Cam Thomson, Digital Marketing Manager, Canadian Tire Financial Services told Loyalty360 that the company sought differentiation and enhanced customer engagement through the launch of its new mPay & Play mobile app that is available to all holders of Canadian Tire’s Options MasterCard.
Users can pay for Canadian Tire store purchases, redeem loyalty points, unlock “badges” to collect bonus digital Canadian Tire money, and play the digital game for fun. The game is aimed at connecting with those customers who use their phones to perform price comparisons while shopping in stores.
This new app comes on the heels of a digital app and wallet card that was introduced by Canadian Tire last October. The digital loyalty program now has seven million users and ties Canadian Tire Money with customers’ purchase information in a way that the store’s long-used classic paper coupons did not,
Thomson offered an inside look at the exciting new mobile app lauch.
What factors prompted the new mobile app that serves as a mobile credit card, a store loyalty card, and a hockey game?
Meeting our customers’ needs has always been at the core of our digital innovation strategy. The Canadian Tire mPay & Play app was designed with our customers’ needs in mind. It offers our customers an opportunity to earn richer rewards, receive relevant offers, service and track their account on the go and pay using their phone at Canadian Tire. We also wanted to really differentiate ourselves from other apps in the market that serve a more functional purpose. To do that, we made sure we added value with something that is fun and exciting for our customers, which we accomplished with both the bonus rewards associated with the earning of badges, as well as the hockey game.
What are your goals for this app from a customer engagement/customer experience perspective?
Our goal is to encourage our customers to adopt and use the app to create a more relevant and meaningful relationship with their Canadian Tire Option MasterCard and the rewards that come along with it. Unlike other mobile payment apps in Canada, Canadian Tire mPay & Play is a payment solution that goes beyond mobile payments by offering Canadian Tire Options MasterCard and Options World MasterCard card members bonus rewards, exclusive offers, and quick and easy account servicing.
The mPay & Play app was built to complement the Canadian Tire Retail app as well as potential future payment apps that may come to Canada, and was designed to more deeply engage customers with all of the great benefits of their Options MasterCard. It provides our loyal customers with the ability to earn bonus rewards, receive great product offers and it offers them on-the-go account servicing from their smartphone.
As Canada’s oldest and most beloved retailer, we knew that the app needed to be about more than just payment; it needed to engage our card members with our card program in addition to the Canadian Tire brand and our other retail banners. Canadians love our stores, our products and our rewards program – so we needed an app that engaged members in these aspects of our brand. In short, we wanted to build a fun and exciting credit card app and we believe we did just that!
Did customer feedback play a role in the mobile app and, if so, in what way?
We’re always listening to our customers to enhance their in-store and online shopping experiences and have developed the mPay & Play app with them in mind. We took the time to ensure that what we were building would not only live up to, but exceed our members’ expectations of the Options MasterCard and the Canadian Tire brand.