Tag: Loyalty Program

A powerful customer engagement strategy involves more than a loyalty offering. It needs a ‘customer-obsessed’ mindset that puts the customer experience at the heart and centre.

A customer-obsessed culture will enable better customer retention rates, plus open up opportunities to generate. Getting revenue from your existing customer base, which is often easier and probably less expensive than acquiring a new one. But you have to do both, and loyalty can help achieve this goal.

However, a loyalty program also has to be easy and valuable for both existing and new customers. An innovative loyalty program is best integrated across all consumer touch points rather than live in a silo. This means loyalty needs to permeate all channels such as email, SMS, point-of-sale, and beyond.

In the recent Cheetah Digital Signals21 event, Richard Jones, CMO at Cheetah Digital, spoke with Brad Bissonnette, vice president for marketing & franchise recruitment at COBS Bread, the sister store to the iconic Australian bakery chain Bakers Delight. With over 100 locations across Canada, COBS Bread wanted to engage consumers with surprise and delight. They also wanted to gather critical product and sentiment data to help keep their offerings top of mind with consumers.

COBS Bread partnered with Cheetah Digital to build a unique solution that engaged customers, offered flexibility across the rewards, and fed the company with high-quality consumer data. COBS Bread wanted to optimise and personalise their offers for customers by feeding data to inform their product and menu items.

A loyalty program is more than just a point system

A loyalty program needs to go beyond points for purchase and provide more value and convenience for the customer. Bissonnette explains that by looking at loyalty in a silo, you’re really missing the larger opportunity with loyalty.

“Ensuring your loyalty program is an experience, rather than just points from purchase, will heighten a customer’s experience, leading to more sales for your business. This is because loyalty transcends far more than points and for our journey, it again is around how do we provide more utility for our customers? How do we make their lives so much easier? That’s the journey that we’ve embarked on,” said Bissonnette.

“For brands that are considering heading down the loyalty channel, it’s really asking that important question; how can I provide more convenience? How can I provide more utility for our customers?” Bissonnette adds.

Rolled out in Canada mid-2021, Bissonnette says the COBS Club loyalty program embraces loyalty as a more holistic approach.

“It’s early days into our digital loyalty program COBS Club. Our initial offering focused on points, but the ultimate vision is to deliver a digital customer experience that cannot be matched. This will transcend beyond collecting points and continue to add more utility for our customers,” Bissonnette says. 

The key to success for COBS Bread has been buy-in across the organisation – from its franchise network to the rest of the organisation, which allows them to continue to embark on the path.

“We now have COBS Club up and running with customers now collecting points on everything they purchase within the bakery. We’re looking forward to the next iterations where we get to a single source of truth and the ability to ultimately order online and everything from store value and gift cards. This is phase one in what will be a multi-year journey to continue to provide more utility and convenience for our customers,” Bissonnette explains.

Unpacking the key phases of a loyalty program

Currently, COBS Bread is in the early stages of rolling out COBS Club. Bissonnette says the bakery franchise is solely focused on acquisition.

“Our goal right now is to do whatever we can to bring customers onto the platform, so that we can then start to truly understand our customer’s needs and wants. From there we’ll start to get into the other common metrics of sales per transaction, average basket size, and average monthly value of the customer. We’ll have all these metrics starting to flow through.” Bissonnette says.

COBS Bread has started off with great results. The company originally forecasted that in their first year they would acquire between 75,000 to 80,000 customers. But six weeks into the program and they have more than 100,000 new customers.

“Our goal in the first year now is heading towards 250,000 customers. While those metrics are interesting, they can give us a sense of the health of the program,” Brad explains.

Bissonnette says within three to six months into the program, the next phase will begin. In this phase, the company will start to know the demographic information and start to understand the behaviour of their customers.

“I am keen to view customer purchase patterns, explore what’s in their basket and start to really segment using this type of purchasing behaviour. If we can get into that and truly understand those commonalities, we can then start to cater content that is going to provide incremental value and truly take that core metric of active users to 60%,” said Bissonnette.

