.2011 – As the retail industry begins to recover from economic instability, customer loyalty applications and CRM innovations become the key drivers of retailers- go-to-market strategies. In a recent report, IDC Retail Insights discussed why and how retailers are assessing their CRM technology and loyalty schemes to deliver an immersive shopping experience. More insights are revealed in the report Technology Selection: Mobile Applications Enhance the Success of Retailers- Loyalty Programs (RI #GRRS01T), which explores the retail-specific loyalty management applications, short-term evolutionary patterns, emerging trends of loyalty applications, and associated business benefits for retailers. The overarching aim of this study is to identify business, organizational, and IT requirements that retailers should consider when evaluating new investments in loyalty and CRM applications. The report also provides an in-depth view of the capabilities of the key players in the mobile loyalty system competitive arena.
The study draws upon extensive IDC Retail Insights resources, including previous research and interviews with vendors and retail end users. A related IDC consumer survey on CRM and loyalty found that the top 3 customer expectations from loyalty programs include transparent management of loyalty programs, access to special services and personalized promotions, and access to a wider range of products matching personal preferences. These findings confirm retailers- attention towards integrating their current CRM with the latest technology innovations to enhance the overall customer experience and increase business benefits generated by loyalty.
Innovation is the basis of this retail transition from traditional reward schemes to an omnichannel loyalty transparency. In order to address consumers- expectations and add value to the “earn points to redeem” schemes, it is imperative to look at loyalty management within its wider ecosystem. The report highlights that retailers must identify the right approach to implement innovative loyalty schemes. For instance, multi-retailer loyalty schemes have become a successful example of partnership among several retailers.
Key findings of this study show that:
– Loyalty is moving beyond points and discounts to become an integral part of a more encompassing customer experience that will support same-shopper sales and gain of market share to increase or recover competitive advantage.
– Omnichannel retailers use insights to identify and understand a core group of most valued customers. From there, they can predict what might motivate changes in shopping behavior that will make them even more loyal.
– Mobile loyalty applications represent an element of innovation that meets customer-s demand for real-time, profile-relevant, and location-based information. Along with existing mobile loyalty card apps, allowing customers to be recognized, receive personalized offers and earn points, “first mover” retailers are taking into consideration the current opportunities represented by near-field communication (NFC) technology, which enables contactless payments through mobile devices.
“The mobile targeted retailing and rewarding approach is most likely what customers expect from a leading customer-centric retailer,” said Ivano Ortis, international head of IDC Retail Insights. “We believe that the ability to create and foster loyalty, enhanced by the delivery of new services, is the key issue for retailer to obtain repeated and long-term customer engagements. With better insight into demand dynamics and customer behavior provided by loyalty applications, retailers can measure the real increase of customer retention, providing an opportunity to drive repeated, larger, and more profitable customer transactions. Retailers must choose the loyalty management applications that deliver higher flexibility, scalability, and responsiveness to optimize the customer experience.”
For more information about the report: Technology Selection: Mobile Applications Enhance the Success of Retailers- Loyalty Programs (RI #GRRS01T) or to arrange a one-on-one briefing with Uria Fiano, Ivano Ortis or Christine Bardwell, please contact Kanupriya at kanupriya@idc.com.
IDC Retail Insights assists retail businesses and IT leaders, as well as the suppliers that serve them, in making more effective technology decisions by providing accurate, timely, and insightful fact-based research and consulting services. Staffed by senior analysts with decades of industry experience, our global research analyzes and advises on business and technology issues facing the retail industry. International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology market. IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world-s leading technology, media, research, and events company. For more information, please visit www.idc-ri.com or email info@idc-ri.com. Visit the IDC Retail Insights Community at http://idc-insights-community.com/retail.
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