Sam’s Club is deepening “collaboration” with its customers on private label development as part of its efforts to innovate its merchandising strategy, the club retailer’s chief merchant said.
The Walmart-owned retailer has long listened to customer input on its private brand Member’s Mark, and Sam’s Club is now “taking it to the next level,” Sam’s Club Chief Merchant Megan Crozier wrote in a blog post last week.
The retailer already has a Member’s Mark Community of 50,000 of its club members sharing their thoughts on the private brand with the retailer. Crozier said Sam’s Club is now leveraging that community to spur product ideas.
This year, for example, shoppers loudly voiced a desire for hot chocolate, which led the retailer to offer up Member’s Mark Hot Chocolate Bombs and Member’s Mark Hot Chocolate Truffles this holiday season, Crozier said.
The retailer has several private label toys competing in the national-brand-heavy toy category after customers said they wanted better-quality options at lower prices, Crozier noted.
Sam’s Club has also rolled out a gift guide with “member-inspired picks.”
“It’s a simple but powerful idea: taking our members’ input and turning it into products they’ll love,” Crozier said.
The deepened collaboration with shoppers on private brand development is part of Sam’s Club’s vision for the future of retail, Crozier said: “For years, retail has evolved from merchants deciding what’s best for customers (‘We know best’) to incorporating consumer insights (‘We buy on your behalf’). Now, we’re entering an exciting new era: ‘We co-create with you.’”
This isn’t the only way Sam’s Club has been more responsive to customer input. Earlier this year, Sam’s Club started trialing a checkout-free store experience at one of its clubs in the Dallas area after seeing rising customer adoption of its Scan & Go technology.
