Stop & Shop Uses Data to Improve Customer Experience 

The Opportunity 
Since entering the U.S. market in 1970, Ahold has grown to become one of the country’s most significant retail groups. The company serves millions of customers each week in nearly 2,000 stores and distribution centers across 23 states.

In addition to their major supermarket chains, including Stop & Shop®, the U.S. market also includes the country’s leading online grocer, Peapod®.

With such a diverse brand strategy, Ahold has developed strong partnerships to deliver the best customer experience while operating stores as efficiently as possible. The relationship with Current and ENGIE Services U.S., our channel partner, has proven to be an important one.

The Solution and the Results 
To drive energy efficiency in its stores, Stop & Shop made the decision to implement LEDs, realizing tremendous energy savings as a result. LED luminaires were shipped with preinstalled ZigBee-enabled controls compatible with the Daintree Wireless Controls System†. All luminaires were set up with built-in occupancy and daylight-harvesting sensors, and could be task tuned with Daintree software.

To capture the energy savings of the new LED system, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory managed the measurement and verification of the installation; Cadmus Group LLC also completed field energy measurements of the new lighting system before and after the upgrade. The results show that initial replacement of older fluorescents with LEDs saved 30 percent of the estimated annual lighting energy use.

Energy savings increased by an additional 36 percent with task tuning, and occupancy- and daylight-sensing controls. Task tuning was used to set operating light levels according to store management requirements for optimum retail sales conditions. This resulted in post-upgrade light levels that were visually brighter to management but measured lower than preupgrade levels. Occupancy sensing was used to set reduced light levels rather than full “off” in most spaces when the space was not occupied, which resulted in an estimated savings of 18,000 kWh/yr.

Total annual energy savings is estimated to be 439,300 kWh, which is a 66 percent savings over the baseline energy use. The corresponding reduction in facility energy cost is approximately $65,895 annually, and the total project cost, as installed, was $583,061.

The Path Forward 
The installation resulted in tremendous savings at the LED and controls levels, but the Daintree Wireless Controls System can deliver even greater value.

Through data collected from sensors and IoT devices, Ahold is now able to get more insight into store operations, which has the potential to further reduce energy and improve the customer experience. New smart retail solutions from Current’s large partner network can also be delivered and tested to determine business impact. iOFFICE, for example, equips C-suite executives, strategic planners, and facilities and workplace leaders with the real-time data insights they need to plan effectively for the future of their workplace.

This intelligent environment infrastructure provides the foundation for Ahold to deliver location-based offers, artificial intelligence (AI) to personalize the customer experience, temperature automation and refrigeration management.

In addition, this same LED and controls platform can help Ahold deliver value in other types of buildings, including corporate offices and distribution centers. Occupancy sensor data allows improved conference room management, heat mapping for building use and the ability to assess space utilization. In distribution centers, the infrastructure allows improvement in speed and efficiency in the movement and distribution of goods, as well as in finding equipment and tools more quickly. The intelligent environment infrastructure delivered by Current is enabling Ahold to test and learn new things about its business that can help streamline operations and improve the customer experience.

Want to discover new ways to improve your customers’ in-store experiences while optimizing energy savings?