From ‘Sally’ to Luis: Puregold targets old and future shoppers in ‘new retail’ bid

Puregold Channel interface

With loyal customers unable to physically visit their favorite Puregold branches as often as before and stay there for as long as they want, the supermarket giant is stepping up its game in the digital world to stay in touch with them and reach out to new markets.

Given the quarantine restrictions aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19, Puregold Price Club Inc., just like other businesses both big and small, has fully embraced digitalization to be able to continuously serve its customers.

Puregold Price Club president Vincent Co

“We want to be where our customers are and we know that means having strong presence in the digital space,” says Puregold Price Club president Vincent Co.

Early this year, the company launched the Puregold Mobile App called “Sally,” short for shopping ally. This allows consumers to do their grocery shopping safely in the comfort of their homes with just a few clicks on their mobile phones or personal computers. Online selling and buying, once done only by the technically inclined, have been adopted even by those uninitiated in e-commerce.

Puregold takes another step ahead of its peers by putting up its own channels on Facebook and Youtube.

Puregold Channel, which goes online on Saturday, Sept. 19, is a leap from an otherhave wise plain online marketing approach. It goes beyond just buying and selling.

Via this new platform, Puregold can reach out, touch lives and engage people by providing customers—or followers—a much needed break from the pandemic-induced stress.

Puregold Channel will present three programs initially.

“Luto mo, Negosyo Mo, Panalo,” hosted by TV personality Arra San Agustin, is a cooking show made more interesting with tips on how to turn one’s cooking passion into a business.

There is also the “Ha, Ha Hour” which, as the title implies, is a comedy show led by standup and TV comedian Alex Calleja.

The third is “Playtime Panalo,” a game show hosted by actor and TV host Luis Manzano that gives subscribers a chance to win prizes by becoming home partners or game participants.

The Facebook and Youtube channels cater to not only the loyal following of Puregold but also to a wider audience, including the young ones who will one day become part of the economy.

Puregold, together with Globe Telecom, has also just rolled out Puregold Mobile App’s newest feature—buy Load. This caters to Globe prepaid or TM subscribers. Through this app, customers can also buy other Globe products and pay via credit card, debit card, Gcash or P-wallet, Puregold’s very own in-app wallet.

All these are geared toward building Puregold’s foundation while preparing for the future of retail in the country.

Puregold is making groundbreaking moves to expand its digital footprint and engage shoppers to an unprecedented level.

Currently, it has about 2.3 million followers on Facebook. This number is expected to grow substantially, as the retail chain trains its sights on the shoppers of the future through the Puregold Mobile app and its brick and mortar stores.

On top of its initiatives in the digital space, Puregold continues to grow its physical stores which, as of last count, hit 385 nationwide (excluding the S&R stores).

“Puregold’s thrust is to move toward what we call ‘future retail.’ We see it as a territory that will expand our business further as customers continue to adopt both offline and online shopping as a regular way of life,” says Co.

Puregold wants to bring to its customers new experiences, provide ways of interacting with the brand through engaging content and capture the market by integrating itself into the daily lives of its shoppers through Puregold Channel.

By creating new and unique kinds of content that appeal to different audiences, Puregold hopes to keeps customers hooked and engaged.

“This is the foundation of Puregold’s ‘New Retail.’ For us, this is a great opportunity to effectively reinforce our offline and online integration … and keep up with changes in the ways of grocery shopping,” adds Co.

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