When offered the chance to sign-up for a retail loyalty program, I almost always agree as long as it doesn’t cost me anything to join. I never know what the benefits will be down the road, but it doesn’t take long to do an extra swipe at checkout. For years I’ve been a member of the reward program at Shaw’s Supermarkets. It’s the grocery store that’s closest to my house and, despite the occasional lack of great looking produce, it’s where we shop every week. In our busy household convenience trumps quality almost every time.
During each shopping trip, the cashier simply asks for our Shaw’s card and, after we’ve gotten past the pain of watching the total climb over $325, we cross our fingers in hopes that our loyalty savings brings that to below the dreaded $300 mark. The instant gratification of watching the savings climb and the total fall is almost worth the hour-long trip each week. If the cashier waits to swipe the card until the end then it’s even more exciting as the savings racks up before our eyes like a winning slot machine dumping silver dollars into our tray. Although I realize the “savings” are a bit contrived, my right-brain enjoys the emotional impact of the whole experience.
But beyond the instantaneous feel-good savings, the smart marketers at Shaw’s did something even better. In 2008, they teamed up with Gulf and Irving gas stations through an affiliate network called Override to provide substantial savings on fuel just for shopping at Shaw’s (and now Dunkin’ Donuts too). The savings are available immediately at the pump and for our weekly grocery bill we save roughly $.60 per gallon or about $10 per week when filling up our Honda Odyssey. I don’t know about you, but an extra $40 each month for doing nothing but my usual routine is pretty rewarding. What I love about this program is the simplicity of the redemption process, requiring nothing more than continuing to shop at Shaw’s and using our loyalty card. said “It’s incredibly easy to use, and you don’t have to do anything except shop for your groceries like normal….it’s a no-brainer.” For other happy customer testimonials, check out the Override Member Stories.
If you’ve got a loyalty program, think about how easy it is for customers to be loyal to you. Is your program a “no-brainer” or are you making it difficult for customers to redeem their savings with paper coupons and rebates that rarely get used (like the ones I get from Best Buy). Now thanks to the cool iPhone app called Wallet Zero, retailers can scan their loyalty program barcode right off my iPhone eliminating the need to carry around all those crazy tags on my key chain. Look out for more mobile apps like these that will help smart retailers turn loyalties into royalties.
Recent price I paid for gas:
I love that feeling, up here in Canada we have Loblaws, I have their credit card that gives 1% cashback on groceries. Nothing like going to the cash and getting your groceries for free (or drastically reduced), don’t like seeing my visa bill though!
I also think of the value those cards have to the company, knowing all your shopping trends, makes marketing almost fail proof if you can directly target exactly what I want.
Hi Paolo,
Thanks for the comment! It’s funny how they’ve been collecting data about my shopping habits for years, but have never tried to market to me through e-mail or other on-line channels.
Matt
I love the loyalty programs as well, almost specifically for the return on my gas purchases. And I do like it better when they swipe the card after — it’s like sweet relief. What I don’t like is having to fill out the application to become a loyal member or “said store.” Shouldn’t the store be able to get my information by swiping my credit card? That would make me say yes to those stores that I only go to once every few months for a big purchase.
Tom,
Good point – making it easier to become a program member by swiping a credit card would be great for the consumer. This would also help to create a “universal” rewards program similar to what Override has done whereby shopping in one store provides benefits in another.
Matt
I am partial to the American Airlines frequent flyer program having lived in Texas for sometime – not only for the free trips and early boarding privilege. The status is invaluable when you are re-booking due to cancellation.
Other than that I find most loyalty programs a painful distraction – I always feel like I am missing something but due to my ADHD-like shopping habits I seldom enroll. Same reason I don’t clip coupons…
Only two things drive my loyalty – shopping experience and customer service. Panera has treated me well; Applebees has lost me for life since ruining a family outing about 10 years ago.