Harps Turns to AI Engagement in Birdzi Partnership

Software to enable real-time recommendations based on customer behavior and location

Harps Food Stores has announced a partnership with software company Birdzi to deploy a new customer engagement platform system using artificial intelligence (AI) to better connect with shoppers. Harps, an employee-owned company based in Springdale, Ark., operates 96 supermarkets across Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas.

Harps will leverage Birdzi’s real-time digital platform, which the company said was designed to support marketing strategies of regional food retailers. Birdzi’s AI relationship engine uses several hundred attributes for each shopper, updated with each purchase, enabling the retailer to better address the individual needs and purchasing patterns of each loyal shopper.

“We’re ready to expand our digital customer engagement efforts, so it is only natural to work with Birdzi,” said David Ganoung, VP of marketing for Harps. “Harps will be leveraging Birdzi’s real-time personalization as we continue to enhance our shopping experience and engage with our customers.”

Based in Iselin, N.J., Birdzi also works with other small independent retailers, such as Niemann Foods, Hugo’s, Weis Markets and Coborn’s.

Birdzi says other shopper personalization solutions use only “backward-looking historical purchase data,” while their company’s integration systems and mobile and web apps provide a more robust and reliable real-time view of shopper intent, enabling up-to-the-second product recommendations based on customer behavior and location.

Shekar Raman, co-founder and CEO of Birdzi, said the partnership will bring important new capabilities for Harps to advance its marketing strategies.

“We are proud to work with David and the Harps team in rolling out new digital capabilities,” Raman said. “This relationship shows that regional retailers value the comprehensive ecosystem that Birdzi provides, giving retailers a path away from the siloed systems of today to a seamless and cohesive ecosystem for the future. Birdzi’s platform begins with the customer, a focus fully aligned with Harps’ customer-first philosophy.”