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"For customers, it's an opportunity to get points, save money, get targeted promotions on what they buy, what they like," Metro CEO Eric La Flèche said during a conference call with analysts to discuss the company's latest financial results.

"It gives us and our vendor partners more opportunities to target and be more personalized and engage more with our customers."

The program, which it calls an evolution of its metro&moi loyalty program, will also be offered at Jean Coutu pharmacies in Ontario and New Brunswick, which will withdraw from the Air Miles program. Metro grocery stores in Ontario will continue using Air Miles.

The Royal Bank of Canada has joined Metro as a loyalty partner, offering a co-branded Moi-­RBC credit card, the company said.

The launch of Moi comes less than a year after Sobeys partnered with Scotiabank and Cineplex on the Scene Plus loyalty program, dropping Air Miles from its stores.

Retailers are increasingly launching in-house rewards programs in an effort to boost consumer loyalty through various perks and rewards, a strategy that appears to be working with budget-conscious shoppers amid high inflation.

In February, Loblaw Companies Ltd. noted that customers were using the company's PC Optimum program more actively, with an increase in the redemption of points to buy groceries.

Metro's latest financial results showed Canadian consumers are continuing to hunt for deals on groceries amid high inflation, La Flèche said.

Customers shopped more frequently, switched to discount stores, bought the company's in-house brands and increasingly opted for sale items during Metro's second quarter, he said.

"Promotional penetration remains very high as consumers search for value," La Flèche said. "Traffic was up while the average basket size came down slightly."

Sales of Metro's private-label brands — such as Irresistibles, Selection and Life Smart — grew at double the rate of overall sales growth, he said.

The comments came as Metro said its profits rose 10.4 per cent to $218.8 million in its latest quarter, up from $198.1 million in the same quarter last year.

The profit amounted to 93 cents per diluted share for the 12-week period ended March 11, up from 82 cents per diluted share a year earlier, the company said.

Sales in what was the company's second quarter totalled $4.55 billion, up 6.6 per cent from $4.27 billion in the same quarter last year.

The increase in sales came as food same-store sales rose 5.8 per cent compared with a year earlier, while pharmacy same-store sales gained 7.3 per cent.

On an adjusted basis, Metro said it earned 96 cents per diluted share, up from 84 cents per diluted share a year earlier. Analysts on average had expected an adjusted profit of 94 cents per share, according to financial markets data firm Refinitiv.

This report by ¹ú²úÓÕ»ó¸£Àû was first published April 19, 2023.

Companies in this story: (TSX:MRU)