Author: shopkick

Kraft

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Kraft partnered with Shopkick to drive sales during the holiday season

Campaign Goals

Kraft® was looking to boost sales of its baking products at Walmart locations during the busy holiday shopping season.  Pre-shop, the brand wanted to build awareness and consideration amongst an incremental audience, and encourage shoppers to add Kraft® baking products to their shopping carts leading up to the winter holidays.  In-store, Kraft® wanted to reach consumers as they were in a holiday baking mindset, guide them to the products at shelf, and incentivize interaction.  In the busiest shopping season of the year, Kraft® was looking to drive sales and preserve its margins without the use of coupons or discounts.

Shopkick Solution

Shopkick first built pre-shop consideration with holiday inspired content and in-app recipes to boost product awareness and engage consumers at home.  In-store, Shopkick created a fun and memorable experience by sending shoppers on a scavenger hunt to seek out the featured products in-aisle. At shelf, Shopkick drove consideration as shoppers physically engaged with the products by scanning their barcodes for rewards points. Finally, by offering elevated kicks for purchasing all three featured Kraft® baking products, Shopkick increased purchase likelihood and boosted sales.

Results

The campaign drove over 9M in-store product engagements at Walmart locations across the nation, and over 18M total campaign impressions. With an average 27% of scanners converting to purchase, the campaign drove an impressive ROI of 7.6:1.  Additionally, the campaign was successful in driving incremental purchases. In fact, on average, 55% of purchasers were not planning to buy the featured Kraft® baking products before their visit to the store.

7.6:1

ROI

18M+

Campaign impressions

55%

of purchases were unplanned

Details

Goals

Build brand awareness

Drive trial and consideration

Boost sales

Retailer Distribution

National Walmart retailers

Products Used

Branded Lookbook, Promo Units, In-Store Scans, Purchase Validation, Cross Promotion

Despite Vaccinations, Americans Still Expect Safety Precautions When Shopping In-store

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Shopkick survey uncovers consumer sentiment toward COVID-19 vaccines and how it will impact current shopping habits

For some, widespread vaccinations offer a glimmer of hope that life will soon return to normal. However, with many Americans (44 percent) planning not to receive the vaccine, consumers say vaccinations will hardly change their current shopping behaviors. In fact, nearly all consumers (96 percent) say they will continue to take personal safety precautions while shopping, and of those who have already received the vaccine, less than half (48 percent) report feeling more comfortable shopping in-store now. 

In its ongoing commitment to support brand and retail partners with regular insights during the COVID-19 pandemic, Shopkick surveyed more than 20,000 consumers between Jan. 20-24, 2021, to learn about current shopping behaviors and how the vaccine impacts those habits. 

National Vaccine Insights:

  • Many consumers do not plan to get the vaccine. While most consumers surveyed have either already received the vaccine (8 percent) or plan to receive it (48 percent), 44 percent say they do not plan to get vaccinated.
  • Millennials are the least confident in the vaccine. Millennials make up the largest segment of people not confident in the vaccine (35 percent) and do not plan to get vaccinated (51 percent). Comparatively, America’s youngest and oldest consumers appear the most confident in the vaccine, with 71 percent of Gen Zers and 75 percent of Boomers feeling some level of confidence.
  • Vaccinations do not mean consumers will flood back indoors. Of those who have already received the vaccine, less than half (48 percent) report feeling more comfortable shopping in-store and taking part in other indoor activities, and only 18 percent say they will do so more frequently now vaccinated. Similarly, of those who plan to get the vaccine, only 15 percent say they will shop in-store or take part in indoor activities more frequently after receiving the vaccination.
  • Personal health and safety habits are here to stay. Nearly all of those who have already been vaccinated or plan to be vaccinated say they will continue to take personal safety precautions while shopping in-store (96 percent and 97 percent, respectively). Precautions include wearing protective face coverings (93 percent), using disinfectants (87 percent), shopping at less busy times (66 percent), using debit or credit cards to avoid exchanging cash (66 percent), using self-checkout (58 percent), or wearing protective gloves (21 percent).
  • Consumers expect health and safety to remain top-of-mind for retailers. Even if a large majority of Americans are vaccinated, 79 percent of consumers expect retailers to continue enforcing health and safety restrictions, such as requiring protective face coverings for shoppers and employees (89 percent), offering disinfectants for shoppers (86 percent), enforcing 6-feet-social distancing (80 percent), keeping plexiglass barriers at checkout (74 percent), and limiting the number of shoppers allowed inside (62 percent). According to 62 percent of respondents, enforcing these guidelines will influence where they choose to shop.

Additional Insights Include:

  • More than half of consumers are using BOPIS for essential purchases. As consumers try out different options for picking up the essentials, 55 percent say they are now using BOPIS (buy online, pickup in-store) at varying degrees, including sometimes (35 percent), often (11 percent), or very often (9 percent). 
  • Stockpiling rates are down and consumers are seeing the impact on store shelves. Forty-nine percent of consumers say they are currently stocking up on essential items, a decrease from November 2020 findings, when a whopping 61 percent of shoppers were stockpiling. In turn, 41 percent say essential items that were out-of-stock or low-in-stock one month ago are now more in-stock, compared to 36 percent who say items are still out-of-stock and 23 percent who have not yet noticed a difference. 

