2023 Game Changers: Birdzi, VISPER 2.0
As consumer demand for private label products grows, retailers and suppliers continue to up their game bringing to market a bevy of new products across multiple categories. Product launches over the past year show a continued effort to give consumers high value items that offer retailers the opportunity to differentiate from their competitors.
For the third year, Store Brands is honoring those in private label that are pushing the boundaries and driving the industry forward. Below are the people, product innovations and brands that are this year’s Game Changers.
Birdzi, VISPER 2.0
In the grocery world, the adoption of technology continues to allow retailers to better know their customers, and offer them appropriate deals and discounts on private label items. New Jersey-based AI solution firm Birdzi is just one example, working with independent retailers who are seeking to build customer loyalty.
Birdzi’s VISPER 2.0 personalization tool reimagines the weekly ad circular and has increased sales, visits and customer retention for regional supermarket retailers. The solution leverages customer insights and the retailer’s entire product catalog, including private brands, and then automatically suggests specific offers, discounts and communication tailored to each shopper.
“What VISPER 2.0 did was remove the limit on the number of offers,” Shekar Raman, CEO and co-founder of Birdzi, told Store Brands. “Essentially it created customized offers for every single shopper. If I think 50¢ off a box of popcorn is going to work for you, you’ll get 50¢ off, and for somebody else it might take 75¢ to trigger that purchase.”
Across all Birdzi customers, the company said that more than 8% of shoppers who receive strategically targeted VISPER 2.0 offers buy one or more items versus the 4.5% of shoppers who buy one or more items from traditional weekly circulars. Overall, Birdzi’s customers saw 38.2% growth in the number of categories shopped and 23.6% growth in the number of trips per shopper.