Implementing A Loyalty Program For Shoppers

One of the biggest takeaways I spotted from Intuit Mailchimp’s analysis of the 2024 holiday shopping season is that the new year is ripe with new opportunities to drive loyalty. Here’s why → 64% of orders from Mailchimp customers with connected stores came from new customers during Cyber Weekend 2024. That's a huge opportunity to grow your loyal customer base! And research we produced with Canvas8 tells us that the best kept secret to driving loyalty is actually grounded in science. Our Loyalty Wheel reveals 4 key drivers of loyalty: 1. Reward: Our brains love rewards. Create a sense of reciprocity by offering exclusive deals, personalized discounts, or early access to new products. 2. Memory: Make it easy for customers to remember (and repeat!) positive experiences with your brand. Design a frictionless customer journey, offer subscriptions for frequently purchased items, and send well-timed reminders. 3. Emotion: Foster an emotional connection that goes beyond transactional exchanges. Align your brand with causes your customers care about, share authentic stories, and build a sense of community. 4. Social Interaction: Encourage customers to share their love for your brand with friends and family. Create opportunities for user-generated content, run refer-a-friend programs, or host exclusive events. And here's how to put it all into action: 🎉 Surprise and delight: Gift your customers with unexpected rewards. And just not generic discounts. Offer exclusive experiences or partner with like-minded brands to create unique offers. 🛝 Streamline every touchpoint: Remove friction in the customer journey with automation. From browsing to purchasing to post-purchase support, make it easy and enjoyable to do business with your brand. 🎯 Prioritize personalization: Craft your messaging and build authentic connections. Use data and AI analysis to understand your customers' values and preferences and use those insights to create content that resonates. 🤗 Give VIP treatment: Make your customers feel like VIPs. Give them early access to new products, invite them to exclusive events, or feature them on your social media channels. Download Mailchimp and Canvas8’s The Science of Loyalty and The Strategic Loyalty Playbook for a deep dive into the science, complete with actionable strategies and inspiring examples: https://bit.ly/49FJayO Make 2025 the year of the loyal customer. You got this.

This is a top mistake I see during loyalty program launches: NOT showing members anything about their current status during the ecommerce journey. Sure, we have a landing page, a CRM campaign, and a banner promoting the new program. But after signup, our members don’t see a single thing about loyalty (points, tiers, rewards) until AFTER they make a purchase. This approach leaves a ton of member value on the table. Members don’t understand what they’re getting from the program, and don’t take any incremental actions when it matters most. We need to ensure two things are true: (1) Members know what they have earned, will earn, and could earn (2) Members know what future redemption opportunities they are working toward When these things are true, we get the most out of our program – making it more likely that members will do the things we want them to do. These include: →  Stretch basket size / spend  →  Increase conversion →  Accelerate next purchase →  Increase reward redemption →  Decrease member churn We need to nail four things to maximize the value here. They are: 👀 VISIBILITY Loyalty value needs to be displayed on key journey steps including the product detail page, cart, checkout, order confirmation, and banners. 🔁 CONSISTENCY The frontend display logic and the actual backend earn/redeem logic must be managed in the same workflows (and shown / adjusted in real-time). 🛠️ CUSTOMIZATION We must be able to adjust earn & redeem logic as we see fit – e.g. double points on new drops, bonus points for baskets over $100. 🎯 PERSONALIZATION We must be able to change the value proposition both based on customer data, AND based on in-session behavior. So why do brands so often miss here? The main blocker here is technology. If the loyalty system is slow and rigid, then showing this information is going to be too painful. That’s why we’ve made this such a huge part of how we’ve built Talon.One. We are “cart-native” and offer the most flexible loyalty & promotion engine on the market. That means we can show precise value propositions in real-time at every critical step of the member journey. If your loyalty program is nowhere to be found on ecommerce, we are happy to chat and share a few pointers & case studies to bring it to life.  Send me a DM or grab time with our team here:  https://lnkd.in/dRpstHW9