Which customer loyalty marketing variables are most influential for repeat engagement?

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Customer loyalty involves an ongoing, positive relationship between a customer and a brand or retailer. Loyal customers are invaluable, especially since 80% of a company’s revenue comes from 20% of their existing customer base. They also have a higher conversion rate—the probability of selling to an existing customer is 60% to 70%, while selling to a new prospect has a 5% to 20% likelihood. Plus, having a high percentage of return customers is great for employee morale, signifying that you’ve all worked hard to create a retail space that successfully engages consumers.

Repeat engagement is a significant factor in business growth, profitability, and long-term success. Loyal customers are worth about 10x their initial purchase, and just a 5% increase in loyalty can boost a business’ profits by 95%. 

Loyalty is a worthwhile goal, but it’s easier said than done. You could have great individual products and best-in-class customer service, but can still fall flat in attracting repeat engagement. True loyalty can be thought of more as brand affinity, where people make a conscious decision to choose your brand consistently because they feel emotionally connected to your values and ideals, and trust that you can deliver what they need. A number of loyalty marketing variables can positively affect engagement and long-term business. 

5 of the Most Impactful Customer Loyalty Marketing Variables

When deciding which customer loyalty marketing variables to focus on, you should focus on these five: 

Customer Satisfaction

Customer satisfaction is one of the most important factors when creating long-lasting customer loyalty. With competition greater than ever, the experience you provide for your customers is critical. In fact, 81% of consumers are more likely to be repeat purchasers if they have a positive experience. If they have a negative experience though, 95% will stop buying from you altogether, and share their poor experience with friends and family. 

Realistically, no matter how hard you and your employees try to create a perfect customer experience each and every time, there are bound to be instances where the interaction doesn’t go as planned. This doesn’t mean you lost the customer—yet. What then becomes important is how you handle the problem. 

Perceived service quality carries as much weight as perceived product quality in the minds of consumers. Nearly half of customers will remain loyal after a bad experience. In fact, people who have had a bad experience that was resolved in a satisfactory manner are more loyal than customers who never had a problem. It all boils down to trust.  

Trust

Trust is the belief that the business is credible, experienced, and will act in the customer’s best interest. Multiple positive engagements with a business can build trust over time. Businesses can also exude trust through their online content, media public relations, online reviews, testimonials, videos, partner associations, and years in service. It is also critical for brands to deliver on their promises and uphold their policies and offers. 

Trusted brands have better relationships with their customers. One study found that three-quarters of consumers will actively recommend businesses they trust. They’ll be willing to pay premiums, try your new products first, and stick with your brand even as competitors rise in prominence and popularity. 

When trust is established, the customer perceives congruent values and is more willing to engage in future dealings.

Self-Identification With Your Brand 

Having strong values as a brand contributes to trust, transparency, and reputation, but it also matters to customers too. Self-congruence stands out as a preeminent factor in loyalty measurements. Customers form an emotional connection when their values mirror the brand’s values, image, and “personality.” In fact, 71% of consumers prefer to buy from brands that align with their values, and 64% of customers attribute these shared values to having a strong relationship with a brand. 

Lifestyle and self-image can take a number of forms and may vary greatly across a brand’s audience. For this reason, marketers often focus on campaigns geared toward specific buyer personas. 

Perceived Brand Value

Customers’ value perception is a necessary condition for developing brand loyalty, and a loyalty program is an extremely popular and effective way to increase a brand’s value. Sixty-nine percent of customers say brand/retailer choice is determined by where they can earn loyalty rewards. 

With loyalty programs, value is demonstrated by: the cash value of rewards, choice of rewards, perceived likelihood of achieving rewards, and ease of use. Luxuries are valued higher than necessities in most programs, hence why boasting VIP services and free gifts can prove particularly effective. Joining a loyalty program can promote a sociable aspect and sense of community that enhances customer satisfaction.

Commitment 

Commitment involves the willingness to expend maximum effort to maintain an ongoing relationship. Committed brands go out of their way to personalize communications and reach out with relevant promotions and information. They ensure that their customers will receive the same high-quality experience each time they interact with the brand. Commitment is fueled by ongoing benefits accrued through the relationship over time; the more favorable interactions a shopper has, the more the shopper feels trust, commitment, and loyalty. 

Build Customer Loyalty and Drive Repeat Engagement With a Third-Party App 

If you are looking to increase engagement and loyalty, partnering with a mobile app that people are already loyal to can improve your brand favorability. Shopkick is a leading mobile platform that rewards shoppers with “kicks” (rewards points) for engaging with partnering brands and retailers and completing various engagement-related activities, like: checking in at partnering stores, scanning the barcodes of select items, watching branded videos, browsing curated lookbooks, or making purchases—whether online or in-store. 

