Case Study: Food City achieves 70% customer retention and increased sales through targeted, data-driven marketing with SymphonyAI

Food City - Customer Case Study

Food City, a regional supermarket chain operating over 130 stores, faced intense local competition and needed to move from anecdote-driven decisions to fact-based customer understanding. To target offers more precisely and act on customer perspectives, Food City partnered with SymphonyAI, using Symphony RetailAI customer intelligence and targeted marketing/receipt messaging capabilities to turn transaction data into actionable insights.

SymphonyAI enabled Food City to run faster, more targeted campaigns—receipt messaging, weekly triggered coupons and tailored mailers—so they could react quickly (rather than wait weeks for analysis) and personalize outreach. The results were significant: during a 17-week store closure they retained 70% of business (versus a 27% goal) and increased basket spend among retained customers; an ad campaign drove an 86% sales lift (+64,000 customers) and overall sales +1.4% despite three fewer stores; a targeted mailing lifted sales 3% and reengaged ~6,000 lapsed shoppers; and coupon redemptions for primary customers rose from 12% to 25% after working with SymphonyAI.

Food City

Kevin Stafford

Vice President Marketing