John Lewis added its loyalty scheme to its app at the end of August. The move means members can now access the scheme from the John Lewis app and they don’t have to carry around their plastic card.
Speaking to Marketing Week, John Lewis’ head of customer marketing Chris Bates, said the update has required a lot of in-store work to enable its scanners to work with smartphones. Members can now open the app and shake the phone to pull up a barcode that can be scanned instead of the card.
He claimed the update has been well received, with more than 20,000 people linking their membership to the app since launch. However he said it is aimed at early adopters as it takes time for loyalty apps to go mass market. As such, he still expects most shoppers to use the plastic card.
He said: “The feedback from our members was over the hassle of having to remember the card. Loyalty is becoming more digital but it will take time to head that way and become mass market.
“We are appealing to early adopters and we have an active marketing plan to get people to download the app but it will take time to wean some people off the card.
“But digital is a win win all round, it costs less to produce and its easier for the customer.”
John Lewis is also launching a new feature dubbed “Kitchen Drawer”. Every time a customer scans their loyalty card or the app in store all the details of the purchase – including the receipt and guarantees – will be uploaded to their secure John Lewis account.
Receipts will also be automatically updated if a customer returns or exchanges an item.
“The insight was that when people shop in store they have to hang onto the paper receipt, especially if there is a guarantee. But where do you store those? With Kitchen Drawer they don’t have to worry. We are trying to make shopping easier for our members,” explained Bates.
Putting John Lewis on shoppers’ agenda
John Lewis launched its loyalty programme almost two years ago, with Bates saying the aim was to introduce something that did not just offer points but real benefits. The hero benefit was free tea and cake, which Bates claimed has up to a 40% redemption rate and has been effective at driving footfall.
Bates admitted that historically John Lewis was “pigeon-holed” as a retailer for special occasions or when consumers are looking to buy something of quality. However he said the card has had the effect of driving people to its stores more often, with 1.5 million extra purchase visits from members versus a control group.
“We are an infrequent trip for most customers. With myJohnLewis people consider us for more shopping missions than ever before,” explained Bates
“Having a mooch [around our stores] with a friend is on the agenda now where before we weren’t.”
Chris Bates, head of customer marketing, John Lewis
A key growth area moving forward is exclusive events. This year for the first time John Lewis opened up its “Summer Clearance” event to members early and attracted 10,000 shoppers.
It also gave 1,500 customers the chance to shop at its new Birmingham store two days before it officially opened. The brand is keen to expand these events to other occasions such as Christmas and Easter by shutting the shop to non-members and offering myJohnLewis card holders “a glass of fizz and a bit of theatre” by getting suppliers to do demonstrations.
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