Customers can then redeem accumulated kicks for gift cards of their choosing, which boosts goodwill toward brands they’ve already interacted with. Partners can effectively increase trial engagement and purchase consideration without slashing prices or eroding brand value. Associating with a well-established platform like Shopkick can increase trust and demonstrate a brand’s commitment to meeting shoppers’ wants and needs. 

The key to repeat engagement is assuring shoppers they’ve gained a world of benefits by choosing your brand. Partnering with our interactive mobile shopping platform can help foster customer satisfaction, brand/customer alignment, and long-term loyalty. 

Begin incorporating customer loyalty marketing variables that matter through a Shopkick partnership. Read our success stories or contact us to learn how to become a partner and start driving repeat engagement.

5 Simple January Delights

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With the year mark of the pandemic quickly approaching and January’s long winter days feeling slightly longer, we’ve noticed families are searching for new, small ways to celebrate. After all, many times it’s the small things that can make us smile the most! If your family is also looking for fun ways to make sure the days don’t seemingly blend together, we’re here to help. Below, we’re sharing five simple things you can do with your family that are sure to make everyone’s day feel a little extra special.

1. Picnic Indoors:

Picnics remind us of warm spring and summer days, but they’re equally as enjoyable during the winter. Whip up a fun menu of picnic foods (this article is sure to help!) and make sure to pack all of the picnic necessities (take a peek at this piece!). Then cart everything to your family room and setup your picnic inside. You might be eating steps away from your kitchen, but even the small change of scenery will help to create a memorable experience for everyone.

2. Go Ice Skating:

Research the locations where you and your family can go ice skating in your hometown! Cities often put ice skating rinks into place downtown, so see if there’s one where you live. You can also visit an indoor rink to skate without some of the elements. Ice skating is a great way to get everyone moving, potentially try something new, and stay socially distant.

3. Plan a Sunday Brunch:

Make your Sunday extra special and plan a complete brunch menu! This article has plenty of recipes to inspire your menu. If you want your meal to feel even more celebratory, create invitations to invite your kids to the fun. Then ask them to make decorations. A Sunday brunch together might become a weekly favorite!

4. Make Someone Smile:

If you find that you’re feeling down, one of the best things to do is to reach out to someone else. In this case, consider doing a random act of kindness. Send a note, purchase coffee for the person behind you, or buy flowers for a friend. There are plenty more ideas for you to consider here!

5. Sip a Warm Drink:

The winter is the season to lean into all things cozy, and warm drinks are a must-have! Try making hot chocolate, sample coffee or tea you have never tried before, or make your own hot apple cider. Once you have your drink of choice, sink into your couch to watch a movie, catch up on a show, or read a book!

How are you spending your January? Let us know your family’s favorite simple activity on Facebook!

Retail mobile app vs. responsive website: Which is better?

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How important is customer loyalty to retailers today? Consider this: While 80% of a retailer’s future revenue is dependent on 20% of its existing customers, the average American retailer loses 15% of its customer base each year. Understanding how to juggle this revolving door of customers while still maintaining your most valuable shoppers is critical to a business’ health. 

In an ideal situation, retailers would have infinite budgets to spend on their eCommerce endeavors; but for most, budgets are limited and allocation decisions must be made. Having a user-friendly website that functions properly is a necessity, but increasingly, shoppers are using mobile devices to complete their purchases and inform their shopping trips. 

Not to mention that retail mobile apps have now become a vital channel for engaging with customers and driving long-term loyalty. To help you invest your dollars wisely, we’ll compare retail mobile apps vs. responsive websites and see which channel is more valuable. 

Retail Mobile App vs. Responsive Website: Which Should You Invest in? 

When comparing retail mobile apps vs. responsive websites, consider the following:

  • Where do retail shoppers spend most of their time? You can’t build loyalty if you aren’t connecting with shoppers where they are. The number of mobile users increased by over 10% (37% to 48%) from 2019 to 2020, and more than half of all time spent online (51%) is initiated on mobile devices. In fact, 40% of people conduct all their online searches on a smartphone or tablet exclusively. Mobile commerce sales in 2021 are projected to reach $3.56 trillion and account for 73% of all eCommerce sales. Not to mention that the average smartphone user spends nearly 4 hours per day on their mobile devices, with 90% of that time spent within apps. 
  • What engages customers and makes them more likely to convert? Mobile apps have much higher rates of engagement, with 100-300% higher conversion rates on average. Even the most efficiently mobile-optimized websites can’t compete. During the holiday season, app shoppers spent 117% more time in apps than on mobile web and made 108% more orders per person in-app than on mobile web. Apps had a 14% higher conversion rate than mobile web. Plus, app users have a 4x higher return rate than mobile web or desktop users, meaning they are more likely to return to their abandoned shopping carts, add more items, and convert to purchase.
  • What makes customers more likely to stay loyal to a retailer? More than 80% of U.S. shoppers say they are more loyal to retailers and brands when they participate in dedicated rewards programs. More than 70% of shoppers say they are more likely to participate in these loyalty programs if they can easily access their membership data from their mobile phones. Apps can seamlessly replace loyalty cards with several key features and advantages that mobile-optimized websites just cannot provide. Apps can send relevant and personalized push messages when shoppers are near a retailer’s physical location or in-store looking for special offers nearby. App icons remain on the phone’s home screen as a highly visible reminder of a retailer’s presence every time the phone is checked—about 96 times per day. Plus, apps are extremely convenient, retain user data, run with minimal loading time, and allow one-click checkout. With apps, retailers can tap into unique mobile experiences using augmented reality, visual search, image recognition, and in-store navigational tools to increase loyalty using the latest technology.

