The rise of conscious consumerism has driven an increased interest among consumers to invest more in local businesses. This is especially prevalent among younger customers; 58 per cent of Australian Generation Z consumers believe shopping locally has become critical since the pandemic’s onset, compared to 43 per cent of baby boomers and seniors.
For smaller, local businesses this is good news, and it presents many opportunities for local retailers to benefit from an engaged, conscious audience. However, small businesses represent more than 95 per cent of all businesses in the Australian economy which creates an increasingly competitive landscape for retailers looking to capture the attention of their audience. As such, it can be difficult for small retailers with limitations around both budget and manpower to compete with larger businesses and achieve cut-through with their audience.
Fortunately, there are ways that retailers can leverage digital loyalty and rewards programs with minimal investment in terms of cost and resourcing to help achieve better engagement and growing brand loyalty. Investing in a frictionless, card-linked rewards platform is one of the most efficient ways small-business owners can better engage their audiences and achieve growth.
There are three primary benefits that these platforms afford:
- Data and hyper-personalisation: digital rewards platforms let retailers leverage secure, anonymous, and consensual access to customer data to create more hyper-personalised experiences for shoppers.
- Cost-effectiveness: the latest card-linked loyalty platforms are simple to set up which means that small, independent retailers can easily connect with and leverage a loyalty technology powered by big data and a pay-for-performance model. This lets retailers of any size deliver more relevant offers and opportunities to their customers while minimising the costs.
- Greater collaboration: digital loyalty platforms let retailers view offers in their network from one location, which helps to inform their upcoming campaigns. At the same time, a centralised online portal lets customers easily view their loyalty points and rewards, which serves to foster greater brand loyalty through ease of use and cost savings.
It can seem challenging for retailers that lack the time, money, and resources available to establish and maintain a rewards program. However, engaging the skills and expertise of a trusted loyalty and rewards platform provider can help even businesses of all sizes to capitalise on the benefits of customer loyalty.
There are two essential features businesses should look for before engaging a loyalty and rewards platform provider and creating a program that appeals to digital natives:
- Secure card network-agnostic platform: does your loyalty platform provider offer Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) Level 1 certified technology that empowers your customers with peace of mind to engage with loyalty offers while using their preferred payment cards, helping you deliver frictionless buying experiences at the point of sale online and in-store?
- Open ecosystem: will your chosen platform provider connect you with an ecosystem of leading loyalty programs that have the potential to drive more footfall in-store and more clicks to your e-commerce portal?
Loyalty and rewards programs can go a long way toward helping businesses establish better relationships with customers and generate a greater sense of brand loyalty. Engaging with an established loyalty platform provider can not only reduce the complexity of participation in rewards programs but also lets retailers focus on growing their business while getting the expertise and support they need to grow their customer loyalty.
