Online sellers must find ways to distinguish themselves in today’s oversaturated ecommerce environment. Most have turned to customer loyalty programs. An estimated 80 percent of U.S. consumers are enrolled in these initiatives, which reward participants for their loyalty via redeemable shop credits, according to research from Synchrony Financial. For the businesses that offer customer loyalty programs, the benefits are obvious. Repeat customers spend more and engage more, which is why they account for 40 percent of all retail revenue, analysts for Smile found.
With these upsides and the general state of the market in mind, online retailers that have yet to develop and deploy customer loyalty programs must do so with haste, lest they lose their footing to engagement-minded competitors.
Here are some strategies ecommerce brands in this unfortunate position can use to create effective customer loyalty programs:
Keep customers engaged
Most big brands maintain automatic point accrual systems wherein customers passively gather credits with each purchase. While this approach streamlines the user experience, it can also create issues, namely consumers lose visibility to the loyalty program and forget they are collecting points at all. For this reason, it is key that online retailers keep enrollees aware of their involvement and demonstrate the value of participation via regular communications via email or mobile application, according to Shopify.
Focus on multiple customer activities
Purchasing is obviously the most common credit accrual trigger. However, in the modern omnichannel retail space, there are numerous customer touchpoints that drive value for sellers. From social shares to blog subscriptions, the technology-savvy consumers of today show their loyalty in multiple ways. Ecommerce businesses that want to roll out truly effective and sustainable loyalty programs should reward these and other non-payment-related actions, Hubspot explained.
Offer streamlined enrollment experiences
Arduous registration processes can sink even the most well-designed customer loyalty initiatives. This makes enrollment design an essential component of the program creation process, according to A.T. Kearny. Ecommerce companies must therefore ensure that they websites facilitate streamlined registration experiences that move consumer through the enrollment process quickly.
Here at Pixafy, we work with retail organizations of all sizes to streamline their online customer experiences, including those underpinning loyalty programs. Our developers leverage award-winning ecommerce expertise to produce web environments that engage customers and boost the bottom line.
Connect with us today to learn more about our work and how we can help prepare your business for the online retail transformations to come.
