Loyalty Blogs

Online purchases boomed in 2020, with many companies focusing on redefining customer behavior for enhanced digital experiences. Shopping became indispensable with e-commerce stores, and many traditional retailers soon doubled their efforts on online experiences. However, in the annual forecast conducted by the National Retail Foundation, it was found that retail sales increased between 6% and 8% in 2022. Even though online shopping is considered the preferred channel for many customers, it’s not the only one.

That is where an Omnichannel loyalty software comes into action, enabling brands to meet shoppers’ evolving expectations wherever they feel most comfortable. In this blog, we will learn about omnichannel loyalty programs and how they help brands to keep their customers as a top priority.

What is the Omnichannel Loyalty Program?

As the name suggests, an omnichannel loyalty program enables shoppers to earn and redeem loyalty points across all channels, such as stores, online, and other channels. This approach ensures that customers shop anytime, anywhere, as per their convenience, where brands focus on delivering unified shopper experiences by sharing data across the two channels.

Loyal customers play a huge role in making a business successful, especially with the ongoing predictability of the retail world. Research by Accenture shows that more than 50% of customers spend more on loyal brands than on trying new ones in the market. This clearly shows that customers expect a proper value exchange for their loyalty, irrespective of the channel they choose to engage with.

A traditional loyalty program fails to win customer loyalty as loyalty gets compromised when customers switch from one channel to another. However, in the case of omnichannel loyalty, it offers a seamless experience for all channels, making customers return to a brand again and again. While building an omnichannel loyalty program, you must ensure that you accommodate the highest-value customers ‘needs and prioritize the experience to gain maximum benefits like higher AOV, LTV, and repeat purchases.

Though many loyalty programs cater only to online or in-store shoppers, few programs take care of both. As many customers prefer trying a new way of shopping, remaining agile and keeping focus on omnichannel buying journeys of customers is the key to making the Reward program for businesses updated and relevant. This will not only help your business to grow effectively but also set you apart from the competition by making customers earn points at any channel they choose to shop.

How To Make Customers Take Charge with an Omnichannel Loyalty Approach?

Customers are still the king in any business, and providing omnichannel shopping experiences can be a game-changer as it helps to emphasize enhancing customer experiences and ensuring their well-being. Successful brands are the ones that keep focus on shopper safety and comfort. With an omnichannel loyalty program, they can easily assess the preferences and comfort levels of their loyal customers across various channels.

Ensure that you keep focus on customers while building your loyalty program. For retailers,  customer-centric must mean customer-led redemption with in-store loyalty programs. You must be wondering what exactly is customer-led redemption. It is to allow customers to take the lead of their loyalty experience irrespective of any shopping channel they choose.

Businesses can display in-store QR codes that prompt shoppers to sign in or join your brand’s loyalty program via a link sent to their email. This will enable customers to use their smartphones and keep track of their loyalty status, accumulate points, and redeem rewards while they shop. After selecting the available rewards, shoppers can have a corresponding barcode scanned by a store associate for a seamless checkout.

Why Choose Customer-Led Redemption?

Customer-led redemption helps in overcoming the barriers associated with shoppers’ hesitation as they have redeemable rewards at their fingertips, reducing any discomfort that they might feel when asking a sales associate about discounts or rewards. In addition to that, shoppers will stay aware of any ongoing promotions and their loyalty status, encouraging them to buy more often.

Research conducted by Bond states that 66% of customers are willing to adjust their brand spending to enhance loyalty benefits. Customer-led redemption helps in making the in-store loyalty experience more seamless. Lesser time spent on direct interaction helps in prioritizing customer safety & making the checkout more efficient. Additionally, shoppers don’t need to remember email addresses or phone numbers as they have their coupon codes ready. Business owners don’t need to rely on associates and customer care agents to drive loyalty engagement, which can be not only time-consuming but also costly.

Some additional benefits include faster market entry for brands as they can launch customer-led redemption very quickly without much effort. Customer-led redemption helps in engaging customers with seamless in-store experiences by making use of scannable QR codes. All you need to do is strategically place QR codes in the store that enable customers to register and sign in instantly for enhanced shopping experiences.

By making use of these QR codes, customers can also get access to their membership information, loyalty points, discounts, and any promotional offers. This helps customers enjoy a seamless experience with efficient checkout processes where customers can redeem their rewards without requiring assistance from staff.

Closing Statement

After going through the blog, we can say that omnichannel loyalty can offer a wide range of benefits, such as higher customer engagement, an increase in customer retention rates, and enhanced brand advocacy. With stiff competition in the market, it is becoming crucial to put customers first by delivering a seamless, personalized experience across all touchpoints(online, in-store, mobile). This helps brands to gather customer data and tailor offers and rewards based on their unique needs, prioritizing customer engagement across all the stages of the shopping journey.  

If you need an effective omnichannel multichannel loyalty program that can help you engage customers at every touchpoint, connect with the experts of Novus. Being a reliable loyalty solution provider, we take pride in helping businesses across the world put customers first by offering a seamless loyalty experience across all touchpoints. Book a demo of Novus to learn how your business can unlock immense benefits with an omnichannel loyalty program.