For many, Christmas remains the busiest time of the year. Whether you’re a shopper filling baskets or a retailer filling shelves, success during the holidays is all about anticipating needs, delighting customers, and delivering seamless experiences that make every interaction count.
But this year, the holiday landscape looks a little different.
According to PwC’s Holiday Outlook 2025, consumers are entering the season with a more cautious mindset: overall holiday spending is expected to decline by about 5%, marking the first dip since 2020. Shoppers are becoming more selective, value-conscious, and deliberate — choosing retailers who can offer both value and meaning. Experiences, convenience, and authenticity are taking centre stage, while impulse and excess spending are giving way to smart, intentional shopping.
For grocery retailers, this shift represents both a challenge and an opportunity.
While consumers tighten their budgets, they’re still investing in shared experiences: food, gatherings, and everyday indulgences that bring people together. The question isn’t whether they’ll spend; it’s where and why they’ll choose to do so. Those who can deliver personalised, digital, engaging, and rewarding shopping journeys — grounded in loyalty and local relevance — are more likely to “win Christmas.”
At Lobyco, our mission is to help retailers turn data into loyalty, engagement into action, and every customer moment into something meaningful. During the retail peak of the year, our partners use our technology to drive traffic, increase basket size, and strengthen relationships that last well beyond the holidays.
So, welcome to our 2025 series: Winning Christmas.
Throughout the Christmas season, we’ll spotlight some of our retail partners and show how they’re using digital loyalty, gamification, and personalised offers. Each story will highlight how innovation and customer insights can turn Christmas into a winning one.
So, let’s dive into Calgary Co-op’s plans for Winning Christmas this season.
About Calgary Co-op
Owned by members, Calgary Co-op is one of the largest retail co-operatives in North America. Calgary Co-op has been serving Calgarians since 1956, and their stores include: food centres, pharmacies, gas stations, car washes, commercial cardlocks, home health care centres, wine, spirits and beer locations, and cannabis. Calgary Co-op has over 440,000 members, and more than 3,600 employees. With millions of annual customer visits and a strong member base, Calgary Co-op continues to invest in digital innovation and loyalty experiences that reward shoppers while driving meaningful commercial impact.
Plans for ‘Winning Christmas’
After a highly successful festive programme last year, Calgary Co-op is once again embracing its popular Daily Deal mechanic for Christmas. This year, Calgary Co-op will offer 12 days of festive deals in both its Food and Wine Spirits Beer locations, each featuring a single deep-discount product available for one day only. The concept mirrors the excitement of an advent calendar and gives members a strong reason to visit regularly throughout December.
Although shorter than last year’s 24-day initiative, the 12-day version allows the team to focus attention on a tighter, more powerful set of deals while still providing variety and excitement. As before, the campaign will receive strong support across all channels, including television advertising, digital and social activity, influencer partnerships, and prominent in-store signage. The goal is to capture shopper attention wherever they are, increase app engagement and drive both visits and bigger baskets during the busiest trading period of the year.
Why Calgary Co-op Is Repeating This Approach
The decision to bring back Daily Deals is grounded in strong evidence from last year’s performance. The mechanic does far more than increase redemption of individual offers. It shapes behaviour. Members are encouraged to return frequently, check what the next deal will be, and complete larger shops once they are in-store.
Last year’s results showed that the vast majority of shoppers who redeemed a Daily Deal added far more to their basket than just the promoted item. For Calgary Co-op, this confirmed that the mechanic doesn’t simply attract deal hunters; it attracts engaged shoppers who convert their visit into a meaningful shop. The success was so substantial that the co-operative even extended the mechanic to other seasonal moments.
Strong Results from Last Christmas
Last year’s 24-day programme delivered impressive outcomes across loyalty, spending, and engagement. More than 12,000 Food members redeemed at least one Daily Deal, and these shoppers spent on average, more year-over-year during the 1–24 December period. By contrast, members who did not redeem a Daily Deal spent on average, slightly less.
The level of engagement was equally strong. Around 55% of redeemers were already considered highly loyal, showing that Daily Deals resonate strongly with core members. A further 30% of participating members redeemed more than one deal, demonstrating that the mechanic successfully builds habitual engagement. Notably, 96% of baskets that included a Daily Deal also contained additional items, providing clear evidence that the mechanic drives broader shop capture rather than single-item trips.
The promotion also attracted new members and increased app downloads, extending the reach of the programme. Engagement was also strong internally, with team members accounting for 19% of total redemptions.
Together, these results underline the impact of Daily Deals as a powerful driver of both digital engagement and in-store performance.
Winning Christmas – The Calgary Co-op Way
With strong above-the-line support, engaging in-app experiences, and compelling daily offers, Calgary Co-op is well-positioned for another successful Christmas season. This year’s focused 12-day format still delivers excitement and value while allowing the team to highlight their very best deals.
By blending meaningful savings with behaviour-shaping digital mechanics, the Calgary Co-op has created a festive strategy that meets member expectations for value, enjoyment, and relevance. The results speak for themselves, and the return of Daily Deals shows why Calgary Co-op continues to bring fresh energy to Christmas retailing — not just preparing for the season but winning it.
