Dive Brief:

• Price Chopper/Market 32 has expanded its AdvantEdgewards Rewards to include a bevy of new options, the regional grocery chain said in an emailed press release. 
• Shoppers can now use their earned rewards points to support local schools, pay student loans, donate to charities and enter periodic sweepstakes. Price Chopper also added a mobile experience to its rewards program when it rolled out the new options earlier this month.  
• The announcement comes at a time when grocers are revamping their loyalty programs in bids to retain and attract loyal shoppers. 

Dive Insight:

As retailers look to lock in loyalty among shoppers, freshening up their loyalty programs to offer more than just fuel and food perks has become a popular strategy. 

Launched in 2006, Price Chopper's AdvantEdge has grown in the last 15 years to encompass not only fuel and food rewards, but also bonus item buys and multipliers on full orders as well as gift cards. Shoppers earn one point for every dollar spent in-store or online at the grocery chain.

With the latest expansion, shoppers can now redeem those points to pay for their own or someone else's student loan debt, support local schools and enter sweepstakes. The points can also get donated to a number of charities, including the Salvation Army, Disabled American Veterans, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the American Heart Association. 

Customer feedback has driven the changes, the grocer said in the press release, noting that it teamed up with international marketing firm TCC on this latest expansion of its rewards program. TCC provides currency and rewards programs for grocers like Food Lion, 7-Eleven, Circle K and Danish supermarket chain Coop.

“We understand that all shoppers are different, so we created a variety of options to engage and reward more customers,” Glen Bradley, group vice president of marketing at Price Chopper Supermarkets/Market 32, said in the announcement. “And because we know our customers appreciate the convenience of accessing and redeeming points whenever and wherever they like, we made the experience fully mobile.”

The northeastern supermarket chain indicated that it isn’t through adding new options to its rewards program, saying in the announcement that “more new ways” to earn and redeem AdvantEdge Rewards points online are slated to roll out in the coming months. Soon, shoppers will be able to purchase "MasterChef"-branded products with the points, according to the grocer's website. 

Other grocers have also refreshed their loyalty programs recently. Southeastern Grocers announced last week that it added a gamified component, while Albertsons's executives said last summer that its Just 4 U loyalty program is slated to expand to more areas. As grocers look to deepen shopper engagement, retail analysts have noted that grocers can go beyond loyalty programs and roll out memberships to deliver customer perks. 

The announcement about expanding AdvantEdge comes a few months after Price Chopper and Tops Markets announced their merger as they seek greater scale in the Northeast.