This visual is worth the zoom! I can’t switch off when it comes to retail. I walk around shops unable to stop myself analysing consumer behaviour, unpicking the tactics of pricing, placement and loyalty, while obsessively trying to connect the dots. I find it fascinating to see how retail brands understand the subtle yet powerful ways in which psychological principles shape consumer decisions. It’s been so interesting to see how membership pricing has spread throughout the industry, reshaping loyalty schemes. Our latest collaboration with Vypr delves into more detail on exactly this subject, exploring concepts, backed by data such as: 🔹 Self-Perception Theory: Loyalty pricing reinforces consumer identity. 59% of members feel emotionally connected to brands due to exclusive member pricing, creating committed brand advocates. 🔹 Scarcity effect: Limited-access deals significantly boost urgency—16% of non-members seriously consider joining schemes upon seeing exclusive member-only prices.  🔹 Anchoring and trust: This works by setting a reference point in consumers’ minds, helping them judge the value of membership pricing more favourably. By clearly communicating comparisons and long-term benefits, retailers can turn sceptical shoppers into loyal members who are confident they’re making the right choice. On average, 12% of members and 62% of non-members feel sceptical about membership scheme savings. 🔹 Social proof: 61% of members actively recommend their preferred loyalty schemes to family and friends, magnifying brand credibility and consumer acquisition. The deeper impact lies in how membership schemes fundamentally alter purchasing patterns: ✅ Frequency and basket size: 70% of members shop more frequently, with 63% more likely to buy impulsively. Membership creates habits translating directly into sustained higher spending. ✅ Segmented personalisation: Tailored rewards are essential. Strict budgeters respond strongly to tangible savings; affluent shoppers prioritise exclusivity and premium experiences, significantly influencing retention. Retailers who integrate behavioural psychology into their loyalty strategies is nothing new. But those that do it well, adapting to the huge number of distracts out there to cut through the noise are securing a competitive advantage. Explore these critical insights and unlock the full strategic potential of your loyalty programmes by downloading the full report: https://lnkd.in/eSrRR3R4 #LoyaltySchemes #RetailTrends #ConsumerInsights #RetailEconomics #Vypr

What if loyalty wasn't about collecting points, but about never wanting to leave? Last week, I watched my friend debate between booking through MakeMyTrip or Tata Neu for the same flight. Same price. Same seat. Same airline. But she chose Tata Neu. Why? Because those NeuCoins would work for her grocery run at BigBasket. Her mom's medicines from 1mg. That laptop she's been eyeing at Croma. That's when it hit me. Tata Neu didn't just build a loyalty program. They made leaving feel expensive. Here's what they figured out that others missed: Your flight booking earns coins for your grocery shopping. Your electronics purchase funds your next vacation. Suddenly, loyalty isn't about one brand. It's about your entire spending pattern. The switching cost becomes emotional. It's not just about losing points anymore. It's about rebuilding your entire reward strategy from scratch. Why start at zero somewhere else when you're already winning everywhere here? This is what I call ecosystem capture. While most brands fight for your attention in one category, Tata Neu quietly owns your wallet across categories. The more you use it, the more expensive it becomes to not use it. The genius move? You don't stay because you love Tata. You stay because leaving costs too much. I started thinking about my own behavior after this. Have you ever found yourself trapped in a loyalty ecosystem? What made switching feel too expensive to consider? Because once you see how these webs are built, you realize we're not just loyal customers. We're invested participants.

𝗡𝗲𝘅𝘁-𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗮𝗹𝘁𝘆: 𝟱 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱+ 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 As customer expectations evolve, loyalty programs are undergoing a major transformation. I recently came across the Talon.One “𝗟𝗼𝘆𝗮𝗹𝘁𝘆 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱” 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 (or even beyond 2025, why should trends just change from December to January? 😉 ) - an insightful resource offering a deep dive into best practices and emerging trends. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝟱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀:  💳𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻-𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗮𝗹𝘁𝘆: The subscription economy has grown 435% in the last decade - and loyalty is catching up. Brands like Adore Me and The RealReal are using tiered memberships to drive recurring revenue, deepen engagement, and collect richer customer data. 🎮𝗚𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗴𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺: From Chipotle’s “Burrito Vault” to Burger King’s nostalgic “Balloon Burst,” gamified experiences are turning transactions into entertainment. Expect more leaderboards, sweepstakes and interactive challenges that boost engagement and brand love. 🌱𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗮𝗹𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗴𝗼𝗹𝗱: Sustainability is no longer optional. With 62% of Gen Z favoring eco-conscious brands, programs like H&M’s garment recycling and The RealReal’s consignment rewards are turning green behavior into loyalty currency. 🎁𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀-𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀: Brands are creating buzz with exclusive “member weeks.” Think Amazon Prime Day, Target Circle Week, or Walmart+ Week - high-impact events that drive sales, sign-ups, and long-term loyalty. 🤖𝗔𝗜-𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: AI is finally delivering on its promise. Starbucks’ Deep Brew engine tailors offers in real time, boosting redemptions by 20%. Expect smarter, more predictive loyalty programs that adapt to individual behaviors. 👉 Loyalty is about more than just points - 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲, 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆. Is your brand ready?   #CapgeminiInvent #GetTheFutureYouWant #Loyalty #CustomerExperience   Download the full report here: https://bit.ly/3IH61AG

