Mature South Africa is no laggard in the market

South Africa boasts a very mature loyalty market, with a number of programmes that have been in existence for many years The oldest is Clicks ClubCard, which launched 27 years ago FNB’s eBucks is also more than two decades old “The longevity in the market is matched by very mature consumer behaviour and high usage of programmes,” says Amanda Cromhout, founder and CEO of loyalty consultancy Truth “In the US, consumers belong to an average of 14 or 15 loyalty or reward programmes, but their actual usage is likely to be lower than South Africa’s average of 9 2 programmes per person This indicates South Africa is doing something right ”

Far from being a laggard in the loyalty market, the country leads in certain areas, particularly in terms of how financial services programmes are structured, says Cromhout “Internationally, most retail banks only reward customers for credit card usage, whereas in South Africa most of the big banks reward customers on their total banking behaviour ” Interestingly, while retail loyalty programmes dominate the most used category of the Truth & BrandMapp Loyalty Report, financial services programmes dominate the most loved programmes, with loyalty Van Rooy says constrained household disposable income propelled Clicks to rethink its loyalty programme and how the brand interacts with customers More personalised offers have helped to create a differentiated and relevant customer experience, while helping cashstrapped consumers to stretch their available budget that much further

The 2022 Truth and BrandMapp Loyalty Whitepaper revealed that women tend to use loyalty programmes more than men and are more likely than men to use programmes tied to shopping and specific products, while men are more likely to use them for fuel, travel purchases and banking Van Rooy says ClubCard research indicates similar patterns More than 70% of ClubCard s members are women earn double on fuel on selected Fridays ”

Members can also earn cashback at a host of other affinity partners, including Discovery Vitality, Sorbet, ARC Stores, Europcar, City Lodge Hotel Group, Execuspecs and Specsavers The 2022 Loyalty Whitepaper revealed cashback is South African’s favourite loyalty benefit across gender, age and income group ClubCard is arguably the most generous retail loyalty programme in South Africa In the past 12 months, it paid out more than R660m in cashback rewards Since its inception, it has paid out more than R5 5bn in cashback spend

In an increasingly competitive retail environment, meaningful and personal customer relationships have become more important to retain customer

Our research shows that women shop more frequently and have a higher ClubCard basket value than men Typically, women with a higher income do shop more frequently and spend more, while men are more invested in the Engen fuel benefit, with a customer base of 34% compared with 29% at Clicks ”

Loyalty programmes, says Van Rooy, have become expected by consumers in South Africa “The loyalty landscape has seen tremendous growth in the past five years, which has made innovation and differentiation key in remaining ahead of the pack and top of mind for consumers Differentiation, through hyper personalisation, is what sets a loyalty programme apart, as it reinforces stronger loyalty with improved engagement and keeps customers returning ”

Discovery Vitality and Standard Bank UCount taking the top spot, followed by FNB eBucks, Investec Rewards and Absa Rewards

“That financial services dominate the most-loved programmes category indicates the real value these programmes provide for their members,” says Cromhout Where local programmes still need to grow is in experience, she reveals “Programmes need to focus on offering relevant experiences and providing regular communication with programme members Though one or two programmes are starting to improve this metric, the majority still need to up their game in terms of their ongoing relationships and engagement with members ” did you know that joining ClubCard is absolutely FREE and takes less than 1 minute to sign up? you can earn up to 4% cashback every time you use your ClubCard at Clicks, Clicks Baby and The Body Shop earn even more cashback when you use your ClubCard at our partners such as: new ClubCard members can now earn 10% cashback on their Flexicare health insurance premium members also get instant savings on their favourite brands with ClubCard-only deals every month

4% cashback save e BIG ClubCard-only deals with