Business Platform

Carrefour Group

Delivering digital promotions for grocery shoppers with WhatsApp Business Platform

People at the grocery store's bread corner
Carrefour Logo

Brand

360 Dialog Logo

WhatsApp Business Solution Provider

This multinational hypermarket chain uses WhatsApp Business Platform to offer digital coupon catalogs to its customers across France, helping shoppers buy the products they want at the price they want.

35%

higher engagement compared to email

3

minute average engagement time with digital promotions

75%

of customers using the Carrefour app already use WhatsApp

*Results are unique and are provided by the featured business. Success story results will vary, as they depend on a variety of factors.

Their Story

Head start before filling the cart

Carrefour is a leading multinational hypermarket headquartered in France with retail outlets worldwide, including Brazil, Spain, Italy, and Poland. With over 100,000 employees across more than 5,200 retail locations, Carrefour is committed to providing personal, digital experiences catered to the modern-day shopper.

Their Goal

____

Personalized promotions, delivered digitally

Carrefour wanted to offer its printed promotional catalogs digitally to offset production costs and better target customers based on region and preferred store location. The retailer wanted higher engagement, better customer service, and to learn shopper behavior more accurately.

Woman picking up bread from a bred corner

Their Solution

Customers can scan the QR code opening WhatsApp to easily download their desired store's digital catalog and chat with the business.

____

Coupons at the touch of a button

Long gone are the days when grocery shoppers would pore over their mail-delivered promotions or weekly circular and head to the store with clipped coupons in hand. With a smart phone in everyone’s pocket, customers want a more convenient, digital experience that helps them find the products they need at the prices they want—all without sacrificing that personal touch.

With the goal to increase online shopping and drive in-store traffic, global hypermarket Carrefour digitized its print promotional catalog and began offering it to French customers through multiple channels, including email, mobile, and SMS. Though the options were varied, engagement needed improvement.

Working closely with business partner 360dialog and digital messaging hub Alcméon, Carrefour adopted the WhatsApp Business Platform to create a customized chatbot that enables customers to input their zip code and find their nearest store.

They receive a digital promotion catalog directly through WhatsApp specific to the location where they shop, tailored to weekly deals, seasonal promotions, and other offers that help them save money and plan their shopping.

“Our customers want great products at great prices. Using the WhatsApp API, customers can find weekly promotions that save them money at their preferred store, all with a simple click on their phone. The increase in engagement has been incredible.”

Thomas Rudelle

Global Digital Marketing Director, Carrefour

Prior to adopting WhatsApp Business Platform, Carrefour’s catalogs—which support 50 percent of the company’s revenue—were offered solely in print format, which were expensive to produce and difficult to manage based on constantly changing products and in-store promotions. The physical catalog also made it hard to identify how consumers engaged with it, which discounts shoppers liked most, and then apply those insights to improve the customer experience.

As COVID-19 hit France, contactless restrictions put digital needs into overdrive. And given how WhatsApp is widely used among the French population—including 75 percent of those who already use the Carrefour store app—it was clear to Carrefour that adopting the platform could better connect the company to its shoppers.

Nearly 45 percent of people who receive Carrefour’s digital catalog through WhatsApp open it each week and engage with it for an average of three minutes—compared to only 10 percent who engage through email. Going forward, the company plans to extend its use of WhatsApp to enable customers to provide feedback directly through the app, implement logistics and food delivery notifications, and overall extend its services to its thousands of locations globally.

Going forward, the company plans to extend its use of WhatsApp to enable customers to provide feedback directly through the app, implement logistics and food delivery notifications, and overall extend its services to its thousands of locations globally.

Customers can search for the Carrefour website online and choose the catalogs they want to receive via WhatsApp.

Their Success

Since integrating the WhatsApp Business Platform in the winter of 2021, Carrefour has easily connected shoppers with digital promotions and prepared them to get the most out of their in-store experiences.

People in the aisle of the supermarket

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Smiles in the aisles

  • 45% of Carrefour WhatsApp users engage with the digital catalog, compared to 10% of customers who open the catalog through email.
  • Customers engage with the digital catalog an average of 3 minutes, improving upon the print catalog that lacked customer insight.
  • 75% of customers using the Carrefour app also use WhatsApp, so many customers already understand the technology.

*Results are unique and are provided by the featured business. Success story results will vary, as they depend on a variety of factors.

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