Festival Foods launches 2% rewards program, app and website

By Nathan Brooks

Festival Foods announced Monday that Festival Rewards offers shoppers 2% back on qualifying in-store and online purchases, pairing the refreshed loyalty program with a new app and website.

The Wisconsin family-owned grocer said the program will deliver “instant, high-impact savings” at checkout. Festival Rewards also includes grocery discounts, personalized digital offers, a birthday reward and 10 points for every $1 spent.

On a $100 basket of qualifying purchases, the advertised rate equals $2 in back. The 10-point-per-$1 schedule produces 1,000 points on that purchase. Festival Foods said points remain active as long as the account stays open.

A welcome bonus and an anniversary hook

New members receive a $5 welcome bonus in points when they register. As part of Festival Foods’ 80th birthday, the company will give new members a free offer each week from Oct. 14 to Dec. 1. Running about seven weeks, the promotion supplies a defined test for the relaunched program.

The free weekly offer provides the immediate reason to register. The points system is the part Festival Foods wants shoppers to keep using after the anniversary campaign ends.

Chief Operating Officer Adam Whitney said in a statement: “We designed Festival Rewards to deliver more savings, more value, and a better overall experience. What we’re launching today is just the beginning — the program is built to grow over time, offering even more ways for our guests to save on the groceries they buy every week.”

What changes for shoppers?

The app and website add interactive shopping tools, direct browsing of weekly online ads, digital coupon clipping and “Click N Go” pickup and delivery options, Festival Foods said.

At checkout, shoppers can scan an in-app barcode to access their rewards and points, according to the grocer’s website.

The catch comes with the profile. Festival Foods will not automatically convert or move existing gas rewards accounts into a Festival Rewards account, the company said. Shoppers must create a new profile. That is extra setup for customers already enrolled in Festival Foods’ gas rewards program.

For shoppers, the change is 2% back, new points and a broader digital toolset, plus a new account if they already hold gas rewards. The familiar parts are the weekly ads, coupons and checkout scan. The unfamiliar part is starting over.

It is a familiar digital checklist: find the weekly ad, clip the coupon, choose pickup or delivery and scan for points at checkout. The convenience is clear. The account migration is not.

Rivals are rebuilding, too

The Fresh Market revamped its loyalty program and launched its first native app to improve the shopper experience. Wakefern also overhauled its legacy loyalty system and tapped the artificial intelligence-powered loyalty platform Eagle Eye to expand its membership program’s capabilities.

Festival Foods is joining other grocers updating loyalty programs this year to attract price-conscious shoppers. The competitive test is whether familiar digital tools and immediate savings can offset the work of asking shoppers to create another account.

Festival Rewards supplies both the incentive and the friction. Sign-up and repeat use will show which one wins.