Member Article

Upwardly mobile – addressing loyalty demands in 2016

Retailers are continuously developing loyalty programmes to recognise, reward and keep customers, yet a third of UK shoppers are disappointed in the levels of personalisation in current schemes, our latest report reveals.

With a typical shopper belonging to up to 3 loyalty schemes on average, the Omni-Illusion Report from iVend Retail highlights the importance that retailers recognise where loyalty can be improved to effectively retain and reward loyal shoppers in the omnichannel environment.

A great way to get consumers on-side is to incorporate mobile personalisation; as many as 26% of UK shoppers claimed that they would like personalised offers sent directly to their mobile device as they enter a physical store. Additionally, a quarter of consumers said they would benefit from regular incentives and offers being sent direct to their smartphone via an app, which would in turn enable them to claim rewards both online or in-store.

As well as personalisation another area that is highlighted as needing refinement is the fragmentation between online and in-store loyalty scheme rewards. Almost a half of UK consumers (48%) claimed to have missed out on offers by not claiming the reward before they expired. What’s more, 15% of UK consumers said that they often forget to use the loyalty cards in their wallets, meaning further rewards are unused in-store.

The- results highlight how today’s customers no longer differentiate between channels – they simply choose the channel that is most convenient to them at the time. A mobile-first strategy will enable retailers to connect with consumers on a personal level over a device that’s always to hand, engaging in a conversation where the retailer can understand the loyal customer and actively personalise incentives to suit consumer needs and interests.

For more insight into consumers’ attitudes to loyalty and how retailers can develop a 360⁰ approach to loyalty as part of their omnichannel strategies, RBTE visitors can download iVend’s latest Omni-Illusion report: http://www.ivend.com/ivend-resource-hub/.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Richard Kolodynski .