COVER STORY | RETAILER OF THE YEAR
value most,” said Lambert. Hy-Vee has also been adding more per- sonalization functionality to its mobile app to enhance the ecommerce experience. For example, the “buy again” feature helps customers build their online shopping carts around the items they purchase most often, and the “my aisles” feature provides a curated list of products based on the cat- egories that a customer most frequently shops. Tying loyalty data to retail media Hy-Vee’s retail media network, RedMedia, also relies on first-party data from the company’s loyalty program to ensure that advertisers’ messages reach the right cus- tomers at the right time. Customers benefit because they see personalized ads when they visit the company’s website or use the app, Lambert said. “On the back end — which is what advertisers care the most about — loyalty
is what closes the loop,” she said. “We can tell a brand whether a customer saw the ad and whether they purchased the product as a result. Measurement is the entire value proposition of retail media, and it exists only because of the loyalty program.” Lambert said the company’s comprehen- sive view of shopping behavior helps give Hy-Vee a competitive edge. “Most retailers only see one part of a household’s purchasing behaviors,” she said. “At Hy-Vee, we have a more com- prehensive picture, seeing how customers are spending on groceries, fuel, pharmacy, prepared foods and health services. A cus- tomer who fills a prescription, fuels up and buys dinner with us is a far richer picture than transaction history from a single aisle — and it lets us be relevant in ways a tradi- tional grocer or pharmacy can’t.” As a regional chain, Hy-Vee is also able to pivot quickly and adjust to changes in the marketplace.
“We’re large enough to have meaningful data yet small enough to evolve the loy- alty program without a two-year approval cycle,” Lambert said. “Against national chains, that’s a real advantage right now.” Lambert said she sees personalization driving changes in the way retailers approach loyalty programs. “The coupon era is ending,” she said. “For two decades, loyalty has largely meant trading a discount for data, and customers have grown clear-eyed that it’s a transac- tion. The programs that will matter in five years will make shopping easier for cus- tomers, not just cheaper.” Lambert said personalization should shape the entire ecommerce experience, from product suggestions to the lead fea- tures in the weekly ads. “Personalization today reflects what you bought last month,” she said. “The version worth building predicts what you need this week.”
30 SUPERMARKETNEWS.COM SUMMER 2026
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