All neighborhoods have their own flavors and unique mix of people. To match their grocery needs we wanted to give the power back to community and let them tell us what products to have in each store and stop guessing.

We knew from the past that quiet Finns don’t feel comfortable asking anything from the shop personnel if they are not 100% certain what they are wishing. To lower the bar we wanted to create solution which allows Finns easily make their product wishes without talking to anybody.

Introducing “Alepa Block Wishes” – a hyperlocal digital initiative and a logistics and production-line turnaround. With the help of a chatbot, customers could request their favorite products to be added on the shelves of their local Alepa straight from their mobile phones Messenger app.

We built Facebook Messenger chatbot with integrations to all S Group SKU level product data and shop locations. Customers could wish any products they imagined from the bot, which then searched matching product from S Group databases using meta data and returned best matching products within milliseconds to the chat.

From these products customers could send their Block Wish to closest Alepa based on their location. If needed they could send the Block Wish to any Alepa based on the name of the neighborhood.

The logistics and product line changes were made automatically. 70% of the wishes were fulfilled within 48 hours.

After introducing Alepa Block Wishes, the selection in each neighborhood started to change rapidly.

Block Wishes became an instant hit.

In a time of retail revolution, the previously prehistoric Alepa store chain managed to evolve into a network of corner stores to hip local shops with unique selections.