We tuned into SheerID’s digital round-table, produced in partnership with Retail Week, to hear how marketing leaders are tackling loyalty in a tough trading climate and amid changing consumer demands.

SheerID‘s Head of Solutions Consulting, Emily du Luart, was joined by Cornish fashion brand Seasalt’s CMO, Amy Thom; Brand and Digital Controller at convenience retailer Spar, Tim Fairs; and secondhand marketplace Vinted ’s Senior Director Brand, Andrew Smith.

Moving from transactional one-dimensional discounts to purposeful loyalty

With so many retailers now offering loyalty members’ pricing, consumers have become fatigued by one-dimensional discount-led loyalty. Earlier this year, research of 1,000 shoppers by Retail Technology Show revealed that, due to the ubiquity of members’ pricing, 54% now regard it as the ‘norm’ and no longer consider it a true loyalty perk.

“At the end of the day, shoppers don’t just want discounts, they want to feel recognised,” SheerID’s Emily du Luart, said. And this shift in consumers’ expectations is driving a change in retailers’ loyalty strategies, she explained.

“Driven by consumer expectation, retailers’ loyalty approach is moving away from broad transactional tactics and shifting towards purpose-driven engagement. They’re focusing on connecting with specific audiences to create deeper, meaningful connections.”

Emily du Luart, Head of Solutions Consulting, SheerID

Spar’s Tim Fairs said that it’s now important for loyalty schemes to include both functional and emotional benefits to effectively engage shoppers.

He said that the feedback Spar receives from its customers is that they like shopping there as they “feel like a somebody” rather than feeling unrecognised at some of the bigger grocers. And this sense of being just another number could be being exacerbated by ubiquitous supermarket members’ pricing schemes.

“In the grocery sector, we’ve seen this almost enforcement of having to sign-up to qualify for what most customers would say is just the normal – not a privileged – price,” Fairs said. “Customers want to feel they’re in control, and they’re getting genuine benefit from being loyal, rather than being enforced to sign up to a scheme.”

“When people feel seen and valued – and not just sold to – then they come back and they shop again,” du Luart agreed.

Data is only as good as the experience is helps to improve

At the same time shoppers’ demands for loyalty programmes are shifting, consumers are increasingly becoming aware of the trade-off in providing personal data in return for rewards. And this means retailers are having to think about ways using data and insight can make loyalty schemes more personal.

“Data is only as good as the experience it helps to improve,” Vinted‘s Andrew Smith said. “With so many people using our platform, relevance becomes important and therefore personalisation is a key part of our data strategy.”

“We use data to make sure what we deliver feels really tailored – from recommended listings to curated communications. We try to deliver things that will be helpful in users’ experiences and serve people in a better way.”

Andrew Smith, Senior Director Brand, Vinted 

Part of Vinted’s helpful approach to using data includes showcasing seasonal trends, highlighting popular items in a customer’s size, or sharing the ‘most shopped’ categories and fast selling items. “We don’t use data to manipulate comms or really target people for transactional purposes, we use it to be informative, insightful and useful in a way that makes customers want to come back to our platform,” Smith added.

“Data is everything when it comes to loyalty,” Fairs added “because you’re trying to change customer behaviour – either getting them to buy more of what they’ve bought in the past or similar products to their previous purchases.” Fairs said data helps Spar get under the skin of its customers and treat them as individuals.

“Retailers have no shortage of data but one of the biggest challenges they have is turning that data into relationships,” du Luart said. “The opportunity isn’t in collecting the data. It’s using it to create value-based, purpose-driven moments that make a lasting impression.”

A question of trust – building authenticity into loyalty

Customers want relevancy probably more so than hyper-personalisation,” Seasalt’s Amy Thom said. This is something Seasalt is very conscious of when planning its engagement strategies – as it understands that many of it shoppers are wary and don’t want to be bombarded by marketing messages.

“We’re doing a lot with audience segmentations and product recommendations that are personalised and we’re thinking carefully about where in the journey we surface that,” she said, adding that looking after your core customers, rather than chasing news ones, is essential for effective long-term marketing.

“Trust isn’t built on a clever campaigns or discounts alone, its created when brands show customers they’re seen and appreciated. It’s got to feel authentic – and consistently authentic.”

Emily du Luart, Head of Solutions Consulting, SheerID

“You can’t cut your way to loyalty, you have to earn it, and earning it takes both time and investment,” Smith said. He acknowledged that this meant recognising that, while loyalty needed to deliver ROI, some initiatives will have faster pay backs than others.

“Vinted tries to shoot straight with people,” he said, which has helped it create what he calls a “natural trust cycle” in its community. “Our reputation is built one transaction, one user and one recommendation at a time, so we don’t take that for granted.”