Whole Foods Market’s strategy to build brand awareness and traffic with their first-ever national ad campaign has been generating buzz and awareness, with 8 out of 10 customers having seen the ad in some format. The campaign has been performing at its best with Whole Food Market’s key demographic: adults 40 and under with children in the household.
The new loyalty program currently in the Princeton/Philadelphia market has also been extremely successful so far as Whole Foods Market has seen an increase in purchasing frequency. 80% of customers in the test are new to the communications database and 60% of customers are opening emails; which is only a single digit figure for other retail chains. During their first-ever analyst day, the company outlined five areas of focus for the upcoming year. These areas include growth plans; sprucing up existing stores; lowering prices, especially on produce, with more private-label offerings and testing in more than 6 markets; improving it’s branding and marketing; and big investments in technology.
The company has big expansion plans, with its goal to achieve 1,200 stores in the U.S and doesn't rule out expanding beyond U.S. soil. The year ahead will indeed be a transitional one for Whole Foods Market.