You don’t build loyalty through rewards—you reward customers for already being loyal. Big difference. Loyalty programs are primarily designed for customers who have already demonstrated consistent engagement and loyalty to your brand. The goal isn’t to create loyalty through rewards, but to recognize and strengthen it. By offering rewards, perks, and recognition, you can maximize their lifetime value, whether by increasing purchase frequency, boosting basket size, or encouraging referrals. Tactics like tiered rewards, exclusive access, and personalized incentives help reinforce their commitment and make them feel valued. 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀:  For customers with the potential to become loyal, the strategy shifts. These customers have shown higher engagement but haven't fully crossed into the loyal customer category. To convert them, 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 is key. Tailor rewards based on their behaviors and preferences to create a sense of exclusivity and recognition. It’s also crucial to stay top of mind through strategic touchpoints—whether via targeted email campaigns, loyalty app notifications, or personalized offers that speak directly to their interests. Offering a path to higher-tier rewards as they engage more frequently can further motivate them to commit to your brand long-term. 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀:  Casual customers require a different approach. They won’t become loyal overnight, and the objective here is gradual nurturing. For this segment, it's all about increasing touchpoints and staying relevant. Broader offers, such as discounts, time-sensitive promotions, or entry-level rewards, help keep them engaged without overwhelming them. The goal is to activate them periodically, ensuring they interact with your brand from time to time. By keeping consistent offers flowing, you maintain visibility, and over time, some of these casual customers may transition into the potential loyal customer segment. ----- Ultimately, loyalty is about retention, not conversion. The focus is on maintaining a strong relationship with those who already support your brand and steadily nurturing others to deepen their commitment over time.

Discounts aren’t killing your profit margins. They’re killing your brand. Bold? Maybe! But after working with high level e-commerce clients, I’ve seen this pattern repeat far too often. Here’s why discounting is a trap and what you should do instead: One client of mine was stuck in a "discount or die" cycle Offering 20-30% off constantly. Their sales were decent, but: - Profit margins? Shrinking. - Customers? Loyal only to the discounts, not the brand. So, what did we do? We threw the discounts out the window and Implemented this no-discount blueprint: 1️⃣ Stack the Value →Instead of cutting prices, we built bundles with exclusive perks: Premium products + personalized add-ons. ↳ Result: 45% higher average order value – no discounts needed. 2️⃣ Scarcity That Matters → We launched limited-edition products Based on actual customer demand. No fake urgency, just genuine exclusivity. ↳ Impact: A 167% increase in full-price purchases. 3️⃣ Reward Loyalty, Not Bargain Hunters → We created a loyalty program focused on engagement: Early access, exclusive content, priority service. ↳ Result: 78% higher customer lifetime value. 4️⃣ Premium is a Mindset → Redesigned their brand story to scream exclusivity: - Behind-the-scenes storytelling - Expert-led masterclasses - Premium unboxing experiences ↳ Outcome in 6 months: ✅ Profit margins: +34% ✅ Customer retention: +56% ✅ Brand perception: +89% Discounts train customers to wait for sales. Value trains them to stay for the brand. P.S. - Want to escape the discount spiral? Let’s build a strategy that scales your profits and positions your brand as the premium choice. Drop a “Yes” in my DMs if you’re ready to level up. (And no, this doesn’t include a 20% off strategy.) But you can Follow me to learn more things about SEO. #EcommerceStrategy #MarketingStrategy #BrandPerception

This isn’t a loyalty launch. It’s Lazada quietly telling the market where SEA commerce is heading next. Lazada rolling out a tiered membership programme across six Southeast Asian markets isn’t about perks, free shipping, or discounts. It’s about one thing most people still underestimate in SEA: "Retention is now more valuable than reach". For the last decade, SEA ecommerce was built on: - acquisition - campaigns - GMV spikes - subsidies That phase is ending. The e-Conomy SEA 2025 report is clear: the region has entered its monetisation and optimisation era — where growth comes from repeat behaviour, not just first orders. From the trenches, this Lazada move lines up with three shifts happening right now across SG, MY, TH, ID, VN and PH: 1️.  Marketplaces are competing on habit, not traffic ECDB and Forrester data both show that once consumers default to a platform for everyday purchases, price becomes secondary. Tiered membership is how platforms: - lock in frequency - surface higher-margin SKUs - stabilise demand outside mega-campaigns This isn’t “loyalty marketing.” It’s behaviour design. 2️.  Platforms are moving upstream — from sellers to systems Earlier, we saw Shopee allocate billions into SME enablement for 2026. That wasn’t charity — it was supply-side discipline. Lazada’s membership move is the demand-side mirror of the same strategy: - better buyers - more predictable orders - cleaner cohorts - higher lifetime value Together, these moves signal that platforms are now engineering both sides of the flywheel. 3️.  SEA consumers are ready for this — but only if value is real DataReportal and National Retail Federation research show SEA consumers are not anti-membership — they’re anti-empty membership. They reward: - faster fulfilment - clearer returns - exclusive access - consistent experience Not points for the sake of points. That’s why tiering matters. It aligns benefits with actual behaviour, not just sign-ups. What this means for brands and retailers in SEA If marketplaces are shifting from GMV to member-centric economics, brands need to rethink how they win inside these ecosystems: - You don’t optimise just for campaigns anymore - You optimise for repeat, rank, and retention - Your product, pricing, fulfilment and creator strategy now determine whether you benefit from the membership flywheel — or get buried by it   Bottom line: Lazada’s tiered membership isn’t about loyalty. It’s about who owns the daily shopping habit in SEA. And the next phase of competition won’t be louder. It’ll be stickier. Disclaimer: Views are my own and based on publicly available insights from Retail Asia, e-Conomy SEA 2025, ECDB, Forrester, NRF, Cube, DataReportal and on-ground operator experience. This does not represent any employer, marketplace or partner. #ecommerce #onlineshopping https://lnkd.in/g97vcxiX

