COVER STORY | RETAILER OF THE YEAR
Raley’s omnichannel efforts evolve with 360-degree effort The California-based grocer integrates digital commerce, mobile technology, in-store innovation and personalized marketing to create a seamless customer experience across every touchpoint
BY MARK HAMSTRA
Raley’s Cos. has continued to experiment with its digital offerings, taking steps to improve both sales and profitability while maintaining a focus on the customer experience. Ecommerce sales have been up as much as 22% year-over-year as the company has implemented a first-party ecommerce platform and embraced partnerships with the leading third-party delivery firms. Its omnichannel efforts integrate its revamped loyalty program with both digital and in-store offerings. “When we think about how we built out the experience, it really is with omnichan- nel in mind,” said Zachary Wilson, VP of digital commerce at The Raley’s Cos. Raley’s omnichannel efforts have earned the company the 2026 Omnichannel Award from Supermarket News . Raley’s loyalty program, called Some- thing Extra, is a key element of the company’s omnichannel strategy. The retailer relaunched the loyalty program in January after transitioning it to an in-house platform. Wilson said the company has “doubled down on the personalization factor” and evolved Something Extra away from a program in which members earned points toward a quarterly voucher to more of an instant rewards system that allows cus- tomer to redeem rewards over a two-week period. At the same time, Raley’s also made
it easier for its customers to sign up for the program, he said. Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly playing a role in the company’s operations, including enhancing the loyalty program and providing Raley’s with the ability to build out more real-time, digital campaigns. AI has also begun providing agentic com- merce capabilities via Raley’s third-party ecommerce partners, and plans call for expanding that to the company’s in-house ordering platform. “We’ll be launching something very soon on our first party channel that that ties back to that as well,” said Wilson. Raley’s also recently unveiled a partner- ship with Grocery TV for in-store display messaging, which it also uses to promote its ecommerce capabilities. The company announced in May that it had rolled out the in-store media network to 208 stores in California, Nevada and Arizona. The launch expands Raley’s retail media oper- ations, which focus on in-store and digital advertising aimed at influencing shopper purchasing decisions. Partnering for third-party delivery The company’s ecommerce strategy has evolved considerably over the years. In the past year Raley’s has transitioned away from using an in-house delivery system to instead partnering with third-party
delivery services. It negotiated favorable online ordering and delivery agreements with all of the major third-party providers, including Instacart, DoorDash, Uber Eats, Shipt and Amazon, Wilson said. “We’ve been able to rely on partner- ships more than we have previously,” said Wilson. “Some of that is tied back to our North Star when it comes to ecommerce, and that’s meeting the customer where the customer is.” The partnerships include an agreement with DoorDash for rapid delivery. The two companies are currently offering delivery within one hour ad are piloting 30-minute delivery. “We’ve seen great adoption where we have implemented it so far,” said Wilson. Although ecommerce overall is not yet profitable for the company, the rapid-deliv- ery offering provides an opportunity for Raley’s to recoup some of the investment it has made in transitioning to free delivery and pickup for all orders over $25, he said. Wilson said ecommerce sales that are executed through third-party market- places are slightly more profitable than in-house e-commerce sales, in part because they require less in-store labor. In addition to the partnership for rapid delivery with DoorDash, Raley’s also partners with the delivery service to pick orders that are placed through Raley’s own website or app. Raley’s has also rolled out “same-as-in- store” pricing across all online channels (except Amazon), in an effort to make the service more affordable for customers. The company uses several different channels to promote the ability for cus- tomers to order online, including both its in-store and digital circulars as well as communications with its loyalty mem- bers and on the third-party marketplaces, where it reinforces the “same-as-in-store” pricing policy.
“Some of that is tied back to our North Star when it comes to ecommerce, and that’s meeting the customer where the customer is. ” –Zachary Wilson
32 SUPERMARKETNEWS.COM SUMMER 2026
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