Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM) saw loyalty and lifetime value take the lead as consumers favoured alternative incentives, data from LoyaltyLion has revealed.
LoyaltyLion’s data shows a 113 percent surge in rewards being claimed by customers this BFCM and a 69 percent increase in successful referrals compared to the weekend average.
This BFCM, customers were keen to engage with loyalty programs, with a 51 percent boost in program enrolment. Additionally, five times more loyalty points were awarded to customers for completing activities like making purchases, leaving reviews and social media follows in comparison to an average weekend.
When comparing the days, the data showed that Friday came out on top in terms of loyalty program performance. While on a normal weekend, the number of rewards claimed typically stays quite steady, Black Friday saw a 180 percent increase in rewards claimed. This increase then remained across the rest of the weekend, with the number of rewards claimed, staying on average 90% higher than a usual weekend.
Charlie Casey, CEO at LoyaltyLion said: “Whether by giving early access to sales, replacing discounts with charitable incentives, or trialing other approaches, it was great to see so many retailers focussed on protecting their customer relationships during what was undoubtedly a challenging sales period.”
“Many retailers stopped to think about loyalty and lifetime value rather than over-promising and under-delivering on sales. Consumers responded positively to this approach too, with our data showing a big uptick in loyalty program engagement and positive loyal behaviours over Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM) this year.”
Fuelled by the relevance of conscious consumerism, brands took note. This BFCM, many stores participated in the “Green Friday” initiative or pledged to donate part of their profits to charity.
LoyaltyLion’s data suggests custom rewards, such as spending loyalty points to plant a tree or donate to a charity – were redeemed four times more during BFCM compared to a regular weekend. That was more than monetary-based rewards including a percentage off certain products, collections, or subscriptions.
Shipping perks and benefits were also alternative incentives high on the BFCM-shopper’s list. Double the amount of free shipping rewards were claimed compared to a regular weekend.
Charlie Casey, CEO at LoyaltyLion commented: “Prior to Black Friday this year, our research showed that consumers felt just as positively towards brands that offer early access to sales or used charitable rewards as they do about brands that offer discounts.
“It’s been great to see so many brands implementing these alternative incentives to prevent compromising on customer experience. This will pay dividends in terms of customer lifetime value as we head into 2022”