Everyone wants to start the New Year off right and, for many, that means getting fit. For some retailers as well, the fitness theme is high atop their respective lists of priorities. For Sears, fitness is an integral part of its successful Shop Your Way loyalty program and now members can earn points toward purchases at Sears and Kmart by logging into the retailer’s fitness site, FitStudio.com, and tracking their physical activity.
The Points for Progress program works with fitness apps and devices — the device must be a Fitbit orBodyMedia brand, both sold by Sears — and with Netpulse-enabled fitness equipment at more than 500 gyms in the U.S. and Canada.
Sears is one of the nation’s largest sellers of treadmills, elliptical trainers, and home-gym setups, partly because it’s the exclusive retailer of NordicTrack other than NordicTrack itself.
Now Sears is positioning itself to be a go-to site for wearable fitness technology.
Sears spokesperson Brian Hanover told Loyalty 360 that, as a leading fitness retailer, Sears offers the best equipment and deals, as well as free fitness content, workouts and special tools at FitStudio.com to help people get and stay moving on their fitness journeys.
“With the new Points for Progress program, we saw the opportunity to reward members for getting active and living healthier lives by integrating our successful FitStudio.com community with our popular Shop Your Way program,” Hanover explained. “By registering for FitStudio.com, connecting a fitness app or device, and tracking activity, members earn Shop Your Way points that can be redeemed for merchandise in stores and online at Sears and Kmart.”
Member feedback is an important part of all Shop Your Way innovations, Hanover added.
“We always put our members first,” he said. “The beauty of the FitStudio Points for Progress program is that it combines a topic we know many of our members are passionate about – fitness – with something we know all of our members love – rewards. This program is a first-of-its-kind way for members to earn points just for getting active. Our goal is to be the ultimate fitness resource to help our members incorporate movement into their daily lives and stay fit. With Sears already America’s go-to source for fitness equipment large and small, FitStudio.com takes the next step by engaging members. The site features a wealth of fitness tips, articles, events, challenges, and the opportunity to tap into a community of like-minded people. Points for Progress brings the experience full circle through Shop Your Way by rewarding members for getting moving in 2014.”
During the company’s third-quarter earnings call, Sears Holdings Chairman and CEO Edward S. Lampert stressed a commitment to its loyal customers: “We are proactively transforming our business to a member-centric integrated retailer leveraging Shop Your Way™ to benefit from the changing retail landscape. We are transitioning from a business that has historically focused on running a store network into a business that provides and delivers value by serving its members in the manner most convenient for them: whether in store, in home or through digital devices. We are driving this transformation by investing in capabilities to enable members access to the broadest possible assortment of products and services, enhancing our membership benefits associated with SYW, developing digital and social relationships with our members, using data and analytics to make targeted offers and decisions delivered in real time and expanding our reach through Marketplace and delivery options.”
Lampert added that in the third quarter 70% of company sales were from Shop Your Way loyalty program members, up from 65% the previous quarter.
Almost any activity on FitStudio.com earns points in Shop Your Way, and there is no minimum required for users to redeem points.
Here are some examples of ways to earn points:
Join the #FitIn14 Challenge: Users earn $5 in points (5,000 points) for every 14 miles walked or run in 2014.
Get social: Interact with other members in the community and share progress via social media.
Compete: Sign up for challenges and compete with other members via a leader board.