand far, but competition from big-box retailers and clubs like Costco and Sam's Club is intensifying in California. Many regional grocers — even those with stellar brand reputations — are seeing less than 1% growth year-over-year.

As consumers navigate this new world of choice and shift their perceptions accordingly, traditional strategies like product promotions, digital programs, and store enhancements still play a key role. But those strategies often struggle to convert the uncommitted customer. That means there's still a huge opportunity to capture those shoppers and increase their loyalty.

There is an additional growth strategy that connects you with these shoppers and protects profit margin, without additional capital or operating expenditures: Upside’s digital marketplace.

Uncommitted customers: The key to growth in grocery

Upside survey data shows that uncommitted customers, what you might refer to as secondary or tertiary, represent a majority in today’s retail landscape. Understanding them better — and reaching them effectively — is key to unlocking more growth. So, who are they?

Uncommitted customers prioritize value over brand loyalty and frequently cross-shop to maximize the impact of every dollar. There are many ways to influence uncommitted customers, but not all of them lead to profit or sustainable growth, and that distinction is very important. 

You might see that static discounts lead to quick wins because they encourage shoppers to add more to their carts, but each one is a gamble. Are you attracting new customers, or just paying loyal ones to do what they would’ve done anyway? Without precision, you’re trading growth for margin erosion.

Winning these valuable yet uncommitted customers today requires a new approach. 

How Upside’s marketplace helps grocers grow

By listing your locations on Upside, you gain exclusive access to our high-intent, ready-to-spend audience — blocking out competitors like Costco and Sam’s Club. You’ll earn revenue equivalent to opening new stores, but without the overhead, upfront costs, or time it takes to build them.

Our digital marketplace reaches 35 million American consumers (with high user density in Southern California) through our app and network of partner apps. In the Upside marketplace, we connect retailers with nearby customers using personalized promotions that cut through the noise, overcome customer friction, and deliver the value that turns hard-to-reach customers into loyal spenders.

At any given time, grocers have spare resources — empty parking spaces, unused carts, unoccupied aisle space. Upside’s personalized offers influence more customers to visit your stores, helping you optimize existing capacity without adding labor hours or increasing overhead.

The revenue that Upside drives leads to profit because our methodology recognizes when a transaction is incremental for the retailer. If an existing customer joins Upside and behaves the exact same as they did without Upside, we pay for the promotion in full.  

Real results for grocery retailers

Cardenas, another Southern California grocer, is a great example of what our marketplace can do for your business. To maintain its market share amid intense competition, Cardenas partnered with Upside in order to expand its reach and win more profitable foot traffic. 

In the first 15 months of our partnership, Upside drove an 87% increase in spend across all consumer segments. Of all shoppers that Upside brought to Cardenas, more than 35% of them were brand-new to the chain. Those impacts translated to a 75% ROI for the grocer.

As Smart & Final focuses on boosting foot traffic and basket sizes, Upside’s personalization promotions can support your goals. 

Get in touch with our team of grocery experts to learn more.