Reward cardholders far more loyal

Retailers which run reward scheme have more loyal customers, according to a new study which shows three-quarters of shoppers feel more empathy with a brand if they own a discount card.
Commissioned by leading plastic card manufacturer, Plastic Card Services (PCS), the research also found wide regional variations in card usage: people in Northern Ireland and London were considered the most loyal, while those in the North East use loyalty cards the least.
However, it did show that £220m worth of points has gone unspent this year, although this is an improvement on the year before, which totalled £351m. This still leads to an overall saving of £4.39bn a year for cardholders.
“The figures show that loyalty cards definitely have a positive effect on customers, not only in terms of driving sales, but also increasing brand loyalty, ensuring that people come back time after time,” explained Rob Nicholls, MD of Plastic Card Services. “In this difficult economic climate, people are looking to make savings wherever they can, and loyalty cards provide a convenient way of cutting bills, while also making it clear exactly how much they are saving.
“Of those surveyed, the majority said that they save points for larger purchases, building up their balance over the course of the year, before spending on higher value items. This presents the opportunity to increase footfall throughout the year, while also raising the number of high-value purchases made by repeat customers.”
For the second year running the survey has shown that the nation’s favourite loyalty card is Tesco’s Clubcard, followed by Boots Advantage and Sainsbury’s Nectar. Boots Advantage card has proved to be the most popular among women and shoppers aged under 25.

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