(Image courtesy of user CFLNFL on Wikimedia)
Rexall is expanding its commitment to ecommerce with a new partnership that will see it offering home delivery and online ordering through Instacart.
The arrangement is the latest step by the brand to expand its service offering and meet consumers where they are, according to Debbie Lai, its SVP of marketing, loyalty and strategy, while ensuring that they have a consistent experience there – be it digitally or in a brick-and-mortar Rexall location.
“We entered this space shortly after the pandemic began, and we’re always trying to evolve our business to meet changing consumer needs,” she explains, noting that the brand launched its first ecommerce partnership with Cornershop in 2020. After Cornershop was acquired by Uber, it also began listing on UberEats and DoorDash.
“Even though our brick and mortar business is still very busy, we do see consumers seeking different options and there is rising demand for them,” Lai says.
However, while the Cornershop, Uber and DoorDash are all clear about the source of orders, they don’t offer as many opportunities to put forward the retailer’s own brand. “We were looking for how to get our own brand in there,” Lai says, because “a lot of customers recognize Rexall as a trusted brand and are comfortable shopping it.”
This is especially important among the older shopping demographic that might not fully trust a platform like Uber or DoorDash, but is confident in the Rexall brand that they’ve known and interacted with for decades.
Through the Instacart partnership, customers can access an online marketplace via Rexall’s own website, which carries Rexall’s own branding. That marketplace offers the same specials found in its flyers and in-store, as well as affording customers the opportunity to collect Be Well points – Rexall’s loyalty rewards program. “It’s a really great opportunity for Rexall,” Lai explains.
The company hasn’t launched any marketing efforts to promote the new service offering as yet, but Lai says that some are in the works as the holiday season approaches.
“We’re working with our marketing partner, Bensimon Byrne, and media partner, Media Experts, to put together a very compelling marketing plan, and it will have a mix of owned and paid media channels and in-store marketing,” explains Lai.
