CX
Maximising loyalty within the ecommerce journey
by Amanda Cromhout: CEO at Truth and author of the annual Truth & BrandMapp South African Loyalty whitepaper.
The loyalty industry is not a new initiative. South Africa is an incredibly mature market with over 75% of South Africans engaging in loyalty programmes. Globally, the world looks to this market for its innovation, particularly in banking rewards programmes. However, one cannot say the same for ecommerce adoption. It is a well-known fact that other markets are far advanced in terms of revenue penetration through online sales.
Our experience lies, however, outside of that raw fact that ecommerce engagement is lower than global averages in SA and we prefer to focus on how to maximise loyalty within the ecommerce journey. According to Loyalty Lion, “60% of Shopify stores have a loyalty programme and of those who don’t have one, 48% plan to implement a programme in 2025.”
One of the best indicators of loyalty programme engagement is the level of rewards redemption. Some of the very best rewards programmes globally see 90% redemptions. In South Africa, eBucks claim over 90% monthly redemption rates of its issued eBucks. That is phenomenal. In ecommerce, Loyalty Lion state that historically 50% of rewards were not redeemed; this trend is changing as consumer demand more from the combination of ecommerce and integrated loyalty programmes. It requires seamless integration. Loyalty cannot add a hurdle to the ecommerce experience, either at the earn stage of the transaction or at the redemption point. The most successful programmes (which gain the highest redemption rates) allow a seamless use of available rewards, with minimal friction. We witness this across multiple South African ecommerce giants (like takealot.com) where redemption of Discovery Miles, FNB eBucks, and the like, are as simple as one click in the checkout stage to convert rewards points into a tender value, reducing the basket cost.
Moving away from ecommerce, customer experience across loyalty programme usage remains paramount. For example, we have seen an explosion of fuel rewards programmes. The ultimate customer experience allows its programme members to earn at the pump and redeem the earnt points during the same forecourt visit, in the convenience store. Adding a cherry on top of such an experience is the ability for consumers to receive personalised and relevant offers off convenience store products, whilst waiting for the car re-fuel. This drives footfall into the store, increased revenues for the fuel brand and a highly satisfied customer off the back of a seamless rewards experience, with discounts and redeemed loyalty points to help reduce basket value.
When loyalty is delivered well, it surpasses short-term tactical campaigns by driving long-term customer behavioural change. This creates more stickiness and retention for customers within the brand offering a great loyalty experience and, of course, a positive ROI and incremental sales effect for the loyalty brand. Obviously, if it is delivered badly, with hurdles disrupting either an online or offline brand experience, with no relevance to the member, the opposite can happen. Customers may deflect to competitors, taking with them their wallets and hearts.
Useful resources:
A boutique consultancy specialising in customer centricity and loyalty programme design.