LOYALTY CARDS – ARE THEY WORTH OUR LOYALTY? Originally Loyalty cards were introduced, by companies, as a reward for their regular customers to encourage them to keep using their store. Unfortunately, the technological age has meant that cards are becoming increasingly sophisticated and are now more akin to data collection devices; stores are able to track our spending habits and encourage extra spending without us even being aware of this and of course regularly pass our details on to third parties who want to sell us other things. Our aim is to save ourselves a few pennies on our shopping and the goal of the loyalty card is to reap the optimum financial benefit from us by using their armoury of data to keep us shopping with them without checking out their competitors’ prices. So are they worth having? Let’s take a …show more content…
• They also give extra money off coupons and discounts to cardholders. • Every month you will receive a free Boots magazine which also has coupons inside. • There are specific ‘card’ clubs which bring extra advantages: o Boots Parenting Club o Treats for over 60’s o Boots Opticians Contact Lens Reward Scheme If saving money is your main motive then searching for the best deals in a wide variety of shops is far more rewarding than worrying about carrying around endless loyalty cards. However, if you are going to be purchasing items regularly from the stores that have the cards, and don’t mind sharing certain amounts of data, then you may as well have them. You could bag yourself a bargain occasionally but they should certainly never be used as the sole reason to shop in one place only. Don’t ever be under the illusion that loyalty cards are a way for shops to reward our loyalty by passing on savings. They are essentially a device used by retailers to try to make us spend more of our hard earned
In addition, “if American Express going to be successful as a brand and as a marketer, they need to understand where consumers are doing it, how consumers are spending their time, where consumers want to access information, and how can American Express engage them. American Express has be used in countries all over the world for decades. It simply grew up with the baby boomers’ generation and has earned its reputation as a card with distinction. Through the years, the company has consistently reached consumer by keeping in step with the changing needs of the population. They also has acknowledge that it is the consumers who really decide what American Express stand for and not the company pushing out marketing messages. Further, American Express belie...
A loyalty program is best seen by the consumer when benefits are clear, bringing more value than the costs of participation. A membership card could be a relationshi...
... a candy bar. These thin wallet size magnetic strips are the keys that unlock the vaults of banks, ATMs, and any cash dispenser around the world. Credit cards have become important sources of identification holding a name and number of a cardholder in just a thin card. There are many cardholders around today such as American Express, Discover, Master Card, and Visa. These companies go head to head with customers around the world. These thin wallet sized cards are a part of most Americans everyday life and some people are very dependent on them. If you come into a situation where you don’t have cash all you have to do is use your card and pay it off later. As many Americans say “I’ll charge it”, this has become a world wide saying. The modern day credit card was invented many years ago and will be continued to be in use for many years to come.
to their credit cards. Introduction of rebate cards – which offer users credit towards new vehicles, frequent-flyer miles,
added security and the ability to keep all of your cards in one place without your information
As a result, the customer will most likely come back to the store they are already familiar with. To this extent, the retailers can also send out gift cards, reward cards to customers rewarding them for loyalty to the store. Some people think it is manipulating people into buying goods, but it is not true. The customer always has to choose whether to buy or not. No one is forcing them to buy anything.
The usage of credit and debit cards have dramatically increased in the recent years. There was a projected total of 160 million credit card holders in 2012 and 654 million debit cards in 2015 (WalletHub/Nasdaq). Both credit and debit cards are methods of payment that do not require you to have cash on hand. Even though both a credit and debit card accomplish the same thing, there are many differences between the two methods of payment that could sway a customer’s choice towards one over the other.
Ninety percent of Canadians are enrolled in at least one loyalty program. Market research has shown that loyalty programs are growing to be very popular in today’s market. A loyalty program is a program offered by a company to customers, who make frequent purchases. Loyalty programs are of benefit to both the consumers and the business. The consumers benefit by receiving coupons, special access to sales and new products whereas the company benefits by gaining an abundance of knowledge about the consumers, through their purchasing habits. Loyalty programs have proven to be very successful for several companies such as Target, Starbucks, and Shoppers Drug Mart. The senior management in sales and marketing believe that initiating a loyalty program
Also, the rewards program is based off a point system and when one has earned a certain amount of points they send them a gift card to spend however they wish. Though, what the consumers don’t know is that by applying for their free rewards program, they are collecting data and constructing analysis to make them into loyal consumers.
In order to fulfill customer needs, companies offer a lot of shopping ways to customers like bonus point programs and membership programs. Customers can obtain the redemption products and enjoy discounts when purchasing by joining these programs, which can lead to save more.
Are they tempting fate by inviting the potential for problems? After all, one unexpected expense, and the credit card user won’t clear his/her balance…and before you know it…credit card debt.
When it comes to learning about credit cards, most people do not expect to hear that it can effect a persons overall emotion and wellbeing. By having a credit card close at hand people are able to spend money knowingly but do not realize the implications from their choices. They make decisions that they would not have made otherwise if the consumer paid in cash or the full amount up front on the credited bill. Researcher Greg Davies wrote a paper on the overall behavior of human emotion when it comes to consumer goods. “ His 2003 paper, The Realities of Spending, looked at models of spending behavior and how they were influenced by means of payment . . . The paper identified several theories which could explain why people appear to make irrational decisions when spending with plastic” states Nick Harding, Journalists for the British newspaper The Independent. Davis then continues on stating that the reason for the spender’s interest in credit cards is because it allows them to “decouple” their transactions. They are more willing to spend because they believe that it will be cheaper overtime due to the smaller payments, rather than just paying everything upfront. This psychologically leads buyers into believing that they can have it all without consequences, when in reality this is a false presumption.
The use of credit and debit cards today are taking a tour in the sense that electronic cash is becoming more admissible as the world makes a switch towar...
Task 1: Critically evaluate the key concepts/theories on the topic of the effectiveness of loyalty programmes on customer loyalty