82.6% of Click's sales came from one thing. Not paid ads. Not foot traffic. Not even their pharmacy offering. ClubCard! (Source: Eyewitness News, 23 Oct 2025) Let me break down what just happened, because this is a masterclass in loyalty economics that every exec should be studying. The numbers that matter: → 14% profit growth in a year where most retailers are in survival mode → 12.6 million active ClubCard members (up from 12.1M just 6 months ago) → 82.6% of total sales driven by loyalty members → 30 years of compounding customer lifetime value That last one; That's the insight everyone's missing. Here's what Clicks actually built: Most brands think loyalty = discount. Clicks built something different: a behavioral data moat wrapped in everyday utility. They didn't just give points. They studied purchase patterns, personalized offers, and created an Affinity programme with partners that actually matter to their customers. The result; Members who've been scanning that card since 1995. Think about that ROI curve. CEO Bertina Engelbrecht said it perfectly: "When you have the kind of loyal customer base that we have, that augurs very well for your continued growth." Translation: Predictable revenue. Lower acquisition costs. Premium customer intelligence. The kind of moat that makes competitors scramble to "upgrade" their own programmes. Why this matters now: In a market where consumers are squeezed, brands that own the customer relationship win. Not the loudest. Not the cheapest. The most trusted. ClubCard isn't a discount card. It's a 30-year trust deposit that's now paying compound interest. What's replicable here: ✓ Make value immediate, not aspirational ✓ Use data to personalize, not just segment ✓ Pick partners strategically (their Affinity model is brilliant) ✓ Play the long game — 30 years of iteration beats copying competitors Massive respect to Bertina Engelbrecht , Melanie Van Rooy Craig Small , Mamusa Stulweni , and your colleagues You've built the kind of loyalty architecture that finance teams love, and marketing teams wish they had. The real question: If 82.6% revenue concentration from a loyalty programme is your STRENGTH and not a risk — what does that tell you about the power of owning customer behavior?

I’ve Long Wondered Why More Banks Didn’t Follow BofA’s Rewards Playbook PNC just announced TotalRewards, a new relationship‑based loyalty program spanning banking, lending, and credit cards 👇. - Tiered rewards structure based on combined deposit and investment balances (Silver/Gold/Platinum) - Enhanced credit card rewards, savings rate boosts, and fee‑avoidance tied to relationship depth - Cash rewards on certain lending products (mortgage, home equity, auto), not just rate discounts - Automatic Silver‑tier status for eligible military members, regardless of balance 💡 PNC game changer. If the TotalRewards structure looks familiar, it’s because it closely mirrors the Bank of America Preferred Rewards framework, long held up as the gold standard in enterprise bank loyalty. It is also a reminder that these programs take years to design, test, pilot, and roll out. By the time TotalRewards launched, Bank of America had already evolved its approach with BofA Rewards, extending entry level membership regardless of balance. The takeaway is not criticism. It is how quickly the competitive bar can move relative to bank build cycles. That said, this is still a meaningful step for PNC, which prioritized building something durable for the bank and meaningful for customers. 💡💡Cash rewards on lending. Most banks express lending benefits through rate discounts or fee reductions. PNC’s decision to pay some of that value in cash, specifically for auto and home equity loans, makes the benefit more visible and positions lending as an active contributor to loyalty. PNC isn’t replacing rate discounts but is adding cash rewards on top, enhancing the value for customers without changing the underlying economics. 💡💡💡Recognizing the military. Automatically granting Silver status to military members is uncommon among large banks. Rather than offering parallel fee relief, PNC embeds recognition directly into its rewards hierarchy, signaling relationship value. It will be interesting to see whether this becomes a visible part of PNC’s marketing or remains a quieter design choice.