Brand loyalty has taken a backseat in recent times, as promotions have played a bigger part in shopping decisions. However, Synqera, a leading retail technology company, says the ever-changing face of retail and the latest innovations in the industry mean brand loyalty needn’t be a thing of the past.
The latest research* indicates that some 40 per cent of shoppers are promotions-led. However, this does not spell the death of brand loyalty. As technology and its capabilities advance, retailers can use the popular real-time communication tactics which have worked so well online and bring them to the in-store marketing arena.
Kirill Gorynya, CEO at Synqera, explains: “Brands that have worked hard to achieve customer loyalty, only for it seemingly to be stolen as tough times make consumers succumb to the power of the short-term gain of promotions, may feel like the good old days of brand advocates is a thing of the past. However, there is hope for brand loyalty and although they will have to work harder to achieve this, brands have a plethora of tactics available to them with the latest innovations in retail technology.
“Think customer loyalty schemes that are more tailored and more immediate than ever before. The customer loyalty scheme movement has made great strides in accumulating Big Data, which has been used to good effect. Now, integrating this with in-store real-time targeting to create bespoke offers to suit the customer demographic – and even the mood they’re in at that very moment – is what is available right now. This will be the catalyst in improving customer experience and therefore loyalty once more.”
Recent payment innovations have enabled customers to pay in a contactless way through the use of Near-Field Communication (NFC) – which is just one of the features that Synqera’s recently launched solution can facilitate. It helps retailers engage customers at the cash desk – a previously unexplored promotion point. Synqera’s software platform can not only be used on third party devices and interfaces, but it is also available on Simplate – Synqera’s intuitive POS terminal and also on Synqera’s Loyalty Printer, which can read loyalty cards has a barcode scanner, NFC/swipe function and thermal printing.
Kirill added: “With so much competition out there and so many similar products, brands need to get back under the skin of their advocates in a much more intelligent and, dare we say, intimate way if they want to win out over short-term promotions. A tailored, bespoke approach can help connect brands with their followers once more.”
Synqera’s solution can be integrated into current infrastructure and existing loyalty schemes to combine insight, and its Simplate device has a touch screen, camera and microphone for capturing physical information, such as a smile. It can facilitate NFC payment and also offers mobile wallet and online systems, such as Paypal.
For further information about Synqera and the Simplate platform, visit www.synqera.com.
ENDS
*Kantar’s World Shopper survey.