One year after the launch: Ahold Delhaize's European customer app continues to drive growth
March 12, 2026 – It’s been just over a year since launching the sixth unified customer app at the European Ahold Delhaize brands. This marked the completion of a major digital transformation across five of our European brands. The apps are all built into one modular platform, which represents a fundamental shift in how we build and scale digital solutions at Ahold Delhaize.
By combining the expertise of local brand teams, our central customer & digital platform team, and external partners, we have created a model that drives faster innovation, stronger collaboration, and cost efficiencies across Europe.
A shared foundation
The ambitious digital transformation delivered six apps across five brands in under twelve months – launching first with Albert in the Czech Republic, followed by Maxi in Serbia, Delhaize in Belgium and Luxembourg, Mega Image in Romania, and culminating with Alfa Beta in Greece.
The new customer app puts everything customers need in one place; from online shopping and personalized offers to loyalty rewards and in-store features. As their needs evolve, so does the app, creating a more seamless and connected experience across every touchpoint.
For our local brands, the app is built on a shared foundation that lets each brand move faster and innovate more efficiently, while staying true to their own identity and the preferences of their local customers.
“Converging our apps into one unified, modular platform became a real springboard for us. The foundation we built helps us deliver faster, with greater impact and better cost efficiency. The principles and rituals we introduced are still very much alive today, creating a shared sense of purpose that helps every brand succeed in its market”, said Nataliia Bertrand, Head of Product Customer & Loyalty.
Growing the business
Since the app launched at Alfa Beta a year ago, the unified app has demonstrated its value through uplift in customer engagement and business growth. Across all brands, the initiative has achieved:
• 12% increase in e-commerce sales through the app
• 31% growth in weekly active app users
• 33% increase in personal offer activations
These metrics underscore the platform's success in creating a more engaging, personalized shopping experience that customers across Europe have embraced enthusiastically.
Simplifying meal planning
Customer-facing enhancements have focused on making the shopping journey in the new app faster, more intuitive and more rewarding. The introduction of the “frequently bought” feature has transformed how customers shop, enabling a more seamless and personalized omnichannel experience. The new preference center allows customers to save food preferences and receive tailored recipe recommendations, simplifying meal planning. In Belgium, customers can now fast charge their e-vehicles and earn SuperPlus loyalty points through a digital partnership with Elektra, extending value beyond traditional grocery shopping.
Payment convenience has also advanced significantly with the integration of Google Pay and Apple Pay across the platform. In Serbia, Maxi became one of the first supermarkets to use the payment method Payten, reinforcing our role as an innovation partner in the fintech space. At the same time, the subscription program Delivery+ was refreshed with simplified plans, improved pricing, and double points on every order to strengthen conversion and loyalty. New content provides richer inspiration beyond transactions, while expanded cross-sell capabilities help customers discover complementary products and increase basket value.
Responding to market dynamics
The impact of these enhancements is reflected not only in performance metrics, but in the platform’s ability to scale and adapt. As Maxime Zwart, Director Digital Experience, Intelligence & Operations, explains: “The strong growth in sales, users and engagement shows that customers appreciate the experience we’ve built. Even more important is the foundation now in place for continuous innovation. This platform gives us the agility to respond to changing customer needs and market dynamics faster than ever.”
Behind the scenes, substantial infrastructure upgrades have strengthened performance and scalability. Mega Image implemented a new backend that enables faster, more efficient store fulfillment, directly improving the end-to-end customer experience. B2B capabilities were also enhanced, including improved registration flows and overall user experience to better serve business customers.
The platform includes advanced A/B testing functionality, allowing teams to continuously improve the app based on real customer behavior. Strengthened collaboration with payment providers has improved security and reliability across markets. At the same time, expanded in-app retail media capabilities are unlocking new revenue streams, demonstrating how a robust digital backbone can simultaneously drive operational excellence, customer satisfaction and business growth.
Maxime shares more about her experience in working on this project in the video below.