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Loyalty Programs: Personalization Is the Key To Keeping Shoppers Interested

Inflation in the U.K. is through the roof, and prices in grocery stores are rising along with it. As shoppers look for the lowest prices and are ready to shop around at different stores, loyalty programs are becoming key to retaining consumers.

Loyalty programs are popular in the U.K., where 65% of the population is signed up with a supermarket scheme. These programs lead to more loyal customers since 47% say they spend more with the supermarket whose program they belong to, according to the Data and Marketing Association in London.

Britain’s various supermarket loyalty schemes run the gamut from Lidl’s, which offers limited-time coupons; to Morrisons, which sends personalized money-off offers to shoppers; to Sainsbury’s, whose Nectar scheme lets customers gain one point per £1 they spend to save on groceries or with partner brands. Users also receive limited time offers, based on what they most frequently buy. Many Brits sign up to a grocery store’s loyalty program in order to get rewards from a partner brand, such as Tesco (partners include Disney+, Pizza Express) and Waitrose (partners with John Lewis department store).

Mark Johnson, CEO and CMO of Loyalty360

Grocery store loyalty programs in the U.S. are similar, offering coupons, which are often personalized, fuel …

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Inclusivity Over Profit: How To Show Support for LGBTQ+ Brands Beyond Pride Month

In June, many brands show their support for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ+) community with rainbow-colored merchandise, community partnerships, artist collaborations, proceeds donations, and more. Perhaps you have seen Lego’s Everyone is Awesome set or Skittles’ Pride Pack sitting on retailers’ shelves. However, while the intention to bring awareness to the LGBTQ+ community and celebrate Pride month may be genuine, these can quickly be perceived as ill-hearted marketing tactics known as “rainbow washing.”

What is rainbow washing?

Rainbow Washing

What is rainbow washing? It’s when a brand uses Pride colors to indicate their support of the LGBTQ+ community without taking any real action. Sentiment quickly falls flat for brands who simply swap out logos on social media during June and can backfire if consumers believe a retailer’s colorful products are released with the sole intention of boosting sales. 

Younger generations are quick to call out brands that aren’t practicing what they preach when promoting diversity, and Pride month is no exception. This shouldn’t come as much of a shock, with more than 20% of Gen Z adults self-identifying as LGBT in a survey done by Gallup, compared to the national average of 7.1%. Other common examples of rainbow washing …

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How Airport Retail Is Changing for Good

For the owners of Gatwick Airport, the U.K.’s second biggest airport, April 2022 was a significant moment: for the first time since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Express train route from central London to the terminal reopened. It’s a sign, Gatwick hopes, that some normalcy is returning to the travel sector. Still, that word “some” is doing a great deal of heavy lifting, airport bosses concede—they fear their industry will never be the same again.

For the retailers that inhabit the world’s airports—and particularly the luxury marques selling more expensive goods—such concerns raise some difficult questions. Will they again ever be able to rely on passengers passing through airports buying goods in segments such as fashion, beauty, consumer electronics, and food and drink?

Prior to COVID-19, airports represented a rare bright spot in the battle between physical retail and e-commerce; passengers passing through airports may have deserted high street stores, but they were still spending large sums when on their travels. The pandemic saw airports close and passenger numbers plummet as travel restrictions limited demand for flights, but retailers had hoped to see a resurgence as the world reopened.

Airport RetailSource: Forbes

Air travel is bouncing back

The good …

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When you have a fantastic product, you are nothing short of excited to get it into consumers’ hands. But it’s a wide road between an idea and a finished product. And sometimes an even seemingly wider road between finished product and store shelf. Trying to navigate that road can be challenging, but like the millions of products that have gone before you, it’s totally doable.

So, to help you drive that road to store shelf domination, we’ve put together a checklist of things you’ll want to think about when bringing your brand to market. Read on to find out more.

Product knowledge? Check.

If someone were to ask you, “How well do you know your brand?”  You’d probably answer, “It’s my brand. I know it well.” And you’re probably right; you probably do know your brand well.

But you can—and should—know it better.

Having detailed knowledge about every aspect of your brand is critical for suppliers to successfully bring a product to market. You’ve no doubt collected market research data (and if you haven’t, then stop reading now and get thee some market data for other brands like yours!), and studied over it, extracting insights left and right. Are you …

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Non-alcoholic Drinks Are Coming Into Their Own

It comes as a shock to no one more than myself that for the past two years I have, for the most part, been avoiding alcohol. But I have to admit, drinking soda as an alternative doesn’t really appeal to me.  Happily, there are other options afoot, from companies that have thought through every aspect of the beverage crafting process to create something non-alcoholic, yet upscale, that feels like a treat.

Elevated drinking

Graham Wasilition’s company, Tennyson, has produced Black Ginger, made with botanicals but no alcohol. His goal, he says, was to provide an option for consumers looking for a high-end, elegant beverage they could sip, while not feeling out of place or short-changed.

“We created a bold, sophisticated, layered beverage that you drink in two-ounce increments, over the rocks or make a cocktail out of,” he says, adding that due to botanicals like dandelion, bergamot, and gentian root, his products are all better-for-you, too. 

The product is largely designed for Millennials and Gen Z who, “think about everything they put on and in their body,” Wasilition says. 

But, he expects this to appeal to everyone, from those choosing not to consume alcohol because it’s mid-week to abstainers. “It’s …

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AAPI Small Business Spotlight With Qurate Retail Group

In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, we are spotlighting Qurate Retail Group’s efforts to highlight AAPI-owned businesses as part of their ongoing Small Business Spotlight initiative. This program supports entrepreneurs from underrepresented groups with national on-air and digital exposure, along with various other in-kind services, sourced through RangeMe.

Qurate Retail Group’s Small Business Spotlight gives these businesses the opportunity to showcase their products to a national audience through their leading retail brands including QVC, HSN, and Zulily. QVC and HSN reach a combined total of more than 90 million homes via five television networks and reach millions more via multiple streaming services, social pages, mobile apps, and websites. In the online retail space, Zulily serves millions of Moms everywhere by offering a fun, personalized shopping experience. 

Read through the stories and experiences of four of the AAPI-owned businesses selected by Qurate Retail Group below.

M2Ü NYC

Born and raised in Taiwan, Amy Granger’s first makeup experience was in her mid 20’s after coming to the U.S. to attend graduate school at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Getting a beauty makeover at a major department store left her feeling unrecognizable, and not in a good …

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