How To Succeed With Your Shopping Centre Loyalty App

When it comes to developing an effective loyalty program for your shopping centre, one of the most effective ways you can engage your customers and keep track of shopper’s spending trends is through a rewards program. Let’s explore how you can transform your customer’s shopping experience with the power of a shopping centre loyalty app.

What Is A Customer Loyalty Program?

Customer loyalty programs are rewards which you can offer to returning customers as a way of saying ‘thank you’ for their continuous purchases. These rewards can come in a variety of forms, such as free products, points to spend on purchases, access to content or invites to exclusive in-house events.

Since customers who join loyalty programs tend to spend more money (as a result of the benefits they receive), it can be hugely beneficial for both shopping centres and retailers to develop a customer loyalty program. Loyalty programs increase customer retention and online reviews, as well as getting more people to talk about their experiences with brands and retailers.

Why Should Your Shopping Centre Invest In A Customer Loyalty App?

Shopping centres are a little different to traditional retailers, as they incorporate many different stores under one roof. Whilst individual shops might offer their own loyalty programs, shopping centres can sometimes find themselves struggling to invent ways to give shoppers the rewards they deserve. That’s where the power of loyalty apps comes in.

Through the power of a shopping centre loyalty app, you can gain insights into the spending habits of your customers, seeing which stores they prefer so you can provide them with more personalised offers and rewards. This lets you create more targeted and successful marketing campaigns to keep your customers engaged and satisfied.

Retailers also benefit from loyalty apps, as it boosts brand awareness and gives them a dedicated space to advertise (if they didn’t have one already). It also saves them from having to develop a loyalty program of their own, which can be a particular problem if you have lots of smaller independent stores in your shopping centre.

For customers, a loyalty app is an absolute game-changer. Not only do they gain access to exclusive rewards and offers, their personal experience with your shopping centre is drastically improved. Features like QR-codes and store maps help streamline the purchasing process, whilst the increased rewards make it more likely that they will find an unmissable offer. They also get to discover new stores they might not have known about before, boosting sales and driving foot traffic for some of your ‘hidden-gem’ shops.

Key Features Of A Shopping Centre Loyalty App

Now that we’ve talked about the benefits of a shopping centre loyalty app, it’s time to think about what sort of features you should include. 

Cross-Store Rewards

One of the best ways to reward your customers is by letting them accrue points in one store and spend them in another. Creating cross-store or ‘coalition’ loyalty programs gives loyal shoppers the chance to earn rewards with multiple brands on all kinds of purchases, and it also means that customers have a much wider range of choice when it comes to spending their hard-earned points.

Receipt Scanning

It might not sound like it, but putting a scannable barcode or QR code on your receipt encourages customers to engage with brands and retailers post-visit. You can link them to personalised marketing messages or specific products, brands and stores depending on what they purchased, getting them thinking about what they could buy if they came back again next time.

Pre-Ordering Capabilities

Whilst the increase in online shopping has made it harder for shopping centres to compete, sometimes allowing shoppers to make purchases digitally can encourage them to come in-store – especially in the case of pre-ordering. Customers can skip the queues and make purchases quickly without the arduous waiting that comes with brick-and-mortar shopping.

Social Sharing

Integrating social media into your loyalty app can allow brands and customers alike to show off their products and purchases in real-time. This allows you to take advantage of user-generated content to populate brand’s social media feeds, reinforcing a positive purchasing experience as a result.

Gamification

Whilst this might sound fancy, it simply means including game elements into your app design. Digital punch cards, tiered rewards and membership levels encourage shoppers to keep spending through increased user engagement, all whilst making the customer’s purchasing experience more enjoyable.

Let’s Give Customers The Rewards They Deserve

Now that you’re ready to develop your customer loyalty app, you need a reliable, trustworthy partner to help implement your marketing strategy and boost your sales. At Shoppertainment, our experts help to manage shopping centre commercialisation and marketing opportunities for over 100 sites across the UK, so there’s no better choice for your creative shopping centre marketing agency.

To learn about how our shopping centre management services can help you, contact our team today for more information.