Customer loyalty is a world of moving targets. Consumer behaviour is shifting constantly, as are the tactics deployed by marketers. But there’s one marked shift that isn’t going to disappear any time soon: mobile. Here’s why you need to invest in digital loyalty cards now.
Smartphones and Wi-Fi access are ubiquitous.
Consumers are increasingly using mobile devices to shop, browse and spend. This trend is reflected in our research which shows consumers’ preference for mobile and digital loyalty programs and how they want brands to target them.
59% of older millennials (25-34 year-olds) want a loyalty scheme to offer a digital option
After a preference for having multiple merchants involved, the top way that consumers would improve loyalty schemes would be by giving them a digital element. In fact, 18% of respondents said the biggest complaint they have ever experienced with customer loyalty schemes is the inconvenience of having to remember to bring the physical vouchers or cards; an issue that would be mitigated with digital loyalty cards.
Experiences are expected to be digital
Our recent whitepaper shows a clear need for digital loyalty options amongst today’s consumers. This is particularly true of millennials aged 18-34 years old. They are rapidly adapting to the age of data collection and have come to expect experiences, benefits, rewards, services, entertainment and information to be customised to their conscious needs and often sub-conscious habits.
59% of Generation Y (25–34 year olds) also said it was important to access their loyalty program via a mobile device. Find out more insights in our Reload your Loyalty research.
Generic communications threaten loyalty
Receiving excessive generic communications from merchants was the most common reason (24%) for 18-24 year-olds quitting loyalty schemes. By digitising your loyalty scheme you can communicate with customers via their preferred channel and analyse performance of digital messages in real-time.
Take this example. If push notifications for a certain promotion are dismissed by your customers, you’ll be notified in real-time. In having real-time insights into campaign performance you can react to audience behaviour and adapt messaging and offers instead of overwhelming customers with ineffective messaging.
Find out more about digital messaging software with real-time performance data.
18-34 year olds demand digital wallets
40.5 % of 18–34 year olds want to be able to monitor their points with a digital wallet and 41% of 18–34 year olds want to be able to redeem their points using a smartphone.
The desire for mobile and digital loyalty cards is clear, and will only grow as millennial spending patterns become the norm and Generation Z comes of age. To make sure that loyalty programs retain their appeal, retailers, brands and restaurants need to embrace digital.
Digital loyalty schemes reduce fraud
Digital schemes bring huge benefits to merchants. Unique digital codes eliminate the likelihood of the mal-redemption and misredemption of products that can occur with traditional paper-based bulk coupon campaigns. The unique code can only be processed once, and must match up with the item scanned before it can be redeemed, so it is effectively “burnt” at the point of sale.
Find out more about digital promotions with fraud-busting technology.
Convinced? Discover Eagle Eye Reward for digitising your loyalty scheme today.