Whole Foods Partnership with The Weather Channel Depends on Rain

Another different kind of partnership designed to build relationships and move the grocery conversation away from price.

It’s a partnership focused on rain.

It started about a week ago and will continue through August 9th   - Stephanie Abrams, the long-time no-holds barred star of The Weather Channel will announce on her weekly weather call on Instagram if at least half of the continental US has weekend rainstorms, the rules say more than 0.01 inches of rain in at least 24 of the contiguous states will trigger it, Whole Foods will offer prizes during the week. The prize packages, which will be available to the first 200 adults who register following the “rainout” weekend, will include summer-themed items like grilling gear, avocado pool floats, coupons, sunscreen, bags, gift cards and snacks, like cheese, nuts, chips and dip from the 365 by Whole Foods Market line. Grocery Dive reports that The Rainy-Day Redo campaign provides Whole Foods an opportunity to potentially boost shopper engagement and collect customer data as the grocer looks to rebound from lackluster physical store sales and lagging foot traffic. Critics, including me, have long wondered when the Amazon “intelligence factor” would come to Whole Foods. Well, it appears that just happened.

This promotion will drive shoppers to Whole Foods social media channel, and the giveaway will also allow Whole Foods to gather names, email addresses, phone numbers and street addresses. It's a different kind of promotion than we’ve seen before – not the typical summer BBQ features for hot dogs and burgers; although at Whole Foods it would be a mix of beef and vegan offerings. One wonders if this is a test for the kind of promotions and partnerships that are to come at Amazon Fresh.