Japan Green Stamp programme goes digital
Japan Green Stamp (JGS) has signed an agreement with YOU Technology to enable the company's popular loyalty programme to move to a more dynamic, all-digital rewards platform that will also provide members with more personalised marketing messages.
Japan Green Stamp, founded in 1961, is a loyalty programme serving some 17 million out of an estimated 49 million Japanese households (approximately 35% of the market), with approximately 23,000 retail partner locations nationwide.
JGS says that improving service for consumers has become essential for Japanese retailers because competition has become so intense. In fact, recent research suggested that, among Japan's shoppers, approximately 70% now base their choice of retailer on high service levels.
As part of a strategic move to help retailers drive more sales and improve shopper convenience, JGS adopted YOU's uEngage personalised marketing platform to connect its loyalty programme with POS data, shopper behaviour insights, and special offers.
This is expected to enable JGS to better serve retail customers by adding convenience, increasing consumer savings, and building greater customer satisfaction. Special promotions can also be better targeted based on shopper preferences and purchase history, and merchandising decisions will also be able to be made using better consumer insights.
Today, the Japan Green Stamp loyalty programme is based exclusively on loyalty cards with semi-personalised offers being printed at the checkout. As the shopper spends, their points total is incremented and the updated total is printed on the card. When points reach a certain level, the shopper then receives a certificate that can be redeemed for merchandise from the JGS catalogue, or for discounts at the retail store.
However, the uEngage solution will add several benefits for retail merchants and shoppers. For example:
- The platform allows points to accrue with no limits, and eliminates point certificate printing, inventory, issuance, manual tracking, and redemption, saving the retailer costs and improving shopper convenience;
- Shoppers will be able to acquire and use their points in-lane and online with no manual effort on their part, or by JGS or its retail partners;
- The loyalty-specific CRM database integrates with retail POS systems, so retailers can more dynamically reward shoppers with refined offers based specifically on their preferences and purchase history;
- Currently, JGS is capturing a limited amount of shopper data, including store visits and spending levels, but no SKU-level product detail. But the new platform allows JGS and its retailers to capture, aggregate, and preserve detailed customer data to benefit the entire retail operation from marketing through to merchandising.
"Service is crucial to Japanese consumers," concluded Ian Warburg, vice president for GS America, JGS's wholly-owned US subsidiary. "The uEngage platform will give our retail partners more power to deliver personalised marketing programmes in a tremendously efficient way."
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