Eagle Eye CSO Helen Slaven joined panellists at Retail Week 2017 to debate the future of customer loyalty in retail and beyond. Here are some of our key takeaways.
Consumers are more empowered than ever
The rapidly-changing loyalty landscape means shoppers have more power – power to choose one experience over another and power to leave a brand behind after a single poor experience. Loyalty needs to be earned, and this is increasingly difficult in a fickle market driven by discounts and deals. To stand out from the crowd we need to show understanding of our customers on a one-to-one level and create personalised rewards that really resonate.
Customers, especially millennials, now expect personalised and relevant messages to be delivered to their smartphones. In fact, nearly a quarter (24%) of 18-24-year-olds quit loyalty schemes as a result of receiving excessive generic communications (Reload your Loyalty).
Meanwhile retailers need to move away from the notion that customer data collection is synonymous with customer loyalty. We need to understand what is driving changes in customer behaviour, and close analysis of customer data is key to understanding this and achieving true loyalty. Through examination of shopper basket data we can create tailored rewards that are more likely to be redeemed and build a two-way dialogue with individual customers.
Customers expect the same level of interactivity in-store as they do online, and vice versa
In an era of chatbots, click-and-collect, and even digital mirrors, the lines between online and offline are more blurred than ever. But customer expectations have become sharper.
Customers expect the same experiences in-store as they do online, and vice versa. As digital seeps into the physical world online experiences need to be replicated in brick-and-mortar stores. While an omnichannel strategy is a key focus for most retailers, our research showed that it was still common for consumers to experience discrepancies between channels when engaging with a store.
Consumers are using their smartphones consistently, yet brands are failing to tap into this key communication channel when consumers are on-site, to enhance customer interaction with the business itself.
Simplification is key to providing value to the customer
We believe loyalty is embedded in customer experience, and should be making life easier for your customers. The Greggs app, for instance, offers a pre-paid solution for customers to credit their account and streamline the purchase process. From here customers receive highly targeted rewards based on their purchase history. Highly relevant promotions provide real value, while irrelevant promotions are the biggest threat to brand loyalty.
Loyalty schemes don’t need to be complicated to reap rewards. Whether plastic or digital, points-based or multi-tiered, the reward mechanism and redemption process needs to be as simple as possible. In simplifying the process it’s easier to collect and analyse data, and in turn understand consumers wants and habits to ultimately personalise end-rewards.
Key stats from Eagle Eye research
-
Less than 11% consumers use their mobiles to interact with a shop (likely to be because shops are not digitally enabled to allow for this)
-
68% consumer would find it helpful to be send vouchers to their phone whilst shopping
-
85% millennials are interested in receiving retailer promotions to their phones while in store
-
67% millennials said they had spotted discrepancies between online and offline promotions A quarter of UK consumers stop using loyalty programs due to lack of personalisation
-
59% of millennials stated that it was important for a loyalty scheme to offer a digital option
-
42% of consumers want their data to be used to incentive and reward them for their purchases and visits
-
28% of consumers want their data to be used to be sent personalised offers and messaged based on their preferences.
Interested in creating seamless, personalised promotions? Discover Eagle Eye Reward and get in touch for recommendations tailored to your business.