“It is basic numbers right now but it’s all about acquisition. Our goal is to have the numbers to be able to cater customer experience moving forward,” Bissonnette explains.

A digital loyalty platform can help in so many ways; he says, “Whether that is understanding the financial implications for your finance team to unlock further growth, developing consumer insights through your customer service team or understanding the operational aspects within each one of your units.”

“If you only look at loyalty from a sales or marketing perspective, you’re missing out on all the potential opportunities a loyalty platform can bring,” he adds.

Culture is at the core of a robust loyalty program

Bissonnette says loyalty culture boils down to the culture of a customer service-centric focused organisation.

“For us, it came from day one with the vision from Roger and Leslie Gillespie, who opened the first Bakers Delight in Australia. Their key focus was on delivering high-quality products, outstanding customer service environment, and supporting the communities,” Bissonnette explains.

When your DNA has ‘service’ running all the way through, it has to have loyalty running all the way through it as well, he notes. This is because you ultimately have to take that next step to deliver on a loyalty platform that allows you to elevate your service.

“Loyalty is the next phase of ensuring we can deliver a customer experience that cannot be matched. Having a loyalty platform, it’s giving us the data that we have missed for years. This data provides us with a true sense of what our customers want, what they are purchasing, and how we can ensure that we can meet their needs,” Bissonnette concludes.

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This article is written by Billy Loizou, VP for Go To Market for APAC at Cheetah Digital.

Cheetah Digital is a cross-channel customer engagement solution provider that enables marketers to create personalized experiences, cross-channel messaging, and loyalty strategies.

It’s a stressful time for marketers. Many believe that their lives will be disrupted to the nth degree without cookies. Meanwhile, consumers are more protective of their personal data than ever. In the Australian Community Attitudes to Privacy Survey 2020, 7 in 10 respondents nominated privacy as a major concern for them, while 87% wanted more control and choice over the collection and use of their personal information.

Experts like Lauren Solomon, CEO of Consumer Policy Research Centre, further notes how data processes are clunky and outdated.

According to research from the Consumer Policy Research Centre, 70 percent of consumers accept consent terms, even if they are not comfortable with them. When asked why, three quarters of consumers said it’s because it’s the only way to access the product.

Meanwhile, the research further revealed more than 90 percent of Australian consumers are uncomfortable with how their data is collected and shared – and they’re disempowered to do anything about it.

“They want the government to intervene and protect them,” Lauren says.

“There also isn’t actually any way for consumers to express the preferences that they have and to acquire products that meet those preferences – because it’s a take it or leave it proposition,” added Lauren.

What is the solution?

Companies need to stop ‘renting data’ and build their own database through direct-to-consumer relationships. The key to future success is building a loyalty initiative that offers mutual value exchange. Customers can willingly offer their personal details, in exchange for a better customer experience.

With the death of the cookies, the ‘value exchange’ between businesses and their customers’ willingness to share personal data has never been so important. Activating cookie-less data, using it to enhance customer experience and derive insights is a craft and skill that marketers need to invest in and develop.

Unlocking the value of loyalty in a cookieless future

The importance of loyalty programs should not be overlooked as a critical part of a marketer’s toolkit. Loyalty programs are the perfect replacement for connecting customers with brands in new and innovative ways now and beyond a cookie-less world. They give organizations a clear, zero-party data approach to unlock deeper insights into their customers, unlock fresh CX opportunities, and open powerful new ways to forge more long-lasting and meaningful customer relationships.

But what makes a great loyalty program? Adam Posner, CEO and Founder of The Point of Loyalty, shares the seven zones that make up the ‘wheel of loyalty fortune’. Organizations need to implement each one of these points to ensure they have a strong, steadfast loyalty program that will benefit both customers and brands.

1. Business: First and foremost a business must be profitable and sustainable.

2. Members: Organizations should understand their loyalty member’s behaviors, beliefs, and belongings.

3. Program: The loyalty program needs to be meaningful and desirable to consumers.

4. Team: The organization’s employees need to buy-in for the loyalty program and be willing to endorse it.

5. Technology: The technology should be fit-for-future rather than fit-for-now.

6. Data: Ensuring the loyalty program captures the data necessary for analysis and for relevant action.

7. Dialogue: Any company dialogue to the customer needs to be dynamic and personal at all times.

It’s time for a new marketing recipe

There is life after the death of the cookie. Zero-party data can help marketers connect with their customers. This preference data comes directly from the consumer. There are no intermediaries and no guesswork — it’s psychographic data that includes the customers’ values, attitudes, interests, and personality traits.

Marketers will need to survive, lead and stay relevant in a cookie-less society – a reality that is right around the corner. Leading with loyalty and adopting a Zero Party Data strategy will help marketers survive by creating long-lasting customer relationships with a clear and concise value exchange.

This article is written by Billy Loizou, VP for Go To Market for APAC at Cheetah Digital.

Cheetah Digital is a cross-channel customer engagement solution provider that enables marketers to create personalized experiences, cross-channel messaging, and loyalty strategies.

Our lifestyle today revolves around platform businesses, and the need for such services has been further heightened with social restrictions over the course of the pandemic. From what we eat (food delivery), how we commute (ride-hailing), to how we consume entertainment (video-sharing websites), we use the services provided by platform players. In fact, the market size of the global platform economy has surpassed the US$7t mark and is still growing at a compounded annual rate of 15%.

In 2022, there will be more startups coming to the scene disrupting traditional markets, and even established companies shifting their business model, all adopting the platform-based approach.

With increasing competition coming next year, what does it take for a platform player to emerge as a winner? The answer is the ability to create an ecosystem that not just meets the needs of both the consumers (buyers) and suppliers (sellers), but also one where both sides of the platform are committed and engaged in interacting with each other.

This can be achieved via platform loyalty programs. Platform loyalty programs are different from traditional loyalty programs. The program design of the latter is geared only towards the consumers whereas in the former, both players have their own roles to play to drive sustainable growth of the platform.

Five Strategic Archetypes of Platform Loyalty Programs to consider in 2022

As we enter 2022 with service platforms now deeply ingrained in consumers’ day-to-day, today proves to be the best time to double down on their engagement and build loyalty programs that will make the stay and long for a brand’s product or service.

Here are five strategies platform players can adopt in building a winning engagement strategy as their growth engine.

1. Two-pronged programs

The most direct way is to create a separate reward system for both consumers and sellers as means to create growth loops i.e. consumers bringing in more consumers; while sellers bringing in more sellers to the platform – to create more activities. 

Example: foodpanda

Foodpanda is a great example of how they create a separate rewards program for both sides of the platform ecosystem. Consumers have access to challenges and rewards where you get to unlock badges and points and redeem them for vouchers. Meanwhile, foodpanda has Bamboo Rewards to recognize riders. Through Bamboo Rewards, riders get to earn rewards such as fuel incentives, vouchers, and free merchandise.

Source: Screengrabs from foodpanda app and website

2. Customized programs

A platform owner can allow sellers on their program to launch their own mini loyalty program, which offers and rewards customers based on their own business needs, but still within the overarching rewards design principle of the platform.

Example: Lieferando

Lieferando is a food delivery platform in Europe. While they have an overarching points program, they allow the participating restaurants to customize their own stampcard program where users will get to earn a stamp for every order they make and redeem it for vouchers – personalized from that very restaurant – after collecting x number of stamps.

Source: Screengrabs from Lieferando website

3. Coalition programs

Multiple brands join together in a partnership and offer a joint loyalty program, often having a single rewards currency in the ecosystem.

Example: PAYBACK

At the core of the coalition program, PAYBACK has market-leading brands in the everyday spend category. This helps to ensure sufficient scale to support the economics of the program and in turn attract other partners to the coalition. A highly liquid rewards currency is the main draw for the consumers where they can freely earn/ burn across the participating brands thus allowing them to stretch their dollars.

