Consumers look at more than price this Black Friday as loyalty and rewards rank highly among motivations for online shoppers
According to a new UK study of more than 1,000 online shoppers, ‘brand loyalty’ (49%) and ‘reward points on offer’ (33%) are high on the list of motivations for shoppers to press the buy button on Black Friday, behind the best deals on offer (68%).
The research suggests companies need to be thinking beyond price in order to differentiate themselves from competitors and get the most out of the biggest online shopping event of 2015.
The study, from loyalty commerce expert Collinson Latitude, estimates that shoppers could earn a potential three billion points[1] as online spending is due to hit £1 billion in this Black Friday.
When asked which type of loyalty programmes they will use to earn points, the overwhelming majority of consumers (84%) named retail programmes, with finance (28%) and travel (8%) falling a long way behind. And, on average, consumers are planning to earn points with only one-in-four of the loyalty programmes they are a member of this Black Friday.
Respondents cited a number of reasons why they aren’t planning to use programmes to earn points this Black Friday, including: ‘a lack of special deals’ (37%); ’I didn’t know I could use my programme’ (19%); and ‘the offers aren’t relevant to me’ (17%).
“This year’s Black Friday is set to be the UK’s biggest online shopping event ever, but consumers are set to miss out on a key points-earning opportunity as loyalty programmes – particularly in the travel and finance sector – are failing to create awareness and offer incentives like double points, special deals, or promoting featured retailers”, said James Berry, E-commerce Director at Collinson Latitude.
The survey’s other key findings include:
- Gen Z vs Gen X: Interestingly, Gen Z emerged as the most motivated by loyalty when deciding where to shop on Black Friday (62%). They are less focused on finding the best value deals, at 56%, versus 80% of Gen X. Being digital natives, this younger generation also ranked highest (31%) for asking for more personalisation in their rewards programmes.
- Regional behaviours: When choosing where to shop online, customers from Leeds (44%) are the most influenced by rewards points, closely followed by Newcastle (40%) and Manchester (39%). The most loyal were in Brighton (64%), closely followed by Edinburgh (60%). Belfast consumers ranked lowest for being influenced by rewards (15%) and loyalty (35%), but are most swayed by the best deals on offer (75%).
Room for improvement
Nine out of ten consumers (92%) say their loyalty programme experience could be improved. ‘More relevant’ (31%) and ‘personalised offers’ (18%) made the list of suggested improvements, while more than half (54%) asked for the ability to earn points online. Nearly a fifth (17%) asked for Black Friday loyalty offers to be easier to use.
Berry concluded: “It seems UK companies are failing to inform their customers of the benefits and features of their loyalty programmes. There’s an opportunity to transform Black Friday – by its nature a one-off short-term sales success – into a long-term customer loyalty success. If done correctly, this holds the key to greater satisfaction and value for consumers and brands alike.”