How MiO Turned One Simple Shopper Signal Into New Customers and Repeat Velocity
of Conversions Were Net New to Brand
Monthly Repeat Rate
Average Measured Customer Value Within Three Months
From the Highest-Value New Customer
THE OPPORTUNITY
MiO wanted to use one campaign to accomplish two distinct growth objectives.
The brand wanted to introduce new flavors to loyal MiO customers while also reaching shoppers who had never previously purchased the brand.
The acquisition opportunity was especially compelling: identify an audience already demonstrating strong hydration behavior and determine whether a relevant full-size product experience could convert them into repeat MiO buyers.
MiO partnered with Swish Commerce to reach both audiences through one measurable campaign—deepening engagement among existing customers while expanding the brand to new households.
The objective was not simply to generate trial. It was to turn an existing shopper behavior into customer acquisition, repeat purchase, and sustained retail velocity.
THE SWISH APPROACH
Swish used Stater Bros. first-party purchase data and real-time basket signals to identify two core audiences:
- Existing MiO customers who could be introduced to new flavors
- Frequent premium bottled-water shoppers who had not previously purchased MiO
The acquisition strategy was intentionally focused.
Frequent premium bottled-water purchase signaled both an interest in hydration and a willingness to spend for an elevated water experience. That made these shoppers naturally relevant prospects for a product that could add flavor, variety, and personalization to the water they already consumed.
Full-size MiO products were then added directly to qualifying online grocery orders.
There were no digital opt-ins, rebate forms, or separate fulfillment steps. Swish managed the campaign end to end, including audience qualification, real-time order matching, product placement, customer communication, and closed-loop purchase measurement.
CAMPAIGN STRATEGY
From Hydration Behavior to Brand Adoption
The campaign tested a straightforward marketing hypothesis:
Could frequent premium bottled-water shoppers become strong MiO customers?
Swish turned that hypothesis into a measurable audience and placed MiO directly into the orders of qualifying shoppers.
The product experience gave those customers an immediate way to discover how MiO could add flavor and variety to an established hydration routine.
Swish then measured whether recipients purchased MiO, how often they returned, and how much value they generated after trial.
The campaign created a clear path from adjacent-category behavior to brand growth:
CAMPAIGN RESULTS
of Conversions Were Net New to Brand
Nearly two-thirds of measured converters were customers who had not previously purchased MiO. This demonstrated that the campaign did more than engage existing brand buyers. It successfully turned adjacent-category shoppers into incremental new customers. The result also validated the targeting strategy: shoppers did not need to be existing water-enhancer buyers to become valuable MiO customers.
Monthly Repeat Rate
Customers who converted went on to purchase MiO an average of approximately three times per month during the three months following trial. The campaign did not create only a single follow-up purchase. It helped establish MiO as a recurring part of customers’ hydration routines.
Average Measured Customer Value Within Three Months
The converted audience generated an average of approximately $14 in measured customer value during the first three months after trial. This early value demonstrated how quickly a relevant product experience could begin producing repeat sales.
From the Highest-Value New Customer
The strongest new customer generated approximately $70 in MiO purchases within six months of trial. That behavior showed the compounding value of the campaign: one targeted product experience became the starting point for a customer relationship that continued generating purchases well beyond the initial conversion.
The campaign also introduced new MiO flavors to existing customers.
By placing a different variety directly into the orders of loyal buyers, MiO encouraged flavor exploration and created additional opportunities for portfolio engagement and repeat purchase.
Three Drivers of Retail Velocity
The campaign generated measurable growth through three core behaviors.
Incremental Customer Acquisition
Swish introduced MiO to frequent premium bottled-water shoppers who had not previously purchased the brand.
Frequent Repeat Purchasing
Converted customers returned approximately three times per month during the first three months after trial.
Compounding Customer Value
The audience generated measurable value quickly, with the strongest new customer spending $70 within six months.
At the same time, existing MiO customers discovered new flavors, creating an additional layer of portfolio engagement.
Rather than treating sampling as a broad awareness tactic, MiO used its merchandise as a measurable acquisition and retention channel.
Why the Targeting Worked
The campaign demonstrated that effectivetargeting does not need to be overly complex.
Swish began with one clear behavioralsignal:
Frequent premium bottled-watershoppers are highly relevant prospects for MiO.
That signal was simple, but strategicallymeaningful. It connected an existing shopper habit with a product capable ofenhancing the same consumption occasion.
Swish translated the insight into areal-time audience, delivered the product directly into qualifying orders, andmeasured the purchasing behavior that followed.
The results proved that a focusedaudience strategy could generate both incremental customer growth and sustainedrepeat purchase.
Value created for Stater Bros. Markets
The campaign helped Stater Bros. turn existing shopper behavior into relevant product discovery and incremental sales.
The program enabled the retailer to:
- Introduce premium water shoppers to an adjacent hydration product
- Drive new-to-brand customer acquisition
- Increase future purchase frequency
- Support flavor discovery among loyal MiO customers
- Generate incremental sales from repeat purchasing
- Create measurable value from first-party purchase data
The result expanded the hydration occasion beyond bottled water alone, creating value for the shopper, MiO, and the retailer.
CONCLUSIONS
MiO did not need an overly complicated targeting model to create meaningful growth.
By identifying shoppers who frequently purchased premium bottled water, Swish helped MiO turn one simple behavioral signal into measurable customer acquisition and repeat velocity.
The campaign generated 65% net-new-to-brand conversions, a three-times monthly repeat rate, $14 in average measured customer value within three months, and a highest-value new customer worth $70 within six months.
At the same time, MiO introduced new flavors to loyal customers, supporting deeper engagement across the portfolio.
This is the power of Merchandise as Media: using a relevant physical product experience to turn existing shopper behavior into discovery, repeat purchase, and measurable retail velocity.
FEATURED RESULTS
About Swish
Swish Commerce is the Programmatic Sampling platform transforming Merchandise into Media.
Swish enables brands and retailers to add the right full-size product to the right customer order at the right time using retailer first-party data and real-time basket signals.
Unlike traditional sampling, Swish makes product trial targeted, automated and measurable—helping brands acquire new customers, drive repeat purchases and build retail velocity while enabling retailers to create discovery, category growth and incremental revenue.
Right basket. Right product. Right time