Source: Screengrabs from PAYBACK website

4. Alliance program

Similar to a coalition loyalty program except that participating brands do not have to forfeit their own loyalty program and consumers do not have to sign up for a new program to be part of the alliance ecosystem

Example: Star Alliance

Star Alliance is a two-tier rewards program that gives passengers more options to book their tickets from the participating airlines, simplified in-flight operations, and the ability to earn and redeem miles on other alliance members. To be a member, customers just have to be enrolled in any of the participating alliance members’ frequent flyer programs. For airlines, joining an alliance gives them access to more customers and by combining networks, member airlines can offer more flights to many more designations without having the need to operate these routes on their own.

Source: Screengrabs from Star Alliance website

5. Employer-Employee program

While this model is not quite a typical platform rewards program, the program is meant to solve the pain points of employers and employees while still driving the main activities to the platform itself.

Example: Grab for Business

The program helps employers and saves them from having to give and track transport allowance to staff, and staff (users) do not have to be bothered with manual expense reporting while still being able to earn rewards points on their business travels.

Source: Screengrabs from Grab website

Program design principles for a successful platform loyalty program

Whichever model a platform player chooses as their engagement strategy, they need to adhere to these principles to ensure their program is successful:

1. Platform owners must solve the pain points of both consumers and sellers; or at least give sufficient reasons for them to join the program

2. Program insights should be made available to sellers (e.g. real-time dashboards) to improve targeting and offerings

3. Personalization and segmentation are important ingredients for sellers

4. Loyalty economics (e.g. earn/burn, breakage, floats) are critical for platform growth.

5. Balanced earn and burn across all partners and program must be independently owned by 3rd party

Platform business is in abundance and the market will get even more crowded in 2022. Only those who can foster healthy relationships between consumers and sellers will be successful, therefore, it is imperative that platform players start investing in their engagement strategies today.

Platform loyalty programs are an important growth loop strategy for platform businesses to grow their players, both buyers and sellers. Introducing such a concept in the current market environment could prove to be a winning asset and a strong differentiator from the competition.

This article was written by Loyalty & Growth Leader Henry Christian. He is the former general manager of Singapore’s loyalty program NTUC Link, and previously the head of loyalty program of leading lifestyle retailer MAP in Indonesia.

The article is published as part of MARKETECH APAC’s thought leadership series What’s NEXT.

This features marketing leaders sharing their marketing insights and predictions for the upcoming year. The series aims to equip marketers with actionable insights to future-ready their marketing strategies.

If you are a marketing leader and have insights that you’d like to share with regards to the upcoming trends and practices in marketing, please reach out to [email protected] for an opportunity to have your thought leadership published on the platform.

Australia – Foxtel, Australia’s subscription TV company, has rebranded its loyalty program Foxtel First, to be now called Foxtel Reward.

Following this endeavor, the company has also partnered with live entertainment company, Live Nation Australia, to bring Foxtel Rewards members unmissable live music events.

Through the partnership, Foxtel Rewards will be rolling out entertainment experiences across the most anticipated Live Nation Australia tours. It will also enable members to experience VIP benefits, such as meet and greets with the stars, invitations to exclusive pre-show parties, and reserved ticket allocations.

Moreover, members will be able to enjoy a slate of huge local and global talent in the upcoming Live Nation tours, including Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, Tim Minchin, and Alanis Morissette, as well as Backstreet Boys, and Rod Stewart, among others.

Greg Segal, Live Nation’s president of brand partnerships for Australia, commented, “We are looking forward to bringing Foxtel Rewards members deeper connections to their favorite artists and the music they love. We know the Foxtel Rewards program will make these experiences even more memorable for members.”

Foxtel Rewards will also bring an enhanced sport offering to their members with action-packed live sporting events, allowing them to meet sporting heroes and score tickets as part of regular giveaways. 

The program will deliver access to all areas to some of the biggest cricketing matches across the summer months including The Ashes, One Day International, T20 World Cup, and the Big Bash League, as well as NRL, and AFL, Supercars events across 2022. 

Lisa Cronin, Foxtel’s director of customer marketing and loyalty, said, “At a time where live experiences are more valued and sought after than ever before, we’re thrilled to be partnering with Live Nation Australia and rounding out our strong loyalty offering with the most exclusive money can’t buy experiences for our customers.”

