Lessons From Plenti’s Collapse
The Plenti program will formally cease operations on July 10, bringing to a close a tumultuous chapter in North American coalition loyalty. But as the big brand names associated with Plenti gave the program’s slow-motion collapse a shock factor that the media has eagerly pounced upon, the underlying shortcomings were obvious for many of the program’s participants, particularly grocers. These include Jacksonville, Fla.-based Southeastern Grocers, which is introducing its own loyalty program, SE Grocers Rewards, in Plenti's place.
For some time, large organizations like regional grocery chains simply weren’t getting a fair exchange from programs like Plenti, which promise exposure benefits from their multi-merchant frameworks but effectively ask participants to surrender access to their own customer data. Instead, many businesses are seeking to take back ownership of their loyalty data to build better relationships with their customers.
Plenti’s failure to resonate with consumers also sheds light on what customers demand from the loyalty programs they engage with, and provides a clear path forward for grocers that bring their loyalty programs in-house. Grocers that choose that path will have ample opportunities to attract, engage and retain loyal customers on their own terms, and with their own data.
Along those lines, here are three lessons grocers can learn from the demise of Plenti as they embark on new loyalty strategies:
1. Grocers need to own their data — and connect it
As a coalition or multi-merchant loyalty scheme, Plenti was designed to offer retailers across categories access to a ready-made customer base. The concept behind this – that offering customers the ability to earn and redeem rewards with multiple brands, in unrelated sectors, increases the number of members in the program – is common to all coalition programs.
The tradeoff for accessing this pool of customers was that brands effectively outsourced their loyalty program to Plenti – and lost any visibility into their customers’ data in the process. Even if Plenti hadn’t failed to deliver value to its members, this lack of insight into its own customers’ loyalty activity should have been enough to cause merchants to rethink their participation.
Gaining a more thorough understanding of shoppers, what motivates them and what influences their purchasing behaviors is only possible if a brand can connect its customer data across all touchpoints, including its loyalty program. A program like Plenti adds an opaque layer between this crucial data and a brand, preventing brands from getting a complete view of their customers. Grocers that move their loyalty efforts in-house, conversely, will have clear visibility into their customers’ activity, and immediately realize the value of owning their customer data.
2. The real value to consumers? Easy earning and redemption
The most-cited member complaint of the Plenti program was the difficulty of redeeming points. This was borne out by the numbers: An estimated 30 million people signed up for Plenti, but fewer than half ever used their points to redeem anything, according to an article in Forbes. In this respect, it’s no wonder that consumers abandoned Plenti; according to Eagle Eye’s own recent consumer loyalty report, “Shifting Loyalties,” 56 percent of respondents indicated that too much time, effort or spend required to earn a meaningful reward was the top reason that they quit a loyalty program.
The labyrinthine earning and redemption process that Plenti members endured can be easily avoided by grocers developing their own loyalty programs. Straightforward, easy-to-understand rewards and accrual procedures will help retain members, increase activity and ultimately drive sales.
3. Personalization is the way forward for business growth and customer loyalty
Streamlining earning and redemption will indeed make a loyalty program more attractive to consumers and boost participation rates. It’s when a brand unlocks the potential of connected data, however, that customers reap real benefits.
When data from all customer touchpoints are connected in one single customer view, grocers can present rewards, offers and communications tailored to each shopper’s purchasing habits and preferences in the right channel at the right time. This in turn leads to new and higher levels of engagement, an enhanced shopper experience that meets customer expectations, and higher conversion rates due to the accuracy of the offers distributed. It also allows grocers to nurture the emotional side of the customer experience, and ensures that shoppers get what they want out of their interactions with the brand.
As grocers come to understand their customers’ needs and preferences clearly, the opportunities to develop loyalty – and grow sales – abound. That’s an advantage that Plenti was never able to provide.
Grocers that own and connect their data can generate meaningful insights into who their customers are, as well as what motivates them and influences their purchasing behaviors. With those insights – and with uncomplicated, straightforward earning and redemption processes – they can create personalized offers customers want to redeem, increasing the perceived value of the loyalty program, boosting conversion rates in-store, and driving revenue back into the business. The Plenti coalition loyalty program couldn’t do this, and many grocers are realizing that the right path is in owning and driving their own programs.
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