With retailers’ rewards programs getting increasingly sophisticated. Preferred customers can get discounts: points they can turn into store credit. Coupons printed on sales receipts. The opportunity to buy merchandise before the general public — even secret password and birthday sales.
At Talbots. Black Card customers — anyone with a store-branded credit card who spends $1.000 annually — were given a sneak peek and chance to order the spring collection early. Old Navy. the bargain-priced division of Gap Inc.. had a secret sale last year. with its $8.50 camisoles for $2.
To receive the discount shoppers had to flash
A coupon or say to a sales associate “Cami for me.” The clothing store Anthropologie offers discounts to Anthro card members on their birthdays. DSW does as well. along with another coupon on shoppers’ half-birthdays.
What began as a barcode fob for grocery store coupons in the 1990s has evolved into a high-tech way for retailers to track the every move of their biggest. most-frequent spenders. Stores can market to shoppers directly based on the products they buy. aiming to win an even greater share of their wallets. in retailer parlance. Of course. to reap rewards. shoppers must first establish themselves as frequent customers. About three out of four Americans belong to a retail loyalty card program. according to ACI Worldwide. which handles electronics payment for hundreds of retailers and financial institutions.
This discounts are worth it to stores in order
To keep the most loyal customers happy. Fifteen percent of a retailer’s most loyal customers can account for as much as half of its sales. says overseas data Keith Jelinek. director in the retail division of consulting firm AlixPartners. It takes between 12 and 20 new customers to replace a lost loyal customer. says Keith Colbourn. vice president. global loyalty practice leader at Dunnhumby. an analytics firm that works with retail giants Tesco PLC and Macy’s Inc.
CVS/Pharmacy connected its rewards program with its social media efforts. Just before Easter. CVS/Pharmacy asked its Facebook fans to vote on whether they liked Cadbury Creme Eggs or marshmallow Peeps. Coupons for the winning item — $1 off two eggs — were loaded into the in-store coupon center for one day. “We delivered real value. instantaneously. on the basis of their interests.” says Rob Price. chief marketing officer for CVS/Pharmacy. the retail division of CVS Caremark Corp. (NYSE: CVS – News).
To get discounts. shoppers must hand
Over personal data. Often. the more cold calling real estate: boosting roi with targeted lead generation details given. the more discounts received. which brings up the issue of data privacy and the corresponding pitfalls.
Floor staff at J.Crew. Ann Taylor and other retailers routinely ask shoppers for their email addresses and nearly every chain store. from Walgreens to Wet Seal. has a spot on its website for consumers to sign up to receive store emails. It’s a quick.
Cheap way for a retailer to tell shoppers
About deals and discounts — and china leads arguably the least invasive piece of information a shopper can give a retailer.
In order to receive their emails. many retailers also will require a name and. in some cases a ZIP code or a date of birth. Some take it a step further and ask users to set up an online account that requires a login. allowing a retailer to track how often they visit the site. as well as what items draw their attention.
At J.C. Penney. shoppers can give a cellphone number to receive as many as eight mobile coupons a month. Old Navy shoppers can receive text messages with details on the featured item of the week.