As consumers increasingly take advantage of loyalty schemes, particularly in food & grocery and health & beauty, retailers must ensure their loyalty offers are compelling. The additional perks that consumers can gain through loyalty schemes are a highly effective way for retailers to differentiate themselves from their rivals, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

GlobalData’s recent thematic report, “Thematic Intelligence: Customer Loyalty in Retail and Apparel”, reveals how FMCG specialists, in particular, face otherwise low customer loyalty due to their highly interchangeable offerings, increasing the necessity to offer perks through loyalty schemes to maintain and gain market share.

Oliver Maddison, Retail Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “In addition to the competitive benefits that loyalty schemes offer to retailers, data collection gives substantial opportunities to better serve customers. The data that retailers collect on their consumers’ shopping habits can help them target campaigns to specific consumer groups, personalize promotions, and ensure their proposition remains relevant.”

GlobalData’s How People Shop Survey 2023* found that 55.3% of consumers stated that loyalty scheme incentives always or often influence their product choices in food & grocery, with 52.1% reporting the same for health & beauty.

Maddison continues: “The findings of GlobalData’s 2023 How People Shop survey emphasise the need for grocers and health & beauty specialists to make their loyalty schemes as appealing as possible to remain competitive in the face of a disloyal customer base.”

For instance, Carrefour announced the trial of the inclusion of a free Netflix standard subscription as part of its Carrefour Plus scheme for customers in Rouen and Bordeaux, making its recently established loyalty scheme more enticing to old and new customers alike.

Maddison concludes: “Carrefour’s increased focus on its customer loyalty offering shows its lack of complacency despite its already strong position within both the French and global grocery markets and is evidence of its shrewd attitude to remaining competitive.”

*GlobalData’s 2023 How People Shop (International) survey, sample size of 6,000 respondents across Germany, France, Spain, Italy, China, and the US