While both a retail mobile app and responsive website are important to have, it’s clear that mobile app usage is on the rise and holds the potential to offer so much more to customers and their shopping experience, thereby increasing affinity and loyalty. 

Maximize Your Dollars With a Third-Party Mobile Retail App

While it’s possible to create your own in-house app, it’s quite an expensive venture that will utilize valuable time and resources. Instead, you can partner with an established third-party mobile retail app for a fraction of the cost that will provide you access to its existing user base, like Shopkick. 

Having driven over 300 million store visits in the past decade, Shopkick is widely considered one of the best mobile reward shopping apps, attracting retailers and brands looking to elevate their loyalty programs.

Here’s how it works for shoppers: Shopkickers log into the app to see which retailers and brands are offering “kicks” (reward points) in their area. They earn kicks by performing a number of engagement-related activities, like walking through a retail partner’s doors, watching branded videos, browsing curated lookbooks, engaging with products in-aisle, scanning products’ barcodes, and submitting their purchase receipts. 

Once enough kicks are accumulated, Shopkickers can redeem these rewards for a gift card of their choosing. Many shoppers end up opting for a gift card from the retailer where they earned rewards in the first place, further cementing customer loyalty and providing an incremental revenue stream. 

If you already have a loyalty program, no problem! Shopkick can complement your existing loyalty programs, allowing you to expand your reach and strengthen loyalty among both new and existing customers. 

While any comprehensive eCommerce strategy will have both a responsive website and a retail mobile app, given mobile shopping’s rise in popularity and prominence, it would be most beneficial for retailers to invest in creating a retail mobile app—or even better—partnering with an existing one. Mobile apps give retailers the chance to connect with customers where they are, and allow them to provide supplementary benefits like a convenient rewards program and an enhanced shopping experience. 

When comparing retail mobile apps vs. responsive websites, the former is the most relevant to today’s shopping trends and will provide the best opportunity to reach shoppers. Shopkick is an established mobile rewards shopping app that has a proven track record of helping retailers achieve greater awareness, foot traffic, and consumer loyalty. Read our success stories and contact us to learn how to become one of our partners.

Discover how proximity marketing benefits positively impact your strategy

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The majority of shoppers (82%) make their purchasing decisions while in-store, typically after seeing, holding, and interacting with the product. Retailers need to find a way to reach customers at this pinnacle moment when they’re weighing their options. Store associates have been one of the only effective ways for retailers to influence the decision-making process in real-time, but technology—specifically proximity marketing—is swiftly moving in as the preferred way to personalize the shopping trip and deliver information, guidance, and tips during critical moments along the path to purchase. 

The positive impact proximity marketing benefits have had on retailers has driven this marketing strategy to the forefront of the industry. Whether you use beacons or GPS technology, reaching shoppers on mobile devices with relevant, real-time messaging will be a boon to your retail business in 2021. 

Here are some core proximity marketing benefits you can expect to see if you decide to implement the strategy: 

1. Influence Customers On-the-Go. 

Proximity marketing falls under the omnichannel strategy of retail marketing, which aims to reach and influence consumers through the various channels in which they shop. Omnichannel retail eCommerce in 2020 has had a significant impact on in-store purchases. Whether you think of it as delivering a consistent experience across channels or establishing a presence where people are buying, omnichannel is not so much a “trend” as it is the most effective way to conduct business. 

Mobile has become one of the most important components of omnichannel shopping. People spend nearly 4 hours per day on mobile devices, and 82% of shoppers consult their smartphones before making an in-store purchase. 

Proximity marketing messages can be delivered through a complimentary app, or can simply target shoppers passing by the store (so long as they have Bluetooth enabled). The average click-through rate of proximity marketing messages can reach 80%, which is significantly higher than the 0.119% click-through rate of Facebook ad CTRs and 1-3% email open rate. 

2. Access Touchpoint Opportunities. 

A touchpoint refers to any given time a customer comes into contact with your brand. Storefronts, showrooms, employees, checkouts, email communications, TV ads, billboards, in-store displays, online ads, coupons, mobile texts, and app interactions can all be considered touchpoints. 

The average sale requires about eight touchpoints, though it could be more or less depending on your niche. Every opportunity you have to leave a favorable impression helps bring a shopper one step closer to a purchase, whether it’s the first or it’s been a while since the last.

