Mobile first: getting the best out of loyalty programmes

The recent article by Memeburn staff writer Nur Bremmen ‘Should South African loyalty programmes reward social media engagement?’ shared excellent insights about loyalty programmes in South Africa. I would like to add to the discourse by providing additional insight as a mobile transaction platform provider and loyalty app developer to some of our country’s best known retailers.

Right now consumers, retailers and brands are feeling the pinch. Economic turmoil and the recent interest rate hike is curtailing discretionary spending. Consumers are looking to make their money stretch as far as possible, and brands need to work harder to keep customers happy. The question is, how can brands survive these turbulent times?

You can’t buy loyalty

Loyalty pays, especially during a slowdown. However, what we need to understand is that today we are dealing with tech-savvy consumers, and loyalty programmes need to adapt their models to meet the new consumer’s needs.

Research shows that loyal customers are more profitable in the long run, so there is no time like the present to reward their loyalty through enhanced programmes. Programmes that provide discounts, as well as an element of ‘surprise and delight’ when the consumer is rewarded beyond their expectation.

Great expectations

With the uptake of mobile technology and the familiarisation of mobile payments, consumers today expect a seamless transacting experience, and the same goes for loyalty. The clunky systems of the past where a consumer would need to pay with one card, present a loyalty card and earn points is no longer good enough. Mobile easily converts this into a seamless experience.

In fact, it is consumers’ desire for seamless, compelling and personalised brand experience that is driving the next generation of customer loyalty: Loyalty 2.0. By making loyalty programmes more accessible through technology, customers are more likely to actively engage with them. Mobile could be the solution to drive more South Africans to use loyalty programmes.

In the US, mobile coupons are part of daily shopping habits and are a key driver of engagement and loyalty. An estimated 71.4 million of American adults will have redeemed a coupon using their smartphone by the end of 2015 as predicted by Statista Inc. research.

Local retail adopts mobile

Mobile enabled loyalty is already at play in South Africa. Shoprite Group’s Eezicouponsw delivers instant shopping discounts via its mobile app, bringing considerable savings to local shoppers, attracting new customers and building loyalty with existing one. It also serves up valuable data to continually drive a more relevant shopper experience. vida e caffe’s loyalty app seamlessly integrates real-time loyalty accrual, payments and gifting through one easy-to-use app. In this same vein, some of South Africa’s largest retailers are exploring the enablement of point-of-sale integrated mobile payments in their stores, this is a natural conduit to mobile enabled loyalty programmes.

Mobile solutions provide retailers with real-time data about their customers’ buying behaviours by integrating with the retailer’s point-of-sale system. Having real-time data at their fingertips enables retailers to know their customer better, and efficiently target and personalise offers.

No matter what shape or form loyalty programmes take, ease of use and value delivered will be the ultimate differentiators for brands.