How to Engage Loyalty Program Point Spenders and Savers

Some consumers enjoy saving their loyalty program points for big-ticket items while others like to redeem their points as fast as they earn them. So, how should you market to these consumers using incentives? Are there different strategies for you to engage both types of consumers?

And should you target these different groups of consumers by leveraging different incentives connected to their loyalty programs?

Let’s dig deeper into this issue.

Spenders Versus Savers: Different Prizing

When it comes to loyalty program members, there are spenders and there are savers and the prizing strategies for both are different.

“Spenders” want to redeem their points as quickly as they earn them. They have no interest in saving them for something else down the road. On the other hand, “savers” want to hold on to their points to redeem aspirational rewards like higher value/higher price point items in the catalog.

When you’re thinking about “spenders”, consider that:

• Seventy-four percent of consumers agree that loyalty program rewards often feel unattainable, they require making too many purchases, require too many points and take too long to earn. 
• Nearly 90% of consumers engage with loyalty programs less often if they feel it takes too long to earn rewards.
• And nearly 70% of consumers are likely to redeem smaller amounts of loyalty program points in exchange for rewards like the chance to win a prize, a customized digital product or a donation to a charity, instead of having to “save up” points for larger ticket rewards like free products or merchandise.

For “spenders”, you need a catalog construct that includes attainable rewards. Reward catalogs are where members can go to see available rewards at different price points.

These rewards can include:

• Lower-cost “collect and get” items, which are typically low-value digital gift cards to reduce procurement/fulfillment costs or coupons
• Sweepstakes entries, which offer chances to win aspirational rewards for limited points redeemed
• Lower-cost digital assets or experiences such as virtual events, digital cookbooks and printables

There are two key elements to consider for “savers”.

• Reward attainability: Can members reach an item of value within a reasonable timeframe (3-6 months)? If not, they may lose interest and stop participating.
• Reward appeal: Are there items in the catalog that are aspirational enough to save currency to redeem?

Make sure rewards are relevant to your member population. In-program polls can be a great way to engage with and better understand your members and learn more about the types of rewards that motivate them.

According to our Loyalty Amplifiers Quick Poll, when asked which activities within a loyalty program would most excite consumers to learn about new products and/or loyalty program benefits, 71% of consumers said filling out a poll or survey.

Examples of Spender-focused Rewards

Some good examples of spender-focused rewards are 19 Crimes (an Australian wine brand) and its Infamous Insider Rewards program and Johnson & Johnson’s My Care Club Rewards loyalty program:

• 19 Crimes Infamous Insider Rewards – Wine labels, emoji downloads, digital wine party props, sweepstakes and digital music gift cards
• Energizer Go Rewards – sweepstakes

With 19 Crimes, its goal is increasing purchase frequency and sales volume while driving downloads of the Living Wine Labels app.

For completing activities such as making a purchase, downloading the app or entering hidden keywords, legal-age drinkers can earn “Infamy Points” to redeem in the “Rewards Commissary.” The 19 Crimes loyalty program offers some rewards that don’t require a ton of points.

For those spender-focused, loyalty program members, at 19 Crimes you can enter to win a branded mart speaker for a mere 10 points. Meanwhile, it only takes 125 points to earn an emoji download.

Infamous Insider Rewards members can use their points to receive prizes such as swag, VIP perks and chances to win exclusive prizes. And the more they play, the more chances they earn to win various new prizes.

This is a great way to have your loyalty program members use their points to enter a sweepstakes to win a prize or experience. And 19 Crimes offers attainable rewards that reinforce brand equity.

For members of Energizer Go Rewards, it only takes 20 points to enter a sweepstakes for a chance to win a heated car blanket. And for just 30 points, you can enter a sweepstakes for a chance to win a Solo Stove Yukon 2.0 with a stand.

Having easily attainable rewards, without having to save points for a long time, makes your loyalty program more attractive to spenders.

Examples of Saver-focused Rewards

Some good examples in our current programs of saver-focused rewards are:

• 19 Crimes Infamous Insider Rewards – custom glassware set, custom hoodie, $50 StubHub gift card
• Energizer Go Rewards – JBL wireless headphones

Members of the Energizer Go Rewards loyalty program can save 7,500 points to redeem a pair of JBL wireless headphones.

Here are a few other big-ticket prize items for Energizer Go Rewards members:

• $50 Airbnb gift card (5,000 points)
• Energizer travel blanket (2,500 points)
• $25 Delta Airlines gift card (2,500 points)
• $10 Amazon gift card (1,000 points)

For loyalty program members focused on saving the points they earn, brands certainly offer big-ticket items.

For example, the 19 Crimes loyalty program offers many great ways for members to engage and complete tasks mapped out in the dashboard to accrue points. Members who enjoy savings points can earn a 19 Crimes hoodie for 4,500 points or a 19 Crimes Snoop Cali Red baseball hat for 2,000 points.

Incentives Can Amplify Your Loyalty Program

Finding that perfect reward that appeals to your program members, for both point savers and spenders, can be challenging. Every loyalty program member is different and you need different strategies to accommodate different types of members.

And it’s important to recognize both types of loyalty program members, identify which is which and create a rewards strategy that makes sense for each group by collecting feedback from polls, personality profiles and customer data.

If you’d like to chat about developing specific rewards strategies or any other customer engagement needs, feel free to contact our loyalty experts any time.