Improve your customer offering with digital loyalty schemes

Philippe Duchene, Head of Marketing & Communication at Ingenico Enterprise Retail in Europe

24.06.2020 07:45 am

Digital loyalty

People’s shopping habits have evolved. From selecting from an array of cards in one’s wallet or purse, consumers now tap their watch or phone to a terminal and in a matter of seconds a transaction is made.

Merchants are doing a good job at keeping up when it comes to payment preferences, but many are overlooking the benefits that virtual loyalty schemes can provide. Physical loyalty cards are cumbersome when you have everything else on one device, so they often end up left at home. This leaves customers missing out on great deals, and merchants losing a prime opportunity to reinforce brand loyalty and collect vital customer data.

Further, 75% of shoppers have confirmed they would engage with such schemes if they were available on their smartphone. That’s a huge margin retailers are missing out on if they don’t have an appropriate system. Fortunately, there is technology available to make this happen swiftly and easily. Let’s take a look at why and how merchants should make the change.

Customer is as customer does

Convenience is number one on the modern consumer’s checklist. With the rise of ecommerce, next-day delivery, and 4G enabling people to shop on the go, shoppers want it all, and they want it now.

As such, loyalty programmes need to reflect this shift. Gone are the days of stamping a paper card for a free coffee. Now, as payments capabilities are housed in digital wallets, consumers want everything all in the same place. And that’s understandable – it makes sense that at the same time as you tap your phone to make a payment, your digital wallet should also be able to register another purchase with the same merchant.Solutions such as Ingenico’s Tap & Connect can greatly assist merchants and customers with making this change. With this technology, customers are made aware of existing retailer loyalty programmes at checkout, and either prompted to join or informed of deals via a notification on their phone.

Merchant benefits

Happy customers will keep coming back. With digital loyalty systems in place and solutions such as Tap & Connect, merchants can sign new members up quickly and easily, without relying on staff – an essential for self-service tills!

Data collection is also a fantastic tool often underutilised by retailers. By collecting data insights – such as regular purchases, latest visits etc. - you can forge unique, more personal relationships with customers, offering them a better consumer experience which they then spread via word of mouth.

What’s more, no longer do merchants need to spend time working out what loyalty benefits customers are due – discounts and benefits can be calculated and implemented automatically and in real time, reducing friction for both shopper and retailer.

Personalisation wins

Loyalty schemes are crucial for improving the shopping experience, with customers benefitting from better deals and a personalised experience thanks to better data insights on the merchant side. Improving the customer experience and adding value via loyalty schemes are great ways to engage new shoppers as well as promote repeat custom. Ultimately, mobile wallet innovation and ‘tap and connect’ capabilities transform merchants’ ability to offer more, develop their processes and expand their customer base.

To find out more about how you can benefit from a digitised loyalty scheme and transform your relationship with consumers, get in contact with Ingenico Enterprise Retail today at www.ingenico.co.uk/omnichannel or get a copy of our Forging Fidelity paper https://business.ingenico.com/en/forging-fidelity-position-paper