Boots Advantage Card, widely regarded as one of the most generous schemes on the market, is following in Tesco Clubcard and Nectar’s footsteps by launching in a digital format in a move which the retailer says will give “customers more opportunities to tailor and personalise offers”.
The overhaul means that customers will be able to scan to collect, redeem and check their points straight from their mobile via the Boots app, which will also open up further offers for the scheme’s 17.1 million members.
Boots has managed to sign up 1.5 million customers to the app in the past 12 months. By comparison out of a total of 15 million Tesco Clubard members, 1.2 million have downloaded the Tesco app, while 1.2 million customers have downloaded the Nectar app out of 18.5 million members.
Marketing director Helen Normoyle said: “We are continuing to build on the phenomenal success of the Boots Advantage Card.
“Digitising the card makes it more flexible and available, and gives customers more opportunities to tailor and personalise offers, making their shop even more rewarding.”
Parent company Walgreens Boots Alliance eventually pulled the Advantage Card account out of Lida in 2017, despite strong denials, after nearly a decade on the estimated £15m business. It handed the account to a WPP division called “Team WBA” which also works on advertising, media and PR, through offices in London, Chicago and New York.
Earlier this month, a new study carried out by research group Rare: Consulting claimed that marketers have lost sight of what consumers – especially younger people – really want from customer loyalty schemes, with “pointless points” leaving most customers disinterested.
Loyalty 2020, which quizzed 1,000 UK-based consumers, urged brands to consider customer behaviour and expectations to build loyalty, as it is no longer simply a transactional requirement. In fact, quality is identified as the most important factor in building trust and loyalty, ahead of price and customer service.
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