With proximity marketing, beacon technology can send relevant messaging to customers at the most opportune times, creating multiple touchpoints in one consumer journey. For instance, a shopper may be greeted upon entering a retail store with personalized recommendations. Later on, they may receive notice of a nearby deal on a wish-listed item, and then be offered a reward for interacting with or purchasing the product. 

Together, these messages can positively influence the consumers’ path to purchase, encouraging them to select your product over the competition. 

3. Increase Engagement.

Sustaining engagement is necessary to keep customers loyal. Since it’s 5x to 25x cheaper to retain an existing customer than it is to solicit a new one, investing in engagement is critical. 

Engagement-related activities keep shoppers informed of new arrivals, promotions, and product recommendations while providing retailers with valuable feedback. Engagement is necessary to improve marketing campaign return on investment (ROI), keep customers happy, and grow referrals. 

Proximity marketing is one of the most effective ways to increase engagement. In 2020, 48% of retailers said they would use location data to engage customers. Proximity marketing provides a means to target customers in real-time at the point of purchase. Beacons can drive relevant promotions, answer questions, and provide additional incentives to “buy now.” 

4. Drive Immediate Conversions.

Today’s shoppers seek a “hyper-relevant” experience, which is when a retailer knows who the customer is and what the customer is trying to achieve in a real-time shopping context. Targeted promotions, in-store analytics, and proximity marketing solutions help deliver hyper-relevance to consumers. 

These tactics will improve a brand’s or retailer’s perceived value, and will also prompt an uptick in sales conversions. Hyper-relevant location-based notifications increase sales by an average of 24% when delivered directly near the products or services promoted. 

To see proximity marketing in action, you can look to Purina’s holiday campaign with Shopkick.  When Purina partnered with the mobile shopping rewards app, their goals were to increase awareness and use in-store messaging to drive trial and consideration of their products at Target during the busy holiday season. 

Shopkick first promoted in-app content to shoppers at-home to drive awareness and interest. Shopkick then leveraged proximity messaging to drive shoppers in-store and greet them once they entered the store, keeping Purina top-of-mind. Finally, to drive product engagement and incremental conversion, Shopkick used reward incentives to encourage shoppers to seek out the product at-shelf. 

Of all sales driven, 85% were incremental, and 36% of shoppers were previously unfamiliar with the product before introduction through the Shopkick app. Forty-seven percent of shoppers also reported future purchase intent. 

Are You Ready to Reap Proximity Marketing’s Benefits?

Proximity marketing’s prominence is growing among retailers who are looking to impress consumers with an elevated level of personalization and timeliness. With competition increasing by the minute, it is imperative for retailers to find ways to differentiate themselves in order to gain market share. Proximity marketing is retailers’ key to differentiation in 2021. 

Want to learn more about how proximity marketing benefits retailers? Read our success stories and contact Shopkick to learn how to become a partner and integrate proximity marketing into your 2021 strategy.

3 Goals You Can Reach in 2021: Part 3

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In case you’re just joining us, we’ve been detailing how to take steps toward nine of the most common goals people set every year in January. We’ve talked about how to workout and read more, how to stick to a budget, and how to lessen screen time (even during a pandemic!). There’s more for you to explore here and here. 

As a reminder, we’re sharing simple steps you can start doing today to make goals a reality rather than something you simply write down. Today, we’re going to talk about the final three goals of the most popular annual goals: how to be more eco-friendly, how to stay organized, and how to try new recipes. Let’s keep the goal setting going! 

Be More Eco-friendly: 

Supporting and being kinder to our environment is an ongoing endeavor, rather than something we can solve in one swift motion. But, if we all make even small changes, they do add up! So, consider the ways your family lives, and think about ways you might be able to make revisions. Here are a few ideas:

Recycle: Many communities pick up recycling each week or there are centers within driving distance where you can drop off your recycling. Rather than tossing water bottles, soda bottles, jars, newspapers, and more into the trash, consider rinsing them and placing them into a recycling can instead.

Reusable Bottles & Dinnerware: Consider choosing to use a reusable water bottle throughout your day rather than single use plastic. You can also opt to skip using paper plates and plastic utensils and instead turn to everyday dinnerware that can be washed and used again and again. 

Use Reusable Bags: When you make a trip to the grocery store, how many plastic bags do you typically leave carrying? Likely a lot, which is totally normal! Purchase a few reusable bags you can use each week to cut back on waste. The great thing about reusable bags is they can typically fit more than an average plastic bag, which means you’ll need to make fewer trips back and forth to your car to bring everything inside.

Get Organized:

Whenever the word “organize” is mentioned, typically feelings of overwhelm follow. But, they don’t have to! Rather than thinking you need to completely organize and overhaul your space at once, why not break things down into steps? Here are a few ideas:

Tackle One Area: This might look like a room, or it might look like a drawer! There aren’t rules about how slow or fast you need to organize.

Set a Timer: Think about seeing what you can get done in a block of time. Five, 10, 15, or 60 minutes will definitely allow you to make a dent or complete an entire project! 

Look to the Pros: There are plenty of articles about organization, and some of them are definitely worth the read! We like this piece by Real Simple about how organization pros create order. The tips are 100% doable!

