Loyalty operators warned about weak offers
The Ireland/UK-based loyalty points shopping portal Pigsback.com has announced a series of Christmas discounts of up to 10% for its members after CEO Michael Dwyer warned retailers and loyalty scheme operators that superficial "special offers" may be met by consumer scepticism this year.
Dwyer warns that promotions and special offers that don't represent as much of a saving as they seem to promise will be seen by increasingly savvy consumers as "smoke and mirror" tactics. The warning coincides with Pigsback's launch of a Christmas Zone offering discounts of up to 10% at some of the online stores that participate in the Pigsback loyalty scheme.
According to Dwyer, recent Pigsback research found that consumers are becoming much more marketing-savvy than ever before and are really beginning to understand the value of their custom and interaction with retailers through reward and loyalty schemes. He predicts that in 2006 marketers will see this awareness grow as consumers assume the right to expect more back in terms of reward and respect.
Extra loyalty rewards For the Christmas shopping season, Pigsback is offering every member a minimum reward of 5%, and in most cases up to 10%, of their total spend. The reward is issued in PiggyPoints, which are worth 1 penny each. New members earn 150 PiggyPoints by completing the online registration process, and additional points can be earned by entering competitions or reading certain offers (without any financial or personal data commitment).
The points can then be exchanged for high street shopping vouchers including many top retail and restaurant brands, or for Blockbuster rentals or UCI or UGC cinema tickets. They can also be redeemed as cash donations to a range of UK and Irish charities. For the adventurous consumer, the points can also be redeemed to play the Jackpot Pools or PiggyPoint Poker games.
In terms of partner brands, recent additions to the programme include iPod World, The White Company, and Wanadoo (the ISP), joining other retailers such as John Lewis, Blockbuster, CD WOW, IWantOneofThose.com, eBay, Blockbuster, UGC Cinemas, Figleaves, Virgin Wines, Pizza Hut, Champneys and toptable.co.uk.
Christmas offers Included in the new Christmas Zone are:
- Rewards: Exclusive rewards and vouchers to spend PiggyPoints on, including Boots, Arcadia Group, TGI Fridays, Pizza Hut, Café Rouge, Beefeater, Marriot Hotels, Laithwaites Wine and David Lloyd.
- Adopt a pig for charity: Members get a chance to adopt a pig for a family in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in association with the Irish charity Trocaire.
- Advent daily giveaway: For the month of December, there will be a daily give-away on the site through an Advent calendar giving members new offers such as bonus PiggyPoints, happy-hours with online retail partners, free music downloads, etc.
- Entertainment offers: Special deals including cut-price and two-for-one theatre and concert tickets, and dining offers from toptable.co.uk.
- Competitions: From new partners including Hamper.com, John Lewis and existing partners offering members to win a Christmas office party or a festive hamper.
- A gift advisor: Suggesting offers to suit different types of people and personalities.
- Stocking filler ideas: Gift ideas from Blockbuster, CD-WOW!, HQ Hair & IWantOneofThose.com.
- Other features include member specific content such as online games and quizzes, e-cards, recipe suggestions, seasonal jokes, music downloads, and a prize giveaway with Ticketmaster.
More Info: