With 1,400 employees and 60 stores, Samkaup is a supermarket giant in the Icelandic market, holding a market share of around 25%. In recent years, Samkaup has succeeded with digital initiatives that strengthen customer relationships. To continue that growth, the process needed to move forward — but first, they had to overcome a major challenge standing in the way.
Vision
In their physical stores, Samkaup had strong customer relationships. But in digital commerce, they relied solely on a third-party marketplace. That meant no ownership of customer relationships or data.
The vision was clear: Samkaup wanted their own commerce platform to build direct customer connections and drive growth through personalized omnichannel experiences and a strong loyalty concept.
Task
When Vertica began working with Samkaup, the company was already building a strong loyalty app together with Vertica’s partner Lobyco. The app focused on supporting the in-store shopping experience but did not enable online purchases, as the underlying commerce architecture was missing.
Vertica’s task was to create an ecommerce platform that could drive sales—both through a web-based channel and directly within the app. At the same time, the platform needed to unify customer data across channels and bridge the gap between physical stores and digital commerce.
This would give Samkaup the ability to optimize the complete customer journey across every channel.
Results
The new solution has propelled the grocery business to the forefront of digital pioneers—faster than you can say “Eyjafjallajökull.”
In just eight months, Samkaup went from relying on a third-party provider to taking full ownership of their omnichannel journey. The customer experience—both online and in-store—has improved significantly, reflected in strong results.
