ACI Worldwide Study Reveals Half Of U.S. Consumers Demand One Card For All Of Their Retail Loyalty Programs
Americans say loyalty and rewards programs have become too complicated and burdensome, and they aren't truly driving loyalty
ACI Worldwide, a leading international provider of payment systems, recently released the results of a recent study of consumers in the U.S., that shows that retailers simply aren't getting it right when it comes to their loyalty and rewards programs. Consumers say programs have become too complicated and burdensome, and they aren't truly driving loyalty.
Three quarters of Americans (74%) are members of at least one retail loyalty and reward program, and 27% are members of four or more, according to the study. Consumers want to consolidate their myriad of loyalty and rewards programs on a single device, and they expect to be able to use their rewards regardless of whether they are shopping in the store or online. Unfortunately, at the moment, loyalty programs don't deliver.
"With so many reward schemes, Americans simply don't have the wallet space to carry and utilize their rewards cards; the market demands retailers consolidate loyalty programs onto a single device," said Rob Seward, senior industry marketing manager at ACI Worldwide. "When we asked people how they preferred to consolidate their rewards programs, half (52%) of Americans said they wanted a single card that can hold all their memberships. One-third (32%) of respondents told us they prefer a consolidated key chain card or key fob, and 17% said they would like to see a mobile application that consolidates all of their retail loyalty rewards programs."
"In the United Sates, collective loyalty programs in which multiple retailers share the costs of the program and a common currency or points system, have yet to gain widespread adoption, though ‘programs with a cause' like uPromise have had some success. In other countries, particularly the U.K. and South Africa, coalition programs are very well established," he continued. "With American consumers demanding consolidated loyalty and rewards programs, U.S. retailers need to move in this direction, and we've made sure our ACI Retail Commerce Server for Rewards Management can manage multiple concurrent programs for a single customer, and can consolidate the programs onto a single device such as a card or key fob, thus enabling retailers to deliver loyalty and rewards programs in a way that works for consumers."
Americans also agree that retail loyalty and rewards programs become problematic when shopping online. So difficult, in fact, that nearly half (49%) of loyalty program members never or rarely take advantage of loyalty program perks when shopping online.
"Online shopping is simple and convenient; it should be just as easy to access loyalty programs online," said Seward. "More than three-quarters (78%) of Americans say that easy online access to their loyalty memberships would make them more likely to shop at the retail websites that honor their loyalty programs online."
He continued, "There's a huge disconnect between retailers and consumers. When we asked Americans with loyalty card memberships which retail websites they visit first when they shop online, only half (53%) of them told us they go to online retailers where they can earn discounts and rewards. When consumers shop online and can't use their rewards programs, they are disappointed and question the value of the program; this is a problem and an opportunity for retailers to increase sales and reduce shopping cart abandon rates."
Winning retailers place the customer experience at the center of their loyalty and rewards strategy. "Consumers want and expect a consistent shopping experience – whether they are in a store, online, browsing a retail catalog, or on their mobile device. ACI is making it easy for retailers to integrate their loyalty and rewards programs into POS systems and merchant websites so they can give consumers access to their programs online and in the store," said Seward.
The National Retail Federation (NRF) BIG Show is being held January 9-12, 2011 in New York City. Find ACI at booth #2229 or visit www.aciworldwide.com/nrf.
This survey was conducted in December 2010 by Wakefield Research (www.WakefieldResearch.com). For this research, 1,053 interviews were fielded among nationally representative Americans aged 18 and older, using an email invitation and an online survey. Quotas were set to ensure reliable and accurate representation of the total U.S. population ages 18 and older.
About ACI Worldwide
ACI Worldwide powers electronic payments for more than 750 financial institutions, retailers and processors around the world. The company has the broadest, most integrated suite of electronic payment software in the market. More than 75 billion times each year, ACI's solutions process consumer payments. On an average day, ACI software manages more than US$12 trillion in wholesale payments. And for more than 150 organizations worldwide, ACI software helps to protect their customers from financial crime. To learn more about ACI and understand why we are trusted globally. For more information, visit www.aciworldwide.com. Or www.paymentsinsights.com.
SOURCE: ACI Worldwide