JD Sports rolls out first loyalty club in 40-year history

Sportswear fashion retailer JD Sports is expanding its use of data-driven marketing by launching its first ever loyalty programme, which will offer cashback on purchases of top brands.

The nationwide roll out of ‘JD Status’ follows a successful eight-week trial across ten stores in the north-west of England and will be expanded to the European market in 2024. JD Status is already operational in the US.

Once downloaded onto a mobile device, JD Status allows members to build JD Cash in the JD Status Wallet. They get 10% cashback on their first purchase, followed by 1% cashback on all subsequent purchases.

With further features set to be unveiled as the app is developed, the retailer claims the UK scheme marks a significant step in its ambitions to scale its brand and evolve “beyond physical retail”.

The company has come a long way since being established by John Wardle and David Makin (hence the name JD), in 1981 in a single shop in Bury, Greater Manchester; it now runs 900 stores across 21 territories worldwide as well as a major ecommerce operation.

JD Sports chief executive Régis Schultz said: “Our loyal customers are key to our success and we are committed to providing them with a market-leading omnichannel experience across our much-loved sports fashion brands.

“Our ‘beyond physical retail’ approach means placing the omnichannel customer at the heart of everything we do and the expansion of our JD Status app across Britain is the natural next phase of this strategy.

“We look forward to extending the reach of the app across Europe as we expand our loyalty offering globally, as part of our strategic drive to be the leading global sports-fashion powerhouse.”