Don’t you love the feeling of putting on a brand new pair of sneakers that fit you perfectly?
That’s what Foot Locker wants its customer to feel when they join its new upcoming loyalty program.
The new loyalty program known as FLX, which is tentatively scheduled to launch sometime in February, will provide access and attractive benefits that brand officials believe will positively impact customer behavior.
Here’s why we think it will be a success.
FLX is About the Customer, Not the Brand
The FLX loyalty program focuses on its customers and what they want and expect – Instant gratification, customer-centricity, brand unification, and an enhanced experience.
Before talking about the actual benefits of FLX, the program unifies all its stores: Foot Locker, Lady Foot Locker, Kids Foot Locker, Footaction, Eastbay, and Champs Sports.
This brand unification makes for a simplified, seamless customer experience.
“We know that our best customers shop across [all of the banners] but we haven’t done anything intentional to encourage that behavior until now,” Foot Locker CMO Jed Berger told select media last week.
FLX also gets away from the discount theme of previous loyalty offerings. The program benefits are quite different from anything Foot Locker has offered in the past.
The program has three tiers (based on consumer spend) and customers earn 100 points for each dollar spent. Points are redeemable in one central reward center that can be accessed through the app of any banner.
They can also be earned for online activities such as completing surveys and connecting social media accounts.
But besides points, FLX members receive a “head start” on sneaker releases, regardless of tier, and shipping is free with no minimum spend, although some exclusions apply.
To streamline the browsing and shopping experience, Foot Locker is combining its release calendar and launch locator functionality into one experience.
Last year Foot Locker tested the FLX program in Lady Foot Locker and Foot Locker Netherlands and CEO Dick Johnson talked about what customers want from a loyalty program.
Target tested its Target Circle loyalty program for 18 months before it launched nationally last October.
“Our prior membership program was discount-driven — you got discounts for your birthday and with the points you earned,” Johnson explained. “It drove a lot of business, but we learned some things aren’t important to our consumer. They’re more about access and benefits, whether that be the ability to get a head start on a launch or to attend a pre-concert party at [event space] NYC33. Maybe it’s a case where you’ve got enough points to bring 10 friends to play ball at Madison Square Garden or participate in a photo shoot with NBA players. FLX is about what we can provide our consumer that they feel especially good about and could share. We want to create shareable moments for our consumer.”
Why We Like FLX
Many retailers realize that simply providing discounts to loyalty members is not going to get the job done.
Foot Locker officials realized that and launched FLX, which is all about access and compelling benefits.
If loyalty is harder today because of a plethora of choices for consumers, retailers must make it their mission to differentiate.
And we think Foot Locker has.
Berger added: “Our previous program was very coupon dependent. We’re not that company with that consumer. A small base of our consumers actually cared, and we know that because we know how many were redeemed. This one creates much more of an emotional benefit, much more of a sneaker currency benefit. It will connect much better.”
Foot Locker officials have worked hard on meeting customer expectations and offering a loyalty program that elevates engagement levels.
How do you think the FLX program will do?
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