As consumers increasingly engage with loyalty programs, especially in the food & grocery and health & beauty sectors, retailers need to ensure that their loyalty offerings are appealing. According to GlobalData the additional benefits that consumers can receive through loyalty programs serve as a highly effective method for retailers to distinguish themselves from their competitors.
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GLOAs consumers increasingly engage with loyalty programs, especially in the food & grocery and health & beauty sectors, retailers need to ensure that their loyalty offerings are appealing. According to GlobalData the additional benefits that consumers can receive through loyalty programs serve as a highly effective method for retailers to distinguish themselves from their competitors.
GlobalData’s recent thematic report titled “Thematic Intelligence: Customer Loyalty in Retail and Apparel“ highlights how FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) specialists, in particular, encounter challenges in fostering customer loyalty due to their highly interchangeable offerings. This underscores the importance for such retailers to offer perks through loyalty programs in order to maintain and expand their market share.
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Oliver Maddison, a Retail Analyst at GlobalData, remarks that beyond the competitive advantages they offer to retailers, loyalty schemes provide significant opportunities for enhancing customer service through data collection. Retailers can leverage the data collected on consumers’ shopping behaviors to tailor campaigns to specific consumer segments, customize promotions, and ensure their offerings remain pertinent.
According to GlobalData’s How People Shop Survey 2023, 55.3% of consumers stated that loyalty scheme incentives frequently or always influence their product selections in the food & grocery sector, with 52.1% expressing the same sentiment for health & beauty products.
Maddison underscores the importance of grocers and health & beauty specialists making their loyalty schemes as appealing as possible to remain competitive amid a customer base that tends to be less loyal. This highlights the need for retailers to continually enhance their loyalty programs to meet evolving consumer expectations.
As an example, Carrefour recently announced a trial offering a complimentary Netflix standard subscription as part of its Carrefour Plus scheme for customers in Rouen and Bordeaux. This initiative aims to make the newly established loyalty scheme more attractive to both existing and prospective customers.
Maddison concludes by noting that Carrefour’s heightened emphasis on its customer loyalty offering demonstrates its proactive approach to maintaining competitiveness, despite its already strong position in both the French and global grocery markets. This strategy reflects Carrefour’s astute mindset towards remaining competitive and adapting to evolving consumer preferences.
*The statistics mentioned are based on GlobalData’s 2023 How People Shop (International) survey, which surveyed 6,000 respondents across Germany, France, Spain, Italy, China, and the US.
Source: GlobalData