Tidy: Whether it’s at the end of the day or one day a week, think about tidying up your space. Organization doesn’t work unless you do, and your new process will take time to get used to. The key thing is remembering how you feel when everything is in order!

Try New Recipes:

If you’re becoming tired of your meal rotation, it’s likely time to mix it up. Consider trying even one new recipe each week. 

Think about collecting recipes to try and pinning them onto a board on Pinterest. Move the ones you love to a new board after you’ve made them, and delete the ones you know you never want to make again. You can also mix things up by trying rotating through new recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack, so your list is never completely filled with recipes that have many steps (dinner recipes, we’re looking at you!).   

We also post plenty of recipes in the app!

Now that we’ve reached the end of our review of some of the most popular goals and resolutions, which ones are on your list? Let us know on Facebook!

Customer Loyalty Marketing: An Ultimate Guide for Brands in 2021

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The coronavirus pandemic was a huge disruptor for customer loyalty programs in 2020. Whether due to restrictions, economic hardships, social distancing, or discomfort with public settings, shopping patterns and behaviors have shifted and will continue to shift well into the next year. While many are excited for a fresh start in 2021, America’s health experts are still unsure of when our country could see some normalcy again—predictions now forecast the end of 2021’s third quarter. This means that brands will need to remain vigilant into 2021 and approach their customer loyalty marketing with careful thought and strategy.

Here’s what we know about customer habits in 2020:

  • Shoppers are trying new brands. A McKinsey report found that 75% of consumers have tried new brands and retailers. Top reasons for defection include lack of product availability, as well as better prices and promotions. Brick-and-mortar retailers and brands should adopt the latest technology and strive for better synchronicity across all channels, from brick-and-mortar stores to web to wholesale.
  • Shoppers value convenience. While lack of availability was the most common disruptor, other harmful issues affecting loyalty, according to another study, are difficult returns processes and clunky apps or websites that are not user-friendly. Loyalty best practices include optimizing the customer experience with: free and simple returns policies, click-and-collect, priority pickups, multiple modes of communication, app personalization, and an above-and-beyond digital experience. Making a meaningful effort to show you care about consumers’ common pain points and are working hard to resolve them is a key pillar to creating an emotional connection that translates to deep-rooted, long-lasting loyalty.

How the Ultimate Guide to Customer Loyalty Marketing Will Look in 2021

If 2020 taught us anything, it’s that the customer experience does not always go perfectly. But mobilizing an efficient response can significantly increase brand affinity and smooth over any bumps that may have arisen. This ultimate guide to customer loyalty marketing looks at best practices to take away from 2020 and trends to look out for in 2021, including communication strategies, location-based marketing, click-and-collect, premium perks, and strategic partnerships that add value.

Timely, Relevant Communication

Fifty-eight percent of customers will remain loyal to a company that keeps them informed with timely, relevant information. Reaching out is important, but the expectation is that your marketing will be targeted to a specific individual’s past browsing and purchasing history, wishlist, demographics, location, and stated preferences.

Keeping the messaging pertinent to consumers’ present time lets consumers know that you are paying attention, listening, watching, and are invested in their happiness.

Apps have become an essential communication and data collection tool for loyalty programs, since nearly all consumers are using mobile devices on their shopping runs. Going one step further, beacon technology allows brands to connect with shoppers on-the-go in the most timely, personalized manner possible.

When a shopper passes a certain aisle, walks past a competitor’s store, or spends a certain amount of time in a particular part of the store, brands can send specific messages relevant to that activity, capturing shoppers at the most opportunistic time for conversion.

There are many ways to effectively engage with customers:

  • Send a series of onboarding welcome messages to educate and assist new customers with loyalty program features.
  • Test different promotional messages to see which drive more sustained engagement and transactional behavior.
  • Automate texts based on consumer behaviors, like signing up for an event, passing a store, or creating a wishlist.
  • Personalize offers based on past purchase history, offering greater rewards for frequent buyers and VIPs.

While email, social media, and in-store promotions have their place, focusing on mobile is more timely than ever, since 60% of U.S. loyalty program members between the ages of 18-34 use a mobile app to manage and redeem rewards.

Customer-First Focus

Earning loyalty involves a simple strategy: Put the customer first. Loyalty is an emotional state more than a rational choice. When you provide significant value and express your dedication to the customer’s best interests, the reciprocal enthusiastic devotion will follow.

Loyalty doesn’t derive from discounts, but from feeling attended to, cared for, and significant. If shoppers feel like the business doesn’t care about them, especially in this day and age where competition is abundant, they’ll take their valuable dollars elsewhere.

Expectations are ever-rising as thoughtful innovators raise the bar of customer service. As a result, companies are increasingly implementing new conveniences that attract and maintain their customer base.

Local-First Marketing

Consumers are largely dispersed due to COVID-19. Some urban workers are now spending the majority of their time in the suburbs, working from home; others who have lost their jobs are shifting into new roles and neighborhoods.

