By: Brent Harms

As promised in last week’s blog, here are some of the survey results regarding loyalty programs and the challenge with forgotten loyalty cards and lost cards.

Isle Ventures completed a survey to understand consumer preferences about loyalty programs.  There were 482 respondents in a stratified random sample that was gender, age and geographically balanced.   

The survey reported that respondents belonged to 5.8 loyalty programs and carried 2.3 cards, so there are several loyalty programs that the consumer is not as engaged in or are using an alternative identifier to receive points for purchases.

In addition to not carrying the card, many members simply forget to bring the card.  61% have forgotten to bring their loyalty card to the retailer or restaurant.

·         How do they get credit for their purchase?

77% look up with phone number

48% look up with name

16% look up with address

13% give them a new card

25% ask the member to go online and input the receipt information to get points

All of these alternative ways to get points for members cost money in terms of time at register, providing another card or hoping the member will remember to go online to record the purchase.

Lost Loyalty Cards

·         How many times have you requested replacement cards if your card was lost, damaged or stolen over the last 2 years?

34%  1 – 5 times

1%   5 – 7 times

·         How do you get a replacement card?

18% go to the store 

19% call a number and have them mail a new card 

5% go online and print a card

16% go online and request a card that is mailed

7%  do not bother replacing a card

Losing a card will cause 7% of your members to simply stop participating in a program.  The percentage goes up in specific demographic categories:

10% of women will not request a replacement card

13% of people between under the age of 34 will not bother replacing a card

This is a big number, especially if it happens each year.  So to keep people engaged and participating consider using a card they always carry and don’t lose as often – the driver’s license.

Driver’s License as a loyalty card – the cardless option!

·         Do you generally carry your driver’s license when away from home?

99% Yes

1% No

The profit generated by a loyalty program decreases due to card replacement costs and increased time at the register.  In an ideal world everyone would always have their cards and the simple swipe would take care of everything, but based on the survey many people do not carry their cards.  Yet, we still want them to be engaged.  This is the challenge!  Let us know your creative solutions.