Heritage Grocers enhances the supermarket experience with connectivity

There are many pitfalls in the supermarket business: inadequate inventory, unattractive pricing, aging produce and slow checkout lines. How does a market innovator manage all of that while blazing its own unique path to success?

Heritage Grocers, a supermarket chain based in Ontario, California operating 115 stores in six states, has an answer to all these challenges and more: strong connectivity. By relying on high-speed fiber circuits and managed networking through Spectrum Business, Heritage Grocers fulfills its mission of keeping customers happy and always coming back.

The Heritage Grocers Group comprises four distinct store brands, all of them supermarkets, each with its own identity and geographic center. Cardenas Markets (West Coast), Los Altos Ranch Market (Arizona) and El Rancho Supermercado (Texas) all offer authentically Hispanic shopping experiences while Tony’s Fresh (Chicago, Illinois) caters to Hispanic as well as Italian cuisine. 

“Connectivity is key and it’s your lifeblood,” says Prabash Coswatte, Chief Operating Officer, Heritage Grocers Group. “Nothing, not even in the back of the store that customers don’t see, happens without that connectivity, especially speed of connectivity. That’s mission critical for us.”

Meeting the customer where they are

One example of connectivity’s impact on Heritage Grocers is a leading perishable item, meat. From the planning stage to the cutting room, every meat manager at Heritage Grocers knows from data travelling across Spectrum Business fiber circuits just how much meat is needed that day, based on sales volumes, AI analytics of anticipated demand and other factors.

“Number one, we have the freshest produce available to the customer,” Coswatte explains. “Number two, we don’t overproduce. That’s what we call ‘shrink’ in the business, nobody wants that.”

Using cloud-based AI tools constantly fed critical data by Spectrum Business circuits, Heritage Grocers can even determine optimal pricing for its goods, ensuring they stay competitive with other supermarkets by offering customers the best deals. 

“This helps us meet the customer where they are,” Coswatte says. “Everything’s about the right price, right place, right production."

Improving in-store experience

Having reliable connectivity is vital to the entire operation, not only on a macro level managing supply and shipping but also at every store location, capturing shopping data while minimizing the time needed to approve credit-card purchases.

A critical tool in focusing and monitoring enterprise-wide connectivity is a Spectrum Business networking solution, Managed Network Edge powered by Cisco.

Using WiFi at each location, which is layered as a modular, turnkey solution through Managed Network Edge, Heritage Grocers keeps customers engaged at home and in the store with special deals and discounts that can be accessed via their mobile devices for a more satisfying shopping experience. WiFi coverage includes every part of each store, even hard-to-cover areas like corners, long aisles, thick walls and storage rooms.

“When you’re shopping in store, Spectrum connectivity is enabling in-store deals,” Coswatte says. “With that consumer who’s always looking for a deal, now they can be part of our rewards network where they are earning rewards points and getting better value out of their coupons. All that is tied together.”

Seeing what the future holds

Anticipated future uses for connectivity include greater use of in-store video displays. 

“Any kind of digital experience that requires some sort of streaming or message being displayed requires connectivity,” says Adam Salgado, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Heritage Grocers Group. “We are also increasing the number of scannable QR codes and offers so there can be displays around stores shoppers can scan if they want to.”

Right now, setting prices that appeal to bargain-hunting customers across all Heritage Grocers communities is proving key to connectivity’s benefit.

“Spectrum Business connectivity helps us react faster than we’ve ever reacted with pricing,” Coswatte notes. “We have thousands of price points for every store, every day. Spectrum Business helps us pull those prices down, to push and match what our competitors offer and ensure we never get beat.”

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Want to learn more about how Heritage Grocers is using AI with their connectivity to boost how they serve customers and enhance revenue? Read the full case study.