Published in DestinationCRM
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
ACI Worldwide released the results of a recent study of consumers in the U.S. revealing how little customers are invested in customer loyalty programs.
The highlights include:
* Nearly half (49%) of loyalty program members never or rarely take advantage of loyalty program perks when shopping online.
* More than three-quarters (78%) of Americans who are members of loyalty card programs say easy online access to their loyalty memberships would make them more likely to shop at the retail websites that honor their loyalty programs online.
* When shopping online, only half (53%) of Americans who are members of retail loyalty rewards programs visit websites of retailers where they can earn discounts and rewards, before looking elsewhere.
* The need for a consolidated loyalty device has been well-established, and half of American consumers (52%) prefer a single card that can hold all their memberships, versus a consolidated key fob or mobile application.
* One-third (32%) of Americans prefer a consolidated key chain card or key fob; 17% of Americans would like to see a mobile app that consolidates all of their retail loyalty rewards programs
Rob Seward, senior industry marketing manager at ACI Worldwide, said in a statement that many Americans simply don’t have the wallet space to efficiently use rewards cards. He observed that the market requires that retailers consolidate loyalty programs onto a single device.
“… In other countries, particularly the U.K. and South Africa, coalition programs are very well established,” Seward said. “With American consumers demanding consolidated loyalty and rewards programs, U.S. retailers need to move in this direction, and we’ve made sure our ACI Retail Commerce Server for Rewards Management can manage multiple concurrent programs for a single customer, and can consolidate the programs onto a single device such as a card or key fob, thus enabling retailers to deliver loyalty and rewards programs in a way that works for consumers.”
Because online shopping is so simple, Seward noted that loyalty programs “should” work online.
Seward stated that, “There’s a huge disconnect between retailers and consumers” and that retail customers desire a more consistent experience.
ACI’s survey was conducted in December 2010 by Wakefield Research.