Canadian consumers have an average of 14 loyalty program membership cards in their wallet or on their phone. Among all those offered in the country, Proxi Extra (Harnois Énergies), Chipotle Rewards (Chipotle restaurants) and Club Câlin (Mondou) respectively occupy the first three places in the top 10 LoyauT 2023, produced by Adviso/R3 Marketing and Léger.
Two of these three programs are only offered in Quebec. Furthermore, the reduction in purchasing power (80%) and the impression of being able to scrounge up savings (66%) top the reasons which push the 10,000 respondents to the pan-Canadian survey – the results of which were published on Tuesday – to join the various programs offered in the country. People are even willing to change brands of orange juice, for example, if they are promised to accumulate more points on their card or to save money. Another trend: “premium” programs – those where membership is paid – are popular and have more consumer confidence.
In addition to Proxi Extra, Chipotle Rewards and Club Câlin, other programs like PC Optimum (Maxi, Provigo, Pharmaprix), Inspire (SAQ), Starbucks Rewards, Domino’s Rewards, Walmart Rewards, Journie Rewards (Ultramar) and Air Miles ( At Irving in the Maritimes) also rank among those generating the most commitment and affection from their members.
According to the study, these 10 programs are also the most likely to influence customer behavior when it comes to making purchases. The ranking is based on consumer responses to three indices: engagement, behavior and affection. Personalized offers, especially in the case of Proxi Extra and Chipotle Rewards, and deep feeling of attachment because it concerns pets (Club Câlin) are all reasons why these programs perform well, analyzes Hans Laroche, senior consultant in loyalty at Adviso/R3 Marketing.
At the end of the phone, the president and CEO of Harnois Énergies, Serge Harnois, said he was “pleasantly surprised” to see Proxi Extra rise to first place in the pan-Canadian rankings. This program is only offered in Quebec. Simple and generous, that’s what makes Proxi Extra so successful, in operation for around six years in the approximately 180 convenience stores of the same name, believes Mr. Harnois.
“You walk into the convenience store and you can get your card right away. And points cannot be exchanged for gadgets,” he illustrates. Customers can use it to make purchases on all convenience store items or for gasoline if it is a Harnois gas station.
As for Mondou, third on the list, Alexandra Forcier, loyalty director, described this performance as “a great honor”. A team entirely dedicated to Club Câlin is still working to “improve” it, she assured.
Scène , which notably made its debut in the Quebec IGAs in March, ranks 25th. The MOI program – in force at Metro, Super C, Jean Coutu, Brunet and Première Moisson since the end of spring – is not part of the ranking, since at the time of the survey, it had only just been launched.
If the programs listed above stand out, the “saturation rate” in relation to all loyalty cards offered on the market increases, underlines Mr. Laroche. This is because the number of cards is also increasing. “Yes, people are members of 14 programs, but they’re going to make a choice and they’re going to use the ones that are most relevant to them. People will use seven to eight programs on a regular basis. »
Consumer use of a program on a regular basis increased from 89% in 2019 (pre-pandemic) to 66% this year. “It dropped during the pandemic. People, for hygienic reasons, showed their cards less, specifies Mr. Laroche. It never came back. »
He then adds that the growing increase in the number of programs, which contributes to a certain saturation, is not unrelated to this decrease.
The good news, however, is that consumers who join a program are normally loyal to it. “The proportion of members who cease to be active from one year to the next is generally less than 5%,” specifies Mr. Laroche.
At the moment, the increase in the price of goods and foodstuffs is one of the main reasons why customers are “scanning” their various membership cards.
“There’s a link to inflation. And we also see that people understand the programs better than before, notes Hans Laroche. They now understand that they can have points on total purchases, exclusive in-store discounts. »
“People will even change their choice of products to maximize the number of points,” he adds. If you go to the supermarket and see that there are 500 bonus points on Oasis juice and you normally buy Tropicana, you might buy the Oasis brand that week. »
To qualify for even more discounts, people don’t just take out their loyalty card once they get to the checkout. They also pay their bill with a credit card – independent of the loyalty program – which also allows them to accumulate points, hence the expression “double dipping”. According to the study, 72.2% of respondents use a rewards credit card combined with a loyalty card.
Another observation: consumers have more confidence in a program… when they have to pay to sign up, like Amazon Prime or the brand new program from Lululemon, retailers of yoga and sports clothing.
According to data provided by Hans Laroche, loyalty increases by 31% for a “premium” member compared to one who does not pay money to have access to the basic program. Additionally, the behavior change index increases by 27%, while the perception of generosity increases by 75%.
“Even if I pay $9.99 per month, I find the program even more efficient and generous,” emphasizes Hans Laroche. It’s really strong. »
