Many retailers maintaining customer loyalty despite challenging times, according to dunnhumby report

Customer loyalty is holding strong at major retailers worldwide despite the continued tough economic conditions facing many shoppers.

That is one of the key findings in a new report published by data science big hitter dunnhumby.

Entitled ‘The Power of Personalised Loyalty’, the report, authored by two of the company’s senior customer engagement experts, explores how leading retailers across the globe are harnessing intelligent ways to win and retain customer loyalty.

The study comprised a review of approaches to loyalty being adopted by 24 major retailers across EMEA, Latin America, North America, and the Asia-Pacific region.

It suggested that in a number of key areas of loyalty and personalisation, the reality around what is happening is not entirely in line with some common perceptions and reports in the media.

Among several key findings, it revealed that, despite some news headlines suggesting otherwise, most retailers (70%) have been successful in maintaining and even increasing their base of loyal customers in recent years, with 53% seeing an increase in take-up of loyalty schemes.

Meanwhile, 70% of customers were buying more private brand products than at the same time the previous year.

In the grocery retail sector, tried and tested approaches to loyalty and personalisation programmes, such as personalised offers and members only pricing, remained ahead of new technologies in both current implementations and imminent plans among retailers worldwide.

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The study also suggested that future plans are likely to be based on mobile apps and omnichannel marketing rather than technologies such as chatbots or augmented reality.

Tailored digital recommendations were the preferred option within personalisation strategies, with emerging technologies again seeing little uptake.

Two of the biggest barriers to effective implementation in both areas were viewed as financial constraints and technical challenges.

Joint report author Samantha Sergeant, Customer Engagement & Media Global Propositions Manager at dunnhumby, says: “We were keen to understand how loyalty and personalisation programmes are developing worldwide - and how this is impacting adoption levels among customers.”

“What we saw throughout is that many are finding ways to thrive in economic conditions which remain challenging for all, by focusing fully on individual customers and their needs, and then adapting their offerings accordingly, irrespective of whether this involves ‘new’ technologies.”

Co-author Debora Franchim, Director of Personalisation and Customer Engagement, adds: “Loyalty is hard to win and easy to lose but despite tough times, most retailers have managed to keep their base of loyal customers, or even grow it.”

“Those that have been successful have adopted true customer first principles – being laser-focused on delivering value - rather than worrying what competitors are up to.”

“There’s always room for innovation if it’s done in a way which adds value - and where its impact can be measured. For now, at least, ‘tried and tested’ means, focused on what delivers optimal value for your most loyal customers, seem to be what is working best.”

“And in many cases, it’s clear a strong private brand proposition is also helping to drive success when it comes to loyalty.”