Furthermore, the new rewards program will enable members to get their hands on premium movie tickets, bonus and exclusive content, and behind-the-scenes previews of their favorite shows, as well as attend VIP events.

Foxtel Rewards is free for all Foxtel residential customers with a set-top box only, which excludes Foxtel from Telstra customers.

Singapore – Buy now pay later (BNPL) platform in Asia, Atome, has launched Atome+, its in-app loyalty rewards program, in Singapore.

Atome allows shoppers to split their purchases into three interest-free installments at different stores. Through Atome+, shoppers will be earning points for purchases made using Atome across online and offline retailers in Singapore. These points can be redeemed against further purchases at selected merchants, including LEGO, Kinohimitsu, PEDRO, and Melissa, or to offset future transactions. 

Within the program, Atome shoppers are able to earn 1 Atome+ point for every S$1 spent. To celebrate the launch of Atome+ in Singapore, shoppers will receive up to 3 times more Atome+ points from 9 to 12 September. Existing Atome users can also earn additional 1,000 points for every successful referral from now until 30 September.

According to Atome, since the program’s soft launch in June, over 11,000 users have already redeemed 3 million worth of points to offset bills and transactions. The Atome+ loyalty program will be progressively rolled out to Malaysia and Hong Kong in the coming months.

Trasy Lou Walsh, general manager of Atome Singapore and Malaysia, shared that the program has been very well-received by Atome users since its soft launch. She further shared that within the program in the future, shoppers can be further rewarded with Atome+ points for actions like making on-time payments. 

Atome has been ramping up its presence within Asia, recently announcing its newly appointed country manager for Thailand, Poompong Tancharoenphol. 

Philippines – One of the largest airlines in the Philippines, Cebu Pacific, has recently announced the migration of its loyalty program ‘GetGo’ to ‘Go Rewards’.

‘Go Rewards’ is a lifestyle and rewards program of the Gokongwei group that provides its members more ways to enjoy deals and benefits from Cebu Pacific’s many partner brands.

Through the migration, the ‘GetGo’ points earned before 1 January 2020 will be converted into Cebu Pacific Travel Fund. Members will be able to use this virtual wallet to purchase new flights, add-ons, and taxes, as well as fees on the airline’s website.

Meanwhile, the points earned from 1 January 2020 onwards are converted into ‘Go Rewards’ points. One point is equivalent to ₱1 and can be redeemed in over 2,000 retail stores. 

Furthermore, under the ‘Go Rewards’, members from the Philippines can earn and redeem points from purchases in Gokongwei-owned stores such as the Robinsons Department Store, Robinsons Supermarket, and The Marketplace, as well as Shopwise, and Southstar Drug, among others. Members can also enjoy exclusive deals and coupons that they can discover via the ‘Go Rewards’ app. 

“We are excited to be part of this new and improved loyalty program where we are now able to offer more rewards and options for our customers,” said Candice Iyog, Cebu Pacific’s vice president for marketing and customer experience.

Cebu Pacific said that the members with ‘GetGo’ loyalty cards may exchange them for the new ‘Go Rewards Classic’ card by simply presenting the old ‘GetGo’ card in any Robinsons Retail store, and activating the card through the ‘Go Rewards’ app to easily view the points. In addition, the ‘GetGo’ members with existing ‘Go Rewards’ membership can conveniently merge both accounts through the ‘Go Rewards’ app.

Meanwhile, the ‘GetGo’ members who are new to ‘Go Rewards’ can merge their ‘GetGo’ membership by downloading the ‘Go Rewards’ app, selecting ‘Register’, and then linking their ‘GetGo’ account. After doing so, the ‘GetGo’ number will be deactivated, and the new ‘Go Rewards’ number will be the membership account moving forward.

Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam – Following its first expansion into the Malaysian market, a new joint venture between the Malaysian subsidiary of Japan-based e-gift service Giftee and marketing communications company Mekong Communications has been announced, which signals the expansion of the e-gift service to Vietnam.

Through Giftee Mekong joint venture, both companies will focus on two core objectives: to distribute e-gifts, or digital vouchers catered to the retail and F&B industry, and to provide various digital marketing incentive solutions to businesses in Vietnam through a program ‘giftee for Business’.

