Today’s loyalty programmes are increasingly focusing on modern solutions and new features. For this reason, we are seeing a succession of ideas being introduced by innovators who dream of finding the Holy Grail and creating the ultimate loyalty programme. How are these efforts shaping up on the Polish market, and what new trends have emerged over the past year?

The Holy Grail of loyalty schemes. New innovators and new solutions

Combining offline and online retail sales under a single loyalty scheme remains the Holy Grail for many who are seeking new solutions. We have seen many attempts of this kind, with varying degrees of success. However, no one has managed to find an effective solution even at a local level, let alone on a global scale.

Examples of such initiatives include loyalty schemes such as ZenCard, mOkazje, Miasto Payback and Freebee. Today, hardly anyone remembers them. Connecting non-chain retailers with consumers via an app is quite a challenge. In return, however, customers can look forward to a range of benefits such as rebates, discounts and cashback.

wee.com is certainly worth a mention. It is a German company based in Munich. At present, it also operates in other European Union countries, including Poland. They offer a solution that combines mobile payments with cashback. A key feature of this programme is the immediate refund of funds to a bank account. To achieve this, the solution utilises mobile apps featuring QR code and video technology. Wee.com has been recognised not only in Germany but also as a finalist in the international competition, The Loyalty Magazine Awards 2019.

What’s new in loyalty schemes

Every year, a number of new solutions are introduced that go a step further than other loyalty programmes. The most significant market developments can be tracked through the „Loyalty Programme Monitor” report published by ACR Rynek i Opinia. What key changes were highlighted in the latest report?

New apps from retail chains

Brick-and-mortar retail shops have been relying on loyalty schemes for several years now. Recently, however, new solutions have emerged, focusing primarily on mobile apps. Examples worth mentioning here include Mój SPAR, Lidl Plus and Żappka.

Orlen Benefits Programme

Orlen has not been idle either, and has created a new category of loyalty schemes, dubbed the „benefits programme”. Its activities are now also aimed at individual Orlen shareholders. If a comparison with FC Barcelona’s socios scheme springs to mind, you’re quite right. This is because, in addition to the discounts themselves, the scheme also provides knowledge about the capital markets through the CFA Society Poland.

A revamped version of the H&M programme

Both the loyalty programme and its mobile app have been completely revamped. Club members now have more opportunities to earn bonuses and points. In addition, they can enjoy free delivery and returns. These benefits are included in the new membership tier – Premium.

Shell is particularly worth mentioning in this context. Thanks to the Shell ClubSmart programme, we can now pay for products, fuel and car washes using points collected via the mobile app.

The most interesting market trends

As well as new loyalty schemes, some interesting trends have recently emerged on the market that are worth being aware of. These relate primarily to new benefits for consumers, the ability to donate points to a chosen cause, and even greater digitalisation.

Moving away from plastic cards

For a long time, the retail sector relied on physical loyalty cards. However, this gave rise to many problems. Nowadays, most businesses use electronic media across various points of contact with programme participants. This has resulted in a higher rate of customer usage, as well as greater convenience.

One example is Żabka’s loyalty programme – Żappka. Similarly, Green Coffee Nero has decided to move away from the standard stamp-collecting system in favour of a mobile app. Costa Coffee had already made a similar move. We can also expect to see the digitisation of loyalty schemes at the Rossmann, Orlen, Smyk and Carrefour chains, which have already moved away from traditional discount vouchers.

Opportunities to support NGOs

Members of the Rossmann or Payback loyalty schemes can also choose to donate their accumulated points to a charitable non-governmental organisation. Meanwhile, the Mój Empik scheme has expanded its programme to include gamification and the option to vote for entries in school competitions.

New benefits for participants

Amenities such as extended product returns (even without a receipt), free delivery on online orders, early access to new collections and online purchase history are available in many foreign markets. In Poland, these are only just beginning to develop. However, new benefits for customers are already evident, particularly in the programmes run by Empik, Lidl, H&M and MediaMarkt.

What conclusions can we draw?

Loyalty schemes are among the most important initiatives that customers expect. According to estimates, as many as 59% of adults take part in at least one scheme. Meanwhile, 17% of users say they take part in four or more programmes. The activity rate among participants has also risen. At present, there are as many as 43% active users. This is 9 percentage points higher than in 2018.

Reading the 2019 Loyalty Programme Monitor, it is also possible to identify the current market leaders. The Lidl Plus scheme made its debut in the top ten. Meanwhile, the Moja Biedronka programme remains on the podium in terms of user ratings. The Rossmann and CCC Klub programmes are also recording the highest growth rates and achieving very good results – ranking 4th and 5th amongst the most popular programmes. It is worth noting that both Klub Rossmann and Rossnę! enjoy a high percentage of satisfied users. Both programmes achieved over 80% member ratings.

However, the preferred benefits of loyalty schemes have remained unchanged for years. These are primarily rebates, discounts on purchases, and the option to pay with points. Such discounts and vouchers, which are automatically credited after each transaction, received over 40% mentions.

Finally, it is worth taking a look at the figures on mobile app usage. The move away from standard vouchers and plastic cards is not only more convenient for the point of sale itself, but also for the customer. The figures speak for themselves. As recently as 2016, only 38% of programme participants reported using mobile apps. Now, however, this figure has risen to 72%. This is almost double the figure from just four years ago. Nor is there any indication that this trend is set to reverse.

The Loyalty Programme Monitor clearly shows the way forward. Even greater digitalisation and the introduction of additional benefits appear to be an integral part of this. After all, the stakes are high, with more than half of adult Poles involved. The detailed results of the survey were published on 29 August 2019 and can be found at: https://www.wiadomoscihandlowe.pl/artykul/sieci-spozywcze-i-drogeryjne-przywracaja-polakom-wiare-w-programy-lojalnosciowe.