Home > News > Media Room > Press Releases > Sustainability - Thousands of Customers Say Why They're Sweet on Wegmans' Reusable Bags

ROCHESTER, NY – Ever since Wegmans Food Markets introduced reusable grocery bags nearly three years ago, customers have been snapping them up, with 3.5 million sold to date. Already, these eco-friendly totes have made an eye-opening difference: “Customers who shop with reusable bags have helped us use about 200 million fewer bags since 2007, and that’s better for the planet,” says Communications and Media Specialist Jeanne Colleluori.

Numbers like those get you thinking: What if even more customers brought home the groceries in bags that can be reused hundreds of times? So a team at Wegmans created an eight-week promotion to encourage more awareness and use of reusable bags, and to offer a little thanks to those already using them.

The recently completed promotion rewarded everyone who checked out using reusable bags with a $1 coupon for other items in the store. “It was our way of helping our customers form new habits – remembering to bring the bags to the store can be a challenge at first,” said Colleluori. In addition visitors to Wegmans.com could enter a contest to win a $100 gift card each week of the promotion by answering that week’s question about how and why they use the bags. An average of 1750 comments per week were received with over 14,000 responses total.

Singing the praises of the reusable bags, customers said they:

·         Hold more groceries – fewer trips from the car to the house

·         Are easier to carry – with better handles

·         Don’t tip over in the trunk

·         Are very attractive, with bright colors and assorted designs

·         Make great gift bags that ask to be reused, over and over

 

By a huge margin, however, the reason customers gave most often for using the bags was that it was the right thing to do, environmentally speaking. Over their useful lives, reusables take up fewer natural resources to do the job of carrying home the groceries than paper or plastic bags, even if those bags are recycled. Customers said they liked setting a good example for their children and grandchildren, and felt good about being able to take a small step towards living more sustainably. And at 99 cents each, reusable bags are one of the most affordable ways to join the green revolution.

 

One customer said the reusable bags had allowed her to tame the “bag monster” growing under her kitchen sink that used to pop out whenever she opened the cabinet doors. Another customer said switching to reusables was a “no brainer” after her three year old saw an open field (next to a landfill) with hundreds of plastic bags stuck to weeds and asked, “Is that a plastic bag farm?”

 

Yet with all their virtues, reusable bags may have one tiny drawback: You have to remember to bring them along on your next shopping errand. The key bit of advice from customers on conquering forgetfulness was to stash ‘em where you’ll see ‘em, right after unloading the groceries – near the door or in the car. One woman wrote a rhyme: “A little thought, a little plan ensures I have my bags in hand. In the car where I can see, they sit quite nicely next to me. And after they have done their chore, right back they go ready for more!” Other customers suggested tucking other things you need inside the bags – such as keys, the shopping list, or your purse. Some suggested getting the kids involved – make it their job to remember and therefore part of the solution.    

 

So, if you had just five words to make the case for switching to Wegmans’ reusable bags, what might you say? Here’s one customer’s reply: “Stylish, strong, environmentally friendly, inexpensive.” Well said.

 

As another new year unfolds, watch for some new designs to make their debut. “Besides being helpful, reusable bags can be fun and stylish,” says Colleluori, “and in that spirit, we’ll change it up a little as we go along.”

 

 

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Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. is a 76-store supermarket chain with stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, and Maryland.  The family-owned company, founded in 1916, is recognized as an industry leader and innovator.  Wegmans has been named one of the ‘100 Best Companies to Work For’ by FORTUNE magazine for thirteen consecutive years.  In 2010, Wegmans ranked #3 on the list.