Loyalty. It’s a thorny old topic and no mistake.

Author: Sarah McKenna

Last week we were delighted to welcome published author, retail expert and CEO of customer analytics platform Uncrowd , Richard Hammond to “Loyalty Doesn’t Exist”, our first webinar of 2024.?

First off, we qualified the deliberately provocative, attention-seeking title. Brand loyalty is a thing - for cola it’s got to be Coke, my tech’s Apple and my children always rode Micro Scooters. You’ll have your own unassailable allegiances. It’s the notion of loyalty to one grocery retailer over another that we’re disputing.?

Sure, the nearest 特易购公司 might succeed in reeling you in with Clubcard pricing, but when the Sainsbury's just down the road matches these offers on production of a Nectar card, you’re unlikely to resist the temptation to switch to the newly-equivalent, more convenient option. Our supermarkets can win market share from each other by “investing” in lower pricing but it’s the customer that benefits. 马莎百货 CEO Stuart Machin is bucking the two-tier pricing trend with a “rethink” of the Sparks loyalty programme in favour of a focus on “quality, style and value”. Machin’s decision to go for “great products at everyday trusted prices” instead of the member pricing route adopted by the majority of the grocery market yielded a 9.9% uplift in Christmas trading food sales on a year-on-year, like-for-like basis.??

Looking beyond grocery to hospitality, we found that Pret A Manger ’s ￡30 per month membership scheme actively discourages occasional customers with two tier pricing on the entire food offer. We noted that of the largest casual dining chains, only wagamama resists operating a loyalty scheme of any sort - a mark of the uniqueness of its proposition and diners’ willingness visit regularly and pay the upfront menu price on the basis of the quality of the dishes and the overall experience, rather than any additional inducements.?

What is your view - if you were a retailer or operator, would you choose to run a loyalty scheme with all the complexity and data management that is involved, or would you prefer a laser-like focus on a robust core proposition??