Proximity marketing tools like beacons and GPS-based apps give brands the ability to target smaller communities on a hyper-local level, rather than sending out sweeping marketing messages across mass markets.

Personalized mobile marketing on a local level involves:

  • Greeting shoppers upon entering a store to stay top-of-mind.
  • Guiding consumers to products.
  • Sending helpful, timely information.
  • Providing motivating local deals.

Given that 89% of companies who implemented location-based marketing saw an increase in sales and 84% saw higher engagement rates, it’s no surprise that this successful tactic is used to cultivate long-term loyalty.

Click-and-Collect Convenience

Buy Online Pickup In-Store (BOPIS), otherwise known as Click-and-Collect, had a big year in 2020, with nearly 70% of consumers taking advantage of this convenient new service. 

Even as widespread fears of virus contamination peaked, shoppers proved their commitment to brick-and-mortar. They may have consolidated more shopping into fewer trips, but only 1 in 4 shoppers replaced the traditional shopping experience with eCommerce. 

Modern shoppers operate in an omnichannel environment, where they interact with brands through various channels throughout a single shopping experience. BOPIS removes shipping wait times for shoppers who want their goods right away, alleviates wait-in-line bottlenecks with advance payment, and provides the sort of personal attention that drives loyalty.

Premium Perks

Traditionally, brands thought the most valuable incentive they had was a price-based offer. However, research indicates that 87% of loyalty members who are satisfied with the program’s special perks and benefits will remain faithful to the brand even if competitors are offering lower prices. Trust, convenience, and comfort can go a long way.

So what do “premium perks” look like in 2021? Free shipping is the most desirable perk cited by premium loyalty members.

Other premium perks include:

  • VIP privileges like “first to know” about new product launches, sales, and events.
  • Special savings or double-point days for the most dedicated loyalty club members
  • Status perks like premium parking spots, skip-the-line benefits, and exclusive event invitations.
  • Social media shoutouts
  • Complimentary upgrades
  • One-to-one customer support
  • Flexible returns
  • Birthday gifts

Strategic Partnerships

How can your brand offer greater value in 2021? The answer could be found in a strategic partnership. Brands have always joined forces with other equally successful companies to better serve their existing customers and reach out to new audiences.

For instance, a leading winery partnered with Shopkick, a mobile reward shopping app, to drive awareness, consideration, and trial of their products through an inventive “Spring Entertaining” campaign. Shopkick first leveraged engaging lookbook content, branded in-app videos, and promo units that emphasized the products’ ability to pair well with recipes, inspiring users with ways to use the products.

Once consumers were in-store, Shopkick incentivized them to engage with and purchase the winery’s products through “kicks” (reward points) that can be redeemed for a gift card of their choosing once enough are accumulated. To drive incremental purchases, Shopkick awarded more kicks to shoppers who made unplanned purchases of the winery’s products. 

The results were significant—there was an 83% lift in awareness; 78% of shoppers never heard of the products before; and 49% of purchases were incremental.

In 2021, Compassion and Convenience Will Go a Long Way

Now more than ever, companies need to focus on extending compassion and convenience. While offering great deals and enticing promotions cultivate goodwill with customers, they are not effective long-term strategies for increasing loyalty. Brands that consider alternate methods of rewarding their loyal shoppers with free sample surprises, reward points, gift cards, contests, and differentiating VIP services will find that brand affinity and long-term loyalty come naturally.

Thank you for reading this ultimate guide to customer loyalty marketing in 2021. Shopkick is a mobile rewards shopping app that helps cultivate long-term customer loyalty. Brand and retail partners use Shopkick to drive repeat sales and solicit market share—all while ensuring a significant ROI. Contact us to learn how you can drive greater loyalty in 2021.

3 Goals You Can Achieve: Part 2

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We’ve almost officially reached the middle of January! So, how are you doing with your goals? Have you set goals for the year, or are you still working through what you would like to accomplish this year? Keep in mind, there truly isn’t anything magical about January 1. You can set a goal and start taking small steps toward achieving it at any time!

Last week, we shared the first part of our goal setting series where we’re walking through some of the most popular goals people set each year. The fun part is we’re sharing simple steps you can do today to start working toward reaching each goal, rather than solely having them written down without a game plan. Today, we’re digging into how to read more, how to stick to a budget, and how to spend time with family and friends (yes, even during COVID-19; stay with us!). Keep reading, and make sure to tune back in next week for the third – and final – part of our series!

Read More: 

If books are on your mind, we’re here to help! This goal definitely relates to spending less time on screens, but we thought it deserved its own section. 

Consider starting slow by setting a goal to read 1 book/month. Then try to read 10-20 pages per day or set aside 15-30 minute windows of time to read. The best thing to do is to find a consistent window of time each day to carve out this routine! 

Another idea is to read books that have been turned into movies or TV shows (we compiled a list that you can find here!). Knowing you can experience how a creative team took a book from the page to the screen can be a great motivator to finish a book.

If you’re looking for great books to enjoy throughout the year, Good Housekeeping released a list of the most anticipated books of 2021!

