Lowes Foods is embracing technology to enhance—not replace—its in-store experiences that define its brand.
That’s according to Chad Petersen, senior vice president of digital commerce for the Winston-Salem. North Carolina-based regional grocer, who spoke at Supermarket News’ Grocery NEXT conference in Itasca, Illinois, on Thursday.
Known for its theatrical store environments, from in-house cake wizards to spontaneous chicken dances, Lowes is now investing in tech tools that connect these physical moments with smarter, more personalized digital engagement.
“We are essentially a village of shops in our stores, so it's not the average kind of grocery store experience,” Petersen said. “We don't want to remove the experience. We want to amplify this experience.”
That amplification requires a digital foundation capable of delivering unified commerce without disrupting the store’s personality. While many grocers lean into kiosks and screens, Lowes intentionally avoids that kind of visible tech in stores, the executive said.
“People always ask us, ‘Why don't you put the TV in your beer den when we have 70 or 80 [customers] on Thursdays to watch the game?’ We say it’s because we want you to have exchanges with one another; we don't want everybody just to be watching the TV,” Petersen said.
Petersen said the company is working to adopt advanced digital technology in a way that enhances the customer experience without disrupting it.
“We don’t have endless funding for capital for 15 different platforms ... we need less technology that opens the door for us to own the brand, own the experience,” he said.
To scale, Lowes is rethinking its tech stack and investing in infrastructure that supports fewer, more integrated platforms.
Much of the chain’s technology efforts are focused on digital loyalty and personalization. A current digital coupon campaign encourages online enrollment while reinforcing in-store experiences.
“[Customers] can't get digital coupons without enrolling, and we want to build that trust in the enrollment,” he said. “That means we're getting the guests in digitally, and they're starting to see the things they might not have seen before.”
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