KEASBEY, N.J. — Grand reopening celebrations were held last month at five updated Price Rite Marketplace stores in ­Connecticut.

The upgrades follow a successful three-store pilot to test new design features, expanded fresh and private label offerings, and enhanced price savings at the Wakefern Food Corp. value grocery chain.

Shoppers at the remodeled stores encountered reduced prices on hundreds of everyday items, an expanded selection of Price Rite Marketplace brand merchandise, additions to the Wholesome Pantry organic and free-from product portfolio, and additional gluten-free offerings.

Shoppers were also introduced to new Drop Zone, Amazing Value! and Spot on Savings! concepts intended to enhance the shopping experience and make it easier to find the best deals. The store redesigns include new decor and a more vibrant color palette, a market-style produce department, LED lighting, improved signage and self-service checkouts that the company said offer shoppers greater speed and convenience.

The pilot, begun in October, tested a new layout and money-saving features that were a hit with shoppers, the company said, adding that the stores’ meat and produce selections and their Drop Zone deals boosted traffic by attracting new customers. The Drop Zone is envisioned as an in-store destination for shoppers seeking deals, special surprise buys and must-have products typically priced at $5 or less. The pilot also generated industry buzz, winning the National Grocers Association’s Creative Choice Award for outstanding marketing and merchandising in the supermarket industry.

“We are pleased with the success from our three-store pilot in Pennsylvania, where customers really responded to the new streamlined shopping experience and updated product mix,” said Jim Dorey, president of Price Rite Marketplace. “Now we’re proud to introduce this new store concept to our Connecticut shoppers in Cromwell, New Britain, West Hartford, Wethersfield and Windsor. We’ve taken what we learned and applied it to these five Connecticut stores.

“It’s the next step as we begin to roll out these important changes at all our stores.”

Price Rite Marketplace operates 65 supermarkets in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Maryland and Virginia. Wakefern’s more than 340 stores operate under the ShopRite, The Fresh Grocer and Dearborn Market banners as well.