Stick to a Budget: 

There are plenty of articles and tips about how to create and stick to a budget, but we’re here to share simple ways you can stay on track! 

One place to easily spend more each week than you may have originally intended is at the grocery store. So, make a list before you shop. Then stick to your list even as you wander down the aisles. Another idea? Don’t shop when you’re hungry! Because we’ve done it, we can confirm the rumors are true: you do, in fact, purchase more if you shop while dreaming about your next meal or snack.

Another simple thing to do to keep your budget on track is to use Shopkick to your advantage! In between interacting with us on Instagram and Facebook, pop onto the app and explore the Discover page – glance through lookbooks, watch videos, and see how you can earn kicks on your next shopping trip. Once you reach your chosen kick goal, redeem your kicks for a gift card that you can use when you next pick up the essentials on your list. Shopkick is free to use! What budget tip could be better?   

Spend More Time with Family & Friends:  

COVID-19 has definitely changed how we spend time with family and friends and, of course, how often we can gather together. But, that shouldn’t stop you from checking in on your favorite people! Many of us are suffering from Zoom fatigue once we reach the end of the day or week, so we highly recommend taking what some might call an “old fashioned” approach: pick up the phone. 

Plan a time to catch up with a friend or family member, and make it a weekly date! To feel even more connected, you can both plan to engage in the same activity, whether that’s talking while you’re taking individual walks, driving home from work, or catching up on chores (a phone call makes laundry more fun!). A call with someone you love will brighten your day!

We’re here to cheer you on! Keep sharing your progress with us on Facebook as we all work toward achieving our goals (and more) in 2021.

Rimmel London

Posted on by shopkick

Cutting through the clutter at the beauty aisle to launch new products

Campaign Goals

Rimmel London was looking to drive awareness of the Rimmel London products suite and encourage shoppers to seek them out at shelf, cutting through the clutter of the beauty aisle to drive purchase and gain consumer insight.

Shopkick Solution

Shopkick first leveraged in-app content to build awareness of Rimmel London products and influence perception of Rimmel as a top beauty brand. Next proximity messaging drove to store and kept Rimmel London products top of mind while consumers were out shopping and when they entered the store. Finally, Shopkick drove ‘trial-in-aisle’ direct product engagements with multiple Rimmel London products while shopping, driving proven incremental conversion through purchase validation.  

Results

Rimmel London built awareness, drove users to discover its products in-store at crowded shelves, stayed top-of-mind and captured major share of wallet from other beauty brands.

38%

of purchasers had never used Rimmel London products

14%

Share stolen from a competitor

5:1

ROI

Details

Goals

Drive Awareness

Drive Trial

Steal Share

Capture Consumer Insights

Retailer Distribution

Walmart Target Drugstores Ulta K-mart

Products Used

Lookbooks, Own the Trip, Promo Unit, Scans

Barilla

Posted on by shopkick

Leveraging video to build awareness, increase in-store engagement, and motivate sales

Campaign Goals

Barilla had launched a new type of Pasta, Pronto, but it had relatively low awareness with consumers.  Pronto is not like other pastas, it is prepared in one pan – no need to wait for water to boil, and no draining required. Pronto also had no packaging differentiation from other Barilla product, so communicating benefits had to primarily be done outside of the store. This required a great deal of consumer education to make its features and benefits understood. Barilla engaged Shopkick to drive awareness, engagement and sales of Pronto pasta.

Shopkick Solution

Shopkick engaged consumers throughout their entire purchase journey, from planning and inspiration, to in-store product engagement, and finally purchase conversion and sales. The first step was to introduce the product and build awareness before shoppers even went to the store. We rewarded consumers for engaging with in-app native video and lookbook content. The goal of the video was to grow awareness of Barilla Pronto Pasta, explain its unique benefits, and then encourage consumers to seek out the product in-store. After consumers were made aware of Pronto and could see it in action through the video, we rewarded store traffic and in-store product engagement. We led consumers to the aisle, and then incentivized physical product engagement in aisle, where users picked up the product off the shelf, scanned the barcode, and made a purchase decision.  

Results

Barilla successfully engaged consumers throughout their purchase journey, and was able to understand how behavior out of store and engagement with branded content impacted in-store activity. By using video on a native advertising platform like Shopkick, Barilla was able to reach consumers who were in the context of shopping: such as product discovery and trip planning and then connect that engagement to behaviors down the funnel like aisle visits, product engagements and purchase conversion.

66%

of users first became aware of Pronto through Shopkick

1/2

of video viewers converted to purchase

68%

lift in future purchase intent

"To have such a rich, experiential connection to customers before they even enter a store is powerful; add a rewards structure that encourages physical brand engagement and you see the kind of lift we experienced: significant sales growth"
-Debbie Zefting, Director of Shopper Strategy and Engagement

Details

Goals

Drive Awareness

Drive Awareness

Drive Awareness

Retailer Distribution

Target, Walmart, National grocery chains

Products Used

Lookbooks, Video, Scans, Kicks for Receipts