Commentary

24% of Loyalty Programs Allow Mobile Reward Redemption

There still are plenty of linkages yet to be made in mobile commerce.

We’ve recently seen a consistent stream of research showing that consumers want a more seamless shopping experience among channels, with mobile as the prime disrupting force.

Now comes along another global study, this one focused on loyalty, highlighting yet another gap in mobile commerce.

While most (79%) of loyalty programs use the mobile channel, only 24% allow redemption through it, according the study by Capgemini Consulting.

The research is based on analyzing the loyalty programs of 160 global companies across retail, banking, consumer products, telecom, airlines, hotel chains and consumer electronics. The firm also scanned 40,000 consumer conversations on social media to gauge customer sentiment around loyalty programs.

It turns out that most loyalty programs have rewards based on purchases with only a small portion recognizing consumers for engagement. Here are the reward mechanisms in loyalty programs, according to the study:

  • 97% -- Purchases
  • 16% -- Activities (writing reviews, taking surveys)
  • 14% -- Participation in gamification campaigns
  • 6% -- Mobile app downloads
  • 4% -- Social media engagement
  • 2% -- In-store check-ins

Most retailers also are not capitalization on location based mobile data, with only 11% of loyalty programs offering personalized rewards based on a customer’s purchase history or location data, according to the study.

Many also are missing the mark around mobile reward redemption based on channel. While most companies support redemption via website, only one in four does by mobile. Here’s the breakdown of reward redemption by channel:

  • 83% -- Website
  • 62% -- In store
  • 24% -- Mobile app
  • 9% -- All channels

Many more consumers than just a year ago are integrating smartphone usage into their shopping experience, as I wrote about here yesterday (67% Use Smartphones to Enhance Shopping, Up from 26%). And these mobile consumers are becoming more demanding in their expectations.

Businesses interesting in keeping up by tapping mobile to drive customer loyalty still have a ways to go.

 

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