Page 72 - July 2021

s P e C ial F ea tu R e : in C enti V ise D R et ail
sPeCial FeatuRe: inCentiViseD Retail
Stand Out From
S tand O ut F r om

The Crowd
Th e Cro wd

In this current day-and-age, with all of the monumental changes and difficulties the
retail sector has faced in the last few years, industry leaders are finding it more difficult
than ever to keep up with the quickly evolving wants and needs of consumers. It is here

that incentivised retail can still play a part and help build customer loyalty at a time
when it has never been more valuable.

At its core, an incentive program is a simple concept, it is a formal scheme used to promote or encourage specific actions or behaviour by
a specific group of people during a defined period of time. Incentive programs are used particularly in business management to attract and
retain customers, something which is particularly vital following the lockdowns during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Today, most major retail stores can no longer survive as a siloed shopping experience. The more successful retailers are no longer trying
to fend off online shopping as a threat to existence, but rather embracing online as the lifeblood that will nourish retail’s continued relevance.
In an article by Kirk Donlan, Content Marketing Manager at Emarsys entitled ‘Top Five Customer Incentive Ideas’ he explains that the idea
of offering invectives to entice customers is not a new concept. Back in 1881, businessman William Wrigley, Jr. drove sales of baking powder
by including two packs of chewing gum with each unit sold. Sure, customers enjoyed the product, but they also loved the extra bonus that
came with it. (Little did Wrigley Jr. know this incentive would become more popular than the product itself, thus giving birth to the Wrigley
Gum empire).
Over the years incentives have become expected, so
they need to have more meaning and offer more to the
customers. Donlan suggests the following tips to make
your incentive worth customer’s time and loyalty:
upgrade with purchase – This particular
technique is more often associated with companies
who sell tiered versions of a product, such as airlines
or software companies. Offering an upgrade with
purchase is a nice incentive because it gives customers
peace of mind – if during the purchase they want to
upgrade to a higher tier, they can do so for a cost
without having to purchase an entirely new product.
However, customers still have to make their initial
purchase without any concession from the brand. This
means it’s less value-additive.
Free samples – Always a crowd pleaser, many
companies offer free samples. For example, retail
companies can offer out free samples to interested
customers in-store. It remains a great way to

72 Retail & leisuRe inteRnational JulY 2021