Britain‘s third largest supermarket is partnering with an old rival to transform the way its supermarkets are run, by bringing virtual vouchers to its tills.
Virtual business Eagle Eye is backed by ex- Tesco CEO, Sir Terry Leahy, who owns a 10% stake and is a non-executive director . He served as Tesco‘s CEO of Tesco for 14 years until 2011.
Eagle Eye‘s Chief Executive Phill Blundell, has described the deal with Big Four Sainsbury‘s as “game-changing” as “it signals that this model works.”
In a statement Blundell said: “This is a major endorsement of the benefits that the Eagle Eye AIR platform delivers and represents a significant milestone for our business as we continue to help transform the ways in which retailers connect with their customers.”
He added “We will be taking charge of a third of the entire UK grocery market”.
The digital makeover will change the way the supermarket operates promotions, by taking back control of its rewards for loyal customers through the platform‘s ability to monitor customer shopping behaviour.
Eagle Eye will enable retailers to register its customer‘s patterns of shopping behaviour and adapts promotions accordingly, providing real time offers and services via any channel, increased shopper engagement and enables loyal customers to be rewarded at the point of sale.
It can also be used to combat fraud, as grocers often complain that money-off vouchers are easily photocopied and can be used on different brands of products, much to the chagrin of suppliers.
Eagle Eye already has an agreement with another rival supermarket, Asda and this new additional deal means that Eagle Eye will now process 20m coupons every month from both the chains.
The company has already passed the one million mark for its software usage and voucher redeeming by diners at restaurants such as Pizza Express and Prezzo.
Since listing on AIM last year, Eagle Eye‘s shares have risen 24%, valuing the business at £44m.
Emily Thornhill