To materialize these venture objectives, Giftee Mekong will bank on Giftee’s business expertise on the scale of the e-gift industry, evident with its extensive business in Japan and Malaysia, while Mekong Communications will use its extensive client network of F&B businesses for engagement of digital marketing services for corporations.

In short, it is to be expected that various business synergies will be implemented to the venture’s new clients such as enabling brands to issue e-gifts, or opening markets for e-gift providers to enable corporations to incorporate e-gifts into the business strategy, as well being offered with various solutions combining digital marketing strategies with e-gifts.

First founded in 2010 in Japan and currently represented by directors Mutsumi Ota and Tatsuya Suzuki, the company offers four services for consumers and businesses: giftee-C2C gift service, e-gift System, giftee for business and Welcome! STAMP, an electronic system making engagement with local businesses easier, including e-local currency, e-payment for transport systems and local taxes, and so forth. Said expansion into the ASEAN region started first with the incorporation of Giftee Malaysia in 2018.

“E-gifting service has experienced steady growth for the last few years in Vietnam but it is still far from reaching its maximum potential. Digital transformation is a survival strategy for most companies. We believe that Giftee can contribute significantly to the digital transformation of Vietnam as well as bringing the convenience of e-gifting service to local users,” said Le Bui Kim Son, CEO of Giftee Mekong.

Meanwhile, Mekong Communications is part of a larger corporate network known as Mekong One, which focuses on three main areas: marketing communications, distribution solutions, and real estate strategic consulting and advisory. With more than 12 years of experience in being well-informed about the environment and reality as well as the potential advantages of the Vietnam market, Mekong Communications holds the reputation of being an authorized strategic partner of a broad range of giant companies, especially Japanese companies in the Vietnam market.

“We are confident that with our core competencies, well-informed experience in the Vietnam market, digital infrastructure, and artificial intelligence…The collaboration between Mekong One and Giftee will make a great difference not only in products and services but also contribute to improving the experience for the Vietnam market and Vietnamese users,” said Nghia Vo, general Director of Mekong Communications and member of Mekong One.

Hong Kong – In its ongoing stance to improve their engagement with customers, airline Cathay Pacific has recently announced its newest premium travel lifestyle brand called simply ‘Cathay’ that merges “positive things” on travel and lifestyle. 

Over the coming months, ‘Cathay’ will be rolling out a range of new offers in spending, dining, shopping, hotels, and wellness – enabling it to engage with their customers not only when they fly with them, but “everyday.” 

‘Cathay’ brings together Cathay Pacific and its existing loyalty programs Marco Polo Club and Asia Miles all in one place, simplifying the way customers can interact with them, including how to earn status and use miles.

Through the new brand, ‘Cathay’ is also set to make its proposition more appealing. By integrating its offerings and forging better partnerships, it promises to bring a wider range of products and services to the benefit of customers.

As part of the initial launch is a new Cathay co-branded credit card – which will be rolled out in Hong Kong soon. These will all culminate in an upcoming refreshed customer relationship program in the first half of 2022. 

Augustus Tang, chief executive officer at Cathay Pacific, notes that the center of the ‘Cathay’ brand is a so-called ‘celebration of all the best things we love – and have missed – about travel’.

“We are very proud to have been connecting our customers with people, places and experiences around the world through the joy of travel. Our ability to enter the travel lifestyle space and the success of this strategy is built upon the enduring strength, trust and respect that Cathay Pacific has established over 75 years of accomplishments, and the hard work and dedication of our people around the world,” Tang stated.

He added, “‘Cathay’ reinforces our commitment to engage with our customers in their everyday lives with world-class service. By adding more value and simplicity, we are helping to move them forward in life as per our ‘Move Beyond’ purpose.”

‘Cathay’ will be only available in Hong Kong at the moment, as Cathay Pacific will work out in the near future to expand the travel lifestyle brand to other markets in the near future.

