At the Weekend Media Festival in Rovinj, Aleš Popič, Head of Marketing Communications at SPAR Slovenia, and Žiga Komac, Chief Revenue Officer at iPROM, talked about the SPAR Tailormade project. The discussion focused on how advertising can transform loyalty programs into platforms for building new customer relationships and driving retailer growth. Using a concrete example, the speakers demonstrated how enriched first-party data, proprietary technological infrastructure, and artificial intelligence can redefine the relationship between retailer and customer.
In his introduction, Popič emphasized that loyalty in retail is highly fragile, as shoppers often make decisions based on price or a competitor’s current offer. Traditional loyalty programs typically rely on generic discounts that fail to create lasting connections. The real value lies in data that reveals who the customers are, what interests them, and what they expect. Based on these insights, it becomes possible to design personalized experiences that boost customer engagement and deliver measurable sales results.
Today’s customers are no longer satisfied with broad, generic offers. They expect the retailer to know them, save them time, and present products that truly matter to them. They do not want what Popič called “lazy retargeting”; instead, they expect to share their data in return for genuine added value and tailored offers. To meet these expectations, retailers must transform customer-provided data into relevant offers at the right time. Conventional retargeting, which bombards customers with the same ads, creates fatigue rather than loyalty. SPAR Slovenia therefore adopted a different approach, converting data into useful experiences and relationships based on trust. Customers who receive tangible benefits in exchange for their data tend to remain loyal for longer and are more likely to respond to new offers.
Komac explained how SPAR Slovenia, leveraging iPROM’s technology, has expanded its communication channels beyond the online store and newsletters, incorporating personalization into digital media through targeted and personalized advertising. The SPAR Tailormade project is built on three key pillars: enriched first-party data, full control over targeting, and artificial intelligence enabling precise segmentation and micro-targeting. This approach directly connects in-store purchasing behaviour with digital advertising, ensuring that customers receive offers at the right place and time.
The results, powered by the iPROM Private DMP platform, were highly encouraging. Click-through rates rose by 50 percent, media buying efficiency by 30 percent, and the project generated €6 million in revenue and €1 million in gross profit for the company. Personalization also proved effective on SPAR’s own channels: customers who regularly engaged with personalized offers in the SPAR app generated significantly higher revenue growth compared to those who did not.
In closing, Popič and Komac stressed that SPAR Tailormade is more than just a marketing tool. It allows the company to build lasting customer relationships while delivering measurable media and business results. According to them, the project reflects a broader industry trend where personalization becomes the norm, and loyalty is rooted in meaningful relationships and added value rather than simple discounts.