Case Study: Increasing Member Engagement through Pay with Points eCommerce Shopping Cart Integration
Overview
Increasingly, banks and their associated credit card loyalty programs are looking for new and innovative ways to increase customer retention and engagement. At the same time, with consumers looking for increased redemption options from their loyalty programs1, a major Canadian bank credit card loyalty program was looking for ways to engage customers beyond travel and traditional merchandise catalogues to encourage their loyalty program members to spend accumulated points. This information, combined with the growth of eCommerce and dwindling redemptions for travel as a result of the pandemic, created a unique opportunity for Engage’s bank client to utilize pay with points strategically to meet the needs of its customers, capitalize on the growing eCommerce trend and increase loyalty program member engagement.Approach
Engage worked with its client, a major Canadian bank, and with a global eCommerce retailer, to integrate a pay with points model into the bank’s point redemption checkout process. By integrating pay with points technology directly into the shopping cart as one of the payment options at the point of purchase, Engage made its client’s checkout flow convenient and frictionless for its loyalty program members.
Launched in October 2020, the growing number of transactions, point redemptions and dollar sales clearly indicate increased consumer interaction, engagement, connection and ultimately retention for Engage’s bank client while offering our eCommerce retail partner access to a major new revenue stream (loyalty currency) and increased exposure.
Results
Conclusion
The high and growing program member participation, increasing number of transactions, points redeemed and the dollars spent per day clearly support the conclusion that consumers will enthusiastically embrace pay with points technology as an alternative online payment option. Loyalty program member engagement unquestionably is increased where the members are offered an enhanced breadth and choice of redemption options via a familiar and trusted eCommerce channel.
Additionally, as the average transaction amount demonstrates, by providing rewards options that cost less than those traditionally offered through redemption catalogues, program members with lower point balances are able to participate robustly in eCommerce retail offerings, further increasing inclusion and engagement.
By creating and enabling a frictionless and convenient way to redeem points for rewards online, Engage unlocks the true potential of loyalty program points to deliver heretofore unseen value to program members, banks and other program sponsors, and eCommerce retail partners.