Singapore – In conjunction with the nearing 7.7 Great Shopee Sale, Shopee has officially launched the ‘Shopee Mall Brand Memberships’ program for brands – a tool that aims to help brands to amplify their customer experience and growth through customer retention and loyalty program that can be personalized by the brand.

Shopee first gave a peek at the program in January during its Brands Summit 2021 last January. According to Shopee, the program is a response to the increase in brands looking to e-commerce as a key channel for brand-building in the entire customer journey. The new tool will allow brands on Shopee Mall to build deeper connections with potential and existing customers, converting them into valuable lifetime customers.

Similar to the way brands oversee their own loyalty programs, the ‘Shopee Mall Brand Memberships’ program will be driving more conversion and repeat purchases. For instance, brands can customize their own membership program for shoppers, including the welcome gift, number of membership tiers, and brand loyalty points awarded to members for every purchase. 

Furthermore, members of the program can accumulate and redeem these loyalty points for exclusive benefits such as upsized vouchers and gifts with purchases. What’s interesting is that ‘Shopee Mall Brand Memberships’ vouchers can be stacked by customers with other Shopee vouchers, thus unlocking even more savings, helping to promote further sales for brands; something that the platform ought to restrict in their standard promos. 

It would be recalled that Shopee also recently launched its own four-tier loyalty program within the platform. This is however catered to bringing in more shoppers into the platform itself, rather than a specific program. 

Shopee’s Regional Managing Director Ian Ho shared that with consumers now spending a larger part of their shopping journey online, they want to empower brands with more ways to capture their customers at every touchpoint. 

“Hence, we are proud to launch this program that will not only support our brand partners in achieving more sustainable growth by driving conversion and higher spending, but also deliver greater value to shoppers. We have already seen how brand members tend to spend twice as much per order compared to non-members, demonstrating the effectiveness of this tool in building greater brand affinity in the long-term,” said Ho.

The ‘Shopee Mall Brand Memberships’ program will also be providing brands with an effective way to identify and manage different customer segments through the understanding of their profile, purchasing habits, and preferences. 

The ‘Shopee Mall Brand Memberships’ Grand Launch campaign will officially start today, 1 July, to encourage sign-ups and will be rolled out across seven markets, including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Taiwan, as well as Indonesia, and the Philippines. Over 200 brands on Shopee Mall and Shopee Premium across popular categories are expected to participate, and many more brands joining the program down the line.

Shopee also shared that it will further enhance the program with new features planned out for brands, which includes creating a more seamless shopping experience through omnichannel integration, where brands can integrate their offline and online CRM systems with the new tool.

Indonesia – Indonesia’s e-commerce platform Tokopedia has launched anew its loyalty program ‘TokoPoints’, which can be earned by users through every purchase of physical products on the platform using any payment method.

‘TokoPoints’ can be exchanged for all transactions of physical products and various digital products, without a minimum or maximum point redemption limit. The use of ‘TokoPoints’ for physical product transactions can also be combined with other promos, like free shipping.

Gabriella Kawilarang, the senior lead product manager of Tokopedia, said that along with the evolution of TokoPoints, the platform hopes to enhance the shopping experience of users and provide them more advantages in Tokopedia.

Kawilarang further shared that online shopping is increasingly becoming a mainstay for people in the midst of the pandemic, saying that this is evident from the increase in the number of monthly active users of Tokopedia, which has now exceeded 100 million, prompting Tokopedia to relaunch TokoPoints. She said that the relaunch will offer more added value to users, as this is part of their commitment to their brand mission ‘#SelaluAdaSelaluBisa’, which means that Tokopedia can accommodate whatever the user is looking for and wants to do.

“Tokopedia will also continue to collaborate with strategic partners to provide a more inclusive, attractive, and efficient shopping experience for the public through various special offers and transparent prices all at hand. This joint effort is hoped to be able to encourage more people to adopt digital platforms, both in fulfilling their daily needs and achieving more, for the sake of simultaneously helping the recovery of the national economy through technology,” added Kawilarang.

Tokopedia has also noted that the highest increase in transactions during the first quarter of 2021 are the following categories: Food and Beverage, Animal Care, and Health, as well as Party Supplies and Craft, and Books.