Lobyco Lands in North America

October 6, 2023
8
min read
Calgary co-op supermarket

At Lobyco, our goal is to elevate the customer experience, offering consumers added value and rewards that promote loyalty, improve checkout efficiency, and enhance quality of life. So, we are thrilled to be able to bring that vision to life in partnership with Calgary Co-op, one of North America’s most innovate retail co-operatives, providing the local community with fresh food, pharmacy products, fuel, wine, spirits, beer, cannabis, and home healthcare.

Calgary Co-op has been undergoing a digital transformation, including overhauling its membership model to add games, prizes, and more immediate cash awards as they look to increase their appeal amongst their entire member base, with a focus on evolving to meet the needs of younger demographics. Lobyco has helped Calgary Co-op unlock the full potential of their strategic objectives with “spin and win” games, shopping lists, coupons, flyers, digital receipts, personalized offers, a bonus cash program, and more.

In under a year, our teams worked together to create a groundbreaking member app that will further advance Calgary Co-op’s suite of services and give them a competitive advantage in the market. This is particularly exciting for us because it is our first launch in North America and will bring our robust marketing toolkit to the forefront in delivering a connected digital ecosystem, rooted in mobile, that removes friction and makes shopping personal and fun.

Lobyco CEO Jan Madsen is delighted with this partnership, stating, “Lobyco is honored to be working with such a forward-thinking retailer as Calgary Co-op. The jointly developed state-of-the-art solution will bring new digital tools and benefits to their members, and it will play a part in realizing their business objectives.”

“Lobyco is honored to be working with such a forward-thinking retailer as Calgary Co-op.”
Jan Madsen

Calgary Co-op CEO Ken Keelor shares Jan’s sentiment and is equally excited to be working with our team as a valued partner. “Our experience working with Lobyco has been very positive,” notes Ken, “and we have loved the approach of beginning the partnership in an agile way, giving us the possibility to start with the current best fit and then progressively expand upon it as we move forward. The whole project, from deciding our partner to enrolling the app, has taken less than a year. I believe that is because we found our ideal fit – a partner that has already proven their worth, understanding our business having come out of a grocery retailer themselves.”

“Our experience working with Lobyco has been very positive,” notes Ken, “and we have loved the approach of beginning the partnership in an agile way, giving us the possibility to start with the current best fit and then progressively expand upon it as we move forward.”
Ken Keelor, Calgary Co-op CEO

The opportunity to implement the full spectrum of Lobyco’s capabilities with a custom member app for Calgary Co-op has been extremely rewarding and we are grateful for Ken’s endorsement of our work. It is through partnerships like this that we are able to continually optimize our solutions and expand our scope to deliver on growing market needs.

Calgary Co-op’s exclusive Lobyco-developed app went live on September 28th. The team did an exceptional job in a compressed time frame and we all celebrated in-store surrounded by Calgary Co-op’s 360 media launch campaign.

“The collaboration with Calgary Co-op means a lot for us,” added Jan, “and shows our worth outside of Europe. We are so proud of our people in Lobyco that have worked extremely hard.”

Our involvement with Calgary Co-op doesn’t end there. In early 2024, we will assist them in further modernizing their current patronage and equity membership benefits, using key learnings from the launch to develop an engaging experience designed to increase loyalty, sales, and connection to the brand. At Lobyco, we don’t just deliver one-and-done applications; we tailor solutions to the needs of our partner and their customers to continually develop relationships beyond the store. As Ken succinctly put it in his recent interview with Canadian Grocer, “It takes a village, and it sure helps when it’s as strong as ours.”

More Insights

Two women in a couch discussing an app
May 30, 2024
7
min read

Guide to Gamification in Grocery Retail

On average, customers spend 17% more in weeks they win a game, driven by 22% more trips, and 9% more even in weeks where they lose a game (compared to weeks they do not play).
Read more
Live photoshoot
December 12, 2023
5
min read

Lobyco and Tokmanni: An Effective Partnership

Tokmanni is a Finnish retail company founded in 1989, and headquartered in Mäntsälä. It is one of the largest and best-known discount retail chains in Finland, with 196 physical stores currently open across the country
Read more
Aerial shot of festival
August 21, 2023
3
min read

Self-Checkout Success in Iceland

To support the world renowned Davlik Fish Festival, Samkaup and Lobyco joined forces to orchestrate a self-checkout setup and fine-tune the physical infrastructure of their local store to ensure seamless operations in the midst of the festival.
Read more