Most loyalty program members will spend more and shop more often if they can share their rewards with others, according to a new study by Directivity and Citrus.
According to the study, 65% of members want to share their benefits with family, friends, or a charity–and if they could share, 70% would shop more often and 45% would spend more.
Commissioned by strategic marketing company Directivity, digital agency Citrus and conducted by First Point Research and Consulting, the wide-ranging research titled, “Share the Love: 2014 consumer study into Australian loyalty programs,” provides in-depth insights including 44 findings into consumers’ relationships with loyalty programs.
What’s more, the research shows that 65% of members want to leave their rewards or points to someone else when they die.
Directivity CEO Adam Posner says in the report there is a strong opportunity for loyalty marketers to differentiate their programs since most programs don’t offer this feature.
“Apart from the big programs which offer a community connection or the option to give points to someone else, generally it’s not a big feature of loyalty programs,” Posner says.
The report also reveals more than a quarter (26%) of members have left a loyalty program in recent years related to following reasons: speed or earning and redeeming points, and unappealing offers.
“Make no mistake−if members have defected from a program, they’ve defected from the brand,” Citrus CEO Peter Noble says. “Loyalty programs are big business and a key touch point for a brand so marketers need to ask themselves: Remove a quarter of your membership and what impact would that have on your brand?” he says.
The study also shows that 57% of members prefer a traditional loyalty card over an app.
“There’s a status factor at play here,” Noble says. “Pulling out a card, especially if it’s a status-based program like a Black Amex or Myer Gold card, is not the same as using an app.”
Noble says marketers should let members choose their program interaction via a traditional card or app, since 31% want both.
When it comes to sharing data, the research indicates almost three-quarters of members (73%) are happy to have their buying behavior monitored in return for personalized offers. But more than half (52%) don’t like their personal details shared with other organizations.
“You must have an extremely good reason for requesting some of the more personally identifiable data from members such as mobile number and income,” Noble says.
The research, which was conducted by First Point Research and Consulting during the last quarter of 2013, comprised a national online panel of more than 1,000 consumers (men and women aged 16 and older who are members of at least one loyalty program). The research was structured to gain quantitative results with comparative analysis as well as qualitative insights.