Sam’s Club has introduced a new, consumer-driven process to shape and contribute to Member’s Mark, its private brand.
In the Member’s Mark Community, participants can provide input on products – from voting on exclusive flavors to testing and trying new items – before they reach stores.
The feedback helps guide the large-scale development of products, ensuring that offerings align with members’ evolving needs and preferences.
“At Sam’s Club, we have a long history of listening to feedback from our members and putting their needs at the center of everything we do,” said Megan Crozier, chief merchant for Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer. “It’s an integral part of how we develop our Member’s Mark products, and in today’s experience economy, our approach sets us apart from other retailers in ways that deliver real value to our members.
“Our approach goes beyond traditional focus groups and surveys, with true engagement that will shape the future of retail by creating more personalized experiences for our members. And this collaboration is already happening at scale, with input flowing from 50,000 active members, and we see the opportunity to include all members in the future.”
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This season’s Member’s Mark grill offering illustrates the program in action. The product development team identified avid grillers through a questionnaire verifying experience and a passion for grilling. They then distributed 20 prototypes to members in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.
They tested the grills by cooking, filming and reviewing their experiences. Feedback led to the development of a grill that included adjusted features.
The community primarily seeks feedback from members who mirror the broader Sam’s Club base. The next phase will offer all members the opportunity to become collaborators and partners with the brand.
Sam’s Club relaunched Member’s Mark in 2022. Products have a focus on quality, innovation and regeneration, in direct response to member feedback.
