Co-op launches app to drive ‘digital future of convenience’

The mutual said the move will give users digital access to offers and services for the first time. It will also allow shoppers to keep track of their member reward balance.

The app, which will offer its members two personalised offers every week to use in its stores, is the latest digital push from the Co-op as it adapts to a multichannel future.

The retailer has already launched an ecommerce proposition, fulfilling orders using e-bikes and delivery robots, and has a separate partnership with online food delivery specialists Deliveroo.

It is also rolling out pay-in-aisle technology, allowing shoppers to scan and pay for items of their phones without queuing at a checkout.

The Co-op labelled its new app as the “digital future of convenience retailing”.

Customer director Ali Jones said the app “brings the best of Co-op together digitally for the very first time” by creating a portal for its 4.6 million members to track their balances and select their offers before visiting a store.

Jones added: “The app puts more money in our members’ hands helping them save money on the things they want to buy, but this is just the start.

“We are planning to develop the app over the next few months, folding in other digital elements such as choosing your local cause and accessing recipes.

“Ultimately this isn’t just about an app, it’s a digital front door that offers what modern consumers expect from convenience. That is why we are building a seamless customer experience that draws all the elements of Co-op together in an integrated way, and gets closer to where our customers are – right in the palm of their hand.”