Value Tops Customers Loyalty Preference
Product discounts far outweigh reward points when it comes to loyalty cards and grocery shopping, a recent study found.
Some 49% of adults said they prefer a discount on specific products during store visits, compared to 34% who opt to accumulate points for larger rewards or payoffs tied to a frequent buyer or loyalty card program, according to Vertis’ Customer Focus 2006: Grocery study. Specifically, 51% of men over 50 and women 35-49 who have loyalty cards said they prefer a discount, compared to accumulating points.
“[Consumers] are saying…they want some sort of value for their business,” said Scott Marden, director of market research for Vertis, Baltimore-based marketing strategy consultants.
Regarding loyalty card benefits, 51% of respondents (professional/white collar adults) said they would prefer a discount on specific products during grocery store visits, compared to 46% of blue-collar adults, the study found. Some 42% of Hispanic consumers said they prefer accumulating points for a larger pay off or reward, compared to 34% of total adults, it said.
On the flip side, 51% of baby boomers (consumers born between 1946 and 1964) opt for immediate discounts on specific products as compared to 45% of Generation X (people born between 1965 and 1976) consumers.
In 2006, only 3% of consumers said they don’t like loyalty cards, reflecting a growing trend that consumer are more accepting of loyalty cards, Marden said.
“Loyalty cards are still going to grow as far as the number of consumers who have and use them,” he said. “Consumers do carry quite a few cards in their wallets. Retailers really need to make them stand out by offering special offers” to keep consumers loyal, Marden said.
Other study findings include:
- 24% of women grocery shoppers 18-34 said that in the past two weeks they visited a super-discount store most often to purchase perishable products, compared to 17% in the same age group who visited a super-sized grocery store.
- 23% of women grocery shoppers 18-34 said that in the past two weeks they visited a super-discount store, most often to buy non-perishable products, compared to 12% of women who visited a super-sized grocery store.
- 21% of women 35-49 they visited a super-discount store most often to purchase non-perishable products, compared to 16% who shopped at super-sized grocery stores.
The Customer Focus Grocery study surveyed 2,500 consumers via phone last fall.
