Half of retailers rank as ‘beginners’ in terms of customer loyalty programmes, according to a study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Collinson.

The company surveyed 635 decision makers at organisations with revenues exceeding $300 million in the UK, North America, Hong Kong, China, India, UAE, Singapore, Brazil, Australia, France, Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Mexico and South Africa.

It found that both the personalisation of in-store and online marketing, along with the better application of data to improve customer loyalty, are not currently key priorities.

Additionally, 65 per cent said they do not understand why customers are loyal to their organisation or have a strategy in place to strengthen customer relationships.

Capturing more detailed data and customer knowledge to enhance business decisions is low down on the agenda for 45 per cent of brands, while delivering more personalised customer experiences is not a priority for 32 per cent of retailers who are satisfied with their customer-centricity.

However, 68 per cent intend to invest more budget on loyalty technologies, of which a third will increase spending by more than 5 per cent on the previous year.

Ranking loyalty programmes from beginner, designer and implementer to expert, Collinson’s maturity scale cross-references parameters including loyalty programme design, execution, application of data, strategy and management.

In the retail sector, it found 50 per cent of brands to be beginners, 9 per cent to be designers, 20 per cent to be implementers and 21 per cent to be experts.

Steve Grout, director of loyalty at Collinson, commented: “At a time during which the High Street is vying for relevance against growing digital native brands like the Amazons of this world, it’s crucial that retailers evolve their loyalty strategies to meet the changing demands and expectations of modern consumers.

“Not only do the research findings highlight that many brands are in their loyalty infancy in terms of their proposed strategies, but that they are not aware of the key drivers that make a successful loyalty programme.”

Share Story: