How Loyal Is Loyal?

By Kim Zimmermann, Managing Editor

Just for giggles I took out my keychain to see how many loyalty cards I have. The current count is a dozen. But am I truly loyal to all of these retailers? I am, to widely varying degrees.

I do my grocery shopping at Wegmans and ShopRite, so I always use those cards. I use the PetSmart one as well, as the dog is pretty insistent about getting his daily treats and the occasional new toy. Panera is a favorite lunch spot, so that one gets used. And I do use my Lowe’s customer card, but it is really not a loyalty card. It tracks my purchases, so I can look back and see the color of the paint I used for my living room five years from now. That means that only about half of the loyalty cards on my keychain are meaningful to me.

So what can retailers do to ensure that loyalty card holders are loyal customers? In a recent story on the topic, Retail TouchPoints Associate Editor Alicia Fiorletta talked to some experts in the field.

Among their suggestions for retailers were to add mobile, social, local and gamification elements to their loyalty programs and initiatives.

None of the loyalty cards that I use on a regular basis really employ these tactics on a consistent basis, but I can see the value. Might I make another trip to PetSmart if I knew that I might “win” something? Would I choose Panera over another lunch option if there were a social component that would offer me the option to “invite” a friend to join me? Quite possible.

While those tactics might get me to become even more loyal to the places of business where I already use my loyalty card, I think the bigger issue is getting me to visit those retailers where I have a loyalty card that just takes up space on my key chain.

Follow Kim on Twitter: @KimZim2764