Plenti, the first coalition loyalty program in the U.S., was a big hit for Rite Aid customers during the company’s first quarter.
“Perhaps, the biggest news of the quarter was our successful launch of wellness+ with Plenti, which is part of the first coalition loyalty program in United States,” Ken Martindale, Rite Aid’s President and COO, said during the company’s first-quarter earnings conference call on June 18, according to Seeking Alpha. “This enhancement to wellness+ allows our members to continue earning all of the terrific benefits that they’ve grown accustomed to over the past five years.”
What’s more, customers can now earn Plenti points in lieu of +UPs that can be redeemed for savings at Rite Aid and other Plenti partners. They can also redeem Plenti points that are earned at partner locations at their favorite Rite Aid store.
“Our store teams had done an excellent job of engaging our customers and explaining the tremendous value offered by this ground-breaking program,” Martindale added. “To date, Rite Aid has enrolled more than 10 million customers and our Plenti partners have enrolled millions more throughout the coalition. Last week at Rite Aid, our Plenti members accounted for two-thirds of the transactions that were tied to the Loyalty Card. It’s worth noting that we have also had significant success in engaging our Gold and Silver members, our most valuable and loyal customers in this enhanced loyalty offering.”
Rite Aid We also launched an integrated marketing campaign to support the introduction of wellness+ with Plenti.
“We are leveraging cable-television, network radio, traditional print and a multi-platform digital strategy,” Martindale said. “Other Plenti partners are also supporting the program with aggressive marketing campaigns and we are excited about this opportunity to reach new customers. We are pleased with the initial positive customer response to wellness+ with Plenti and look forward to building upon our early success.”
Plenti comes with the support of several major U.S. brands. In addition to Rite Aid, Plenti’s founding partners include American Express, AT&T, ExxonMobil, AT&T, Macy’s, and Nationwide; Direct Energy, Hulu.com and Enterprise Rent-A-Car are strategic partners. Plenti signifies the very first time U.S. consumers can take the points they earn in one industry and use them in another.
Through these collaborative efforts, coalition programs capitalize on the daily spending habits of very large groups of consumers. By offering standardized points structures that actually incentivize engagement with many different brands across many different industries, it affords consumers a greater degree of choice and flexibility, while also allowing the ability to quickly collect more meaningful rewards.