Retail News CRM

Tag: customer loyalty

  • Miniso and 99 Ranch Market Lead US Retail Growth by Prioritising Lifestyle and Community

    Miniso and 99 Ranch Market Lead US Retail Growth by Prioritising Lifestyle and Community

    Asian-rooted retailers Miniso and 99 Ranch Market are achieving significant growth in the United States by focusing on lifestyle connections and fostering a sense of community. The 2026 NRF Hot 25 Retailers list, compiled by Kantar, ranks the nation’s fastest-growing retail companies based on year-over-year domestic sales, with both brands making a notable impact.

    Miniso, a global lifestyle product retailer known for its affordable and aesthetically pleasing goods, secured the top spot at No. 1 on the list. 99 Ranch Market, an Asian supermarket chain, also featured prominently at No. 15. Their inclusion underscores a broader retail strategy: turning consumer lifestyle choices into deep-seated loyalty.

    Building Loyalty Through Experience

    According to Dave Marcotte, a senior vice president at Kantar, Miniso embodies the lifestyle approach in nearly all its operations. The brand’s ability to resonate with consumers on an emotional level, offering products that align with contemporary tastes and trends, is a key driver of its rapid expansion.

    Similarly, 99 Ranch Market differentiates itself through its superior offerings. Marcotte highlights the supermarket’s produce, bakery, and prepared foods as being significantly ahead of traditional chain grocers. The presentation and quality of goods are compelling enough to convert first-time visitors into loyal customers, creating a strong emotional connection.

    The Value Of Belonging In Retail

    The NRF Hot 25 Retailers list emphasises that in an increasingly complex world, a sense of belonging is vital. Retailers that successfully provide this, alongside value and convenience, are seeing stronger customer loyalty. This trend extends beyond Asian-rooted brands, with convenience store chains like Casey’s General Stores (No. 13), QuikTrip (No. 20), and Wawa (No. 24) also making the list due to their strong community ties and distinctive offerings.

    For retailers in Asia-Pacific, the success of Miniso and 99 Ranch Market offers valuable insights. Many Asian markets are already highly competitive, but these examples show that a clear focus on lifestyle integration and superior product quality can create a distinct market position and drive exponential growth. Brands across the region, from local startups to established players, are continually seeking ways to deepen consumer engagement and foster loyalty beyond just transactional interactions.

  • Poor customer experience costs retailers in Asia

    Poor customer experience costs retailers in Asia

    Nearly two-thirds (63 per cent) of consumers in Asia will no longer shop with a retailer after just one poor customer experience. That is one of the conclusions of a research study conducted by unified commerce provider Tofugear in partnership with Rakuten Insight. Based on a survey of 6000 shoppers across 12 countries in Asia, the research underlines the importance of delivering on experience for retailers.

    Top frustrations with stores included products being out of stock, long checkout queues and poor service from staff. When it comes to online shopping, consumers were turned off by high shipping costs, inaccurate product information and slow fulfilment speeds.

    Philip Wiggenraad, head of research at Tofugear, says: “The connected consumer in Asia is empowered and not afraid to look elsewhere when their needs are not being met. Retailers need to understand that they often only have one chance to get it right.”

    E-commerce is popular with consumers in the region: 59 per cent prefer to shop online rather than in stores.

    However, there were considerable variations depending on the country. China led the way (88 per cent), while markets such as Hong Kong and Singapore (both 51 per cent) were more evenly split in their preferences between online or stores.

    While millennials are the most prolific online shoppers, with more than half (55 per cent) doing so at least once a week, Gen Z also has a definite lean towards the online channel.

    “Physical retailers expecting a resurgence of the store driven by Gen Z should think twice and continue to look at ways to make their stores relevant in the digital age,” says Wiggenraad.

    Respondents to the survey showed a strong willingness to engage with store technologies in order to make their shopping journey more frictionless. Two-thirds (65 per cent) would use their mobile phone for self-checkout, while 62 per cent were open to using apps in stores as part of a connected retail experience.

    Access the full findings of the Digital Consumer in Asia 2018 report by downloading the PDF here.

  • Two thirds of the company wrong in measuring customer loyalty

    Two thirds of the company wrong in measuring customer loyalty

    A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Collinson, a global leader in loyalty and benefits, reveals that the majority of organisations do not understand what is driving customer loyalty, and are therefore putting customer relationships and profitability at risk.

    Surveying decision-makers in organisations with revenue exceeding US$300 million, respondents graded their programmes based on a series of measures and also shared their key goals and challenges. The study surveyed and compared the results for a multitude of countries and regions in Asia Pacific (APAC), including Hong Kong, mainland China, Singapore, Indonesia, Japan, Korea and Australia.

    The research found that two thirds (65 per cent) of those surveyed markets in APAC do not understand why their customers are loyal to their organisations. Almost 7 out of 10 (67 per cent) reported that they do not have a proper framework in place to measure loyalty in the context of overall business performance. Remarkably, the research also found a misalignment between the loyalty objectives and the measurement criteria used to determine the effectiveness of their loyalty success.

    Three reasons why organisations may be struggling with customer loyalty

    1. Loyalty strategy without clearly defined business objectives and appropriate metrics

    Loyalty success is led by a holistic loyalty strategy with clear defined goals and measurement framework which needs to be embedded consistently across an organisation.

    Less than half (49%) of the APAC respondents have clearly defined business goals and objectives to define their loyalty proposition, where Hong Kong and Japan have the highest percentage (55%) compared with 39% of respondents in Singapore. Only 40% have cohesive customer loyalty strategy that spans multiple functions and is a top strategic initiative with C-level support.

    From the research, we found there is a clear discrepancy between what people are trying to achieve through their loyalty programmes and the KPIs in places to measure the performance in relation to their objectives.

    The key loyalty objectives and performance metrics shared by our respondents for their customer loyalty programme in APAC are misaligned as shown below:

    Key loyalty objectives The metrics for measurement
    1 Acquiring new customers (53%) Customer satisfaction (62%)
    2 Retaining existing customer (47%) Customer engagement (59%)
    3 Enriching customer relationships (46%) Customer retention rate (57%)
    4 Improving the customer experience (37%) Loyalty programme enrolments (57%)
    5 Increase customer advocacy (35%) Sales & revenue (57%)

    Without appropriate metrics, it could be difficult to know which areas need improvement and understand the impact of customer loyalty on overall business performance.

    1. Without a single customer view to harness data potential

    To appeal to the modern, choice-rich consumers, it is important to engage them at an individual level which means collecting all appropriate data across the customer journey.

    The research found that three-fifths (60%) of respondents in APAC do not have centralised business rules to incorporate all sources of customer data into a single customer view. Less than a half (48%) collect a wide enough range of customer data to run deep analyses, where only 26% of them automate advanced data analytics to optimise their customer strategy, and 35% would use predictive modelling to identify the right existing dynamic content based on customer behaviour.

    Predictive modelling enables brands to make better decisions and run more effective programmes where China has the highest percentage (47%) compared with the rest of respondents in Asia Pacific to harness the value of data for providing personalized offers for each member. It is vital to recognise each customer preference and behaviour to provide a personalised experience that stands out from the competition. This can only be done when brands continuously collect the right information about their customers and using it effectively, to understand what makes them tick.

    1. Competitive differentiation

    Loyalty programmes with reward, point and VIP schemes have been pervasive for years. These tactics are still frequently employed, but the effectiveness is uncertain when they are deployed without a sound loyalty strategy. From the research, we found that brands continue to see competitive differentiation as being vital, with two thirds (66%) of loyalty practitioners in APAC reporting that is a critical or high priority.

    72% in Asia Pacific, 78% in Hong Kong, Indonesia and Korea respondents planned to increase funding for developing new loyalty programme benefits and rewards.  Embracing partnerships with like-minded brands, who can offer unique experiences and access to their customer base, will enhance and strengthen the member’s engagement. It enables partner brands to expand their knowledge of the customer through an integrated cross analysis of buyer behaviour and preferences for personalized, curated communications to increases sales leveraged through the partnership.

    Mary English, Executive Vice President, APAC of Collinson, says, “A clearly defined loyalty strategy provides the foundation to design a proposition for continuous engagement with your customers in a relevant and meaningful way. Data is the fuel for ongoing loyalty to a brand with heavy weighting on a well-structured single customer view to capture, measure, gain insights, and personalise the dialogue with their customers.  Organisations need to put loyalty back on track by becoming better aligned in terms of their objectives, what they measure, and how to differentiate their programmes. There is really no ‘one size fits all’ approach and each organisation must identify their brand’s unique, valuable assets in formulating a strategy that is regularly reviewed and updated to the changing behaviours of their customers.”

    “Creating formalised processes and employing dedicated resources can be a valuable investment and demonstrate your company’s commitment to loyalty. It is logical for companies to consider ‘connected loyalty’ as a goal of their strategy. Customers who feel connected to the organisation become fans, not just purchasers of their products and services. The latter may simply be shopping out of habit or convenience, whereas fans will go out of their way for the brands they love.”

  • Uncertain reward will keep customer playing and buying: research

    Uncertain reward will keep customer playing and buying: research

    Marketers everywhere are looking for what will entice consumers to make a purchase—not just once but repeatedly—and new research points to a rather surprising result.

    While conventional wisdom says that people don’t like uncertain gains or rewards, a study from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business finds that uncertainty can play an important role in motivating repeat behaviors.

    “People repeat a task more for an uncertain incentive than for a certain incentive, even when the uncertain incentive is financially worse,” say Chicago Booth Professor Christopher Hsee and the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s Luxi Shen, a recent Booth graduate, in the study, “The Fun and Function of Uncertainty: Uncertain Incentives Reinforce Repetition Decisions.”

    One reason uncertain incentives motivate behavