Continente – From Transactions to Tributes: How Continente Turned Shopping Data into a Personalized Year-End Celebration
Submitted by Arena Media Portugal
Case Study Summary:
What if your grocery list could tell the story of your life? Portuguese retailer Continente posed that question at the end of the year—and delivered a breakthrough campaign that turned millions of grocery transactions into personalized, emotionally resonant digital experiences. Called “Recipe of the Year,” the initiative used artificial intelligence and big data to create over 60 million unique content combinations, transforming mundane purchases into meaningful stories about each customer’s habits, preferences, and lifestyle. Whether someone stocked up on baby food, bulk snacks, or fine wine, the campaign revealed a playful yet accurate picture of their year—made just for them.
Inspired by the popularity of Spotify Wrapped and a growing consumer appetite for personal reflection, Continente applied advanced machine learning to its vast troves of first-party data, collected through the Continente loyalty card. These insights were creatively assembled into a dynamic microsite, where customers could discover their most-purchased items, biggest savings, and most memorable shopping moments—presented with wit, charm, and commentary from popular Portuguese influencer Joana Barrios.
What made this campaign stand out was not just the scale of personalization, but its emotional intelligence. It tapped into people’s desire for self-recognition and storytelling—while reminding them that Continente had been there for them all year long. The content was not only surprising and fun, but highly shareable, thanks to playful naming conventions and social-friendly design. Promotion was seamlessly integrated across email, push notifications, in-store signage, social platforms, YouTube, and radio, ensuring widespread engagement.
The results were extraordinary. The campaign drove over 631,000 personalized video views—more than triple Continente’s previous best-performing content. 71% of users watched their full “Recipe,” spending an average of four minutes on the site. App usage spiked by over 15%, and most importantly, customers who engaged spent 4.37% more, resulting in over €13 million in incremental sales.
By combining AI precision with human creativity, Continente didn’t just summarize a year of shopping—it reinforced brand loyalty, celebrated customer individuality, and turned everyday data into a standout marketing success story.
Key Insights:
- Smart Use of First-Party Data: Continente leveraged its loyalty card transaction data not just for targeting—but to entertain, surprise, and reward its customers.
- AI-Driven Storytelling: By processing millions of data points, machine learning helped create personal narratives at scale—turning shopping lists into life reflections.
- Gamified and Shareable: Customers were guided through their personalized stories by influencer Joana Barrios, adding a human and humorous element that encouraged sharing and repeat visits.
- Omnichannel Excellence: Promotion across email, push notifications, in-store QR codes, YouTube, and more ensured visibility and reach across all customer touchpoints.
- Tangible Business Impact: The initiative didn’t just build goodwill—it delivered:
- A 3.5x engagement boost over previous content benchmarks
- 71% video completion rate
- 15%+ increase in app usage
- Over €13 million in incremental sales
Why was AI used?
AI was essential to analyze massive transaction data sets and generate over 60 million personalized stories—an impossible task for human teams alone. Machine learning algorithms identified patterns, top purchases, and trends per customer, transforming data into individualized storytelling elements.
How did AI work with human creativity and insights?
AI provided the engine for personalization, but the campaign’s magic came from human creative input:
- The “Recipe of the Year” concept was emotionally resonant.
- Narrative framing and visual design made the data feel engaging and fun.
- Joana Barrios added a relatable, humorous voice to the AI-driven experience.
This blend of data science and human storytelling ensured the campaign felt both smart and heartfelt.
Would the initiative have been possible without AI?
No. Without AI, processing over 240 million transactions and generating millions of unique narratives with tailored visuals, logic, and insights would have been unfeasible. AI enabled the scale, precision, and personalization that made this campaign truly remarkable.
