MANILA, Philippines — Online grocery shopping has boomed in recent months, with the demand fueled by changing consumer habits. As more businesses switch to digital, Puregold is strengthening its online presence and is venturing into e-commerce platforms while striving to improve the service of providing basic needs and household essentials to millions of Filipinos.
Although the COVID-19 crisis is acting as a catalyst to accelerate the adoption of online grocery shopping, the new patterns in consumer behavior and purchase decisions are likely to stay long after the pandemic has passed.
Sally, the Shopping Ally
To adapt to the new way of commerce, Puregold, earlier this year, has launched its own mobile app with the aim of making grocery shopping easier, more efficient, and less time-consuming, allowing users to choose their groceries and place their orders anytime.
Fondly named Sally — short for Shopping Ally — the app allows shoppers to purchase products with just a few taps on their smartphones. Through the app, users can shop at their nearest Puregold store by scanning the barcode of their chosen products, checking out items, and placing their orders. Additionally, they can view their order details and status, as well as past orders, and receive updates on the latest news, promos, and deals.
Should users need additional help, the app has a built-in Sally chatbot for assistance. Eventually, the chatbot learns consumers’ shopping behavior and habits, making the process faster and easier in future use.
The Puregold Channel
In addition to the mobile app, Puregold has also launched The Puregold Channel on Facebook and YouTube to reach out to more audiences and consumers. The video channel will host new and unique kinds of content for a diverse set of audiences, thereby further expanding its digital footprint and customer engagement.
With more than 2.3 million followers on Facebook alone, The Puregold Channel has the chance to tap its potential for vaster reach in social media, and potential as a bridge toward e-commerce. Puregold calls this strategy, building “consumers of the future,” which it aims to fulfill via the Puregold Mobile app and its brick and mortar stores.
"We want to be where our customers are, and we all know that means having a strong presence in the digital space," says Puregold Price Club, Inc. President Vincent Co.
"This is the foundation of Puregold's 'New Retail.' For us, this is a great opportunity to effectively reinforce our offline and online integration. We see it as a territory that will expand our business further as customers continue to adopt new ways of grocery shopping," he concludes.