Amidst tighter budgets and increased competition, many retailers are shifting their focus to customer retention.
The fact that it’s easier and more cost-effective to retain customers than to acquire new ones is well documented. In fact, research shows that it’s 5-25X more expensive to acquire a new customer than it is to retain an existing customer.
But with the pandemic changing how people shop, getting up-to-date consumer insights has never been more important.
To equip you with the most recent data, at Fresh Relevance we worked with Censuswide and polled 2,000 nationally representative consumers in the UK to identify what today’s shoppers want to see from retailers and brands in return for their loyalty.
Read on to discover the three key loyalty trends we identified and learn how to include them in your ecommerce marketing.
Convenience
When it comes to their experience online, consumers demand convenience and want retailers to make it easy for them to get the most value out of their online shopping experience.
Consumers want to find their dream products easily. Nearly a third of loyal customers aged 16-24 (29%) want online retailers to make it easy for them to discover more products they might like.
Try using personalized product recommendations based on data such as customers’ purchase and browse history to display items that are most likely to resonate with them and encourage a repeat purchase.
Another way to help your customers find the right products for them is with ‘people like you buy’ recommendations. This tactic looks at the shopper’s product purchase history, and compares with other shoppers who’ve viewed those products, using a machine learning algorithm to recommend the most likely eventual purchases.
Communications
Our research highlights the importance of triggered emails, with 1 in 4 shoppers expressing a desire for back-in-stock and price drop alerts.
Back-in-stock alerts
Products may go out of stock for a number of reasons but the effect can be highly frustrating for customers, who expect to be able to purchase what they want, when they want it. But with triggered back-in-stock emails that leverage shoppers’ browse data, retailers have the opportunity to turn an out of stock product into a positive customer experience.
Make sure your back-in-stock emails are timely to ensure your customers don’t jump ship to a competitor. Plus, make it clear why the customer is receiving the email with relevant copy and an image of the browsed product as it is displayed on your website, as well as the price and a clear call-to-action.
Price drop alerts
It’s nice to have your needs anticipated, whether that’s a cup of coffee brought to your desk just as you need a caffeine boost, or an email from the brand you love telling you those jeans you looked at last week have dropped in price.
Triggered price drop emails that inform shoppers of discounts to their favourite products are a great way to provide helpful information to your customers and foster loyalty in the process.
As with back-in-stock emails, be sure to include details of the item browsed (including images) to jog the shopper’s memory.
Customer incentives
Like all good relationships, retaining your customers is a two-way street and they expect something in return for their loyalty. When it comes to incentives, loyal customers want to be in the know before other shoppers.
Almost 1 in 3 loyal customers (29%) want early access to sales or limited editions, so consider using segmentation to send your repeat customers exclusive offers and advance notifications of sales.
Additionally, almost 1 in 4 loyal customers aged 16-24 are willing to share user-generated content (UGC) on social media in exchange for rewards. Make sure you share the details of any incentive-based UGC program you have in your post-purchase emails, letting customers know the type of content you’re looking for and how they should share their photos, right down to the relevant hashtag.
Final thoughts
By offering your customers a convenient experience that’s relevant and personalized, as well as providing incentives for sticking by your store, you’ll be able to keep your customers loyal and generate revenue from repeat purchases.
Download your free copy of the Fresh Relevance Loyalty Report for more insights into what consumers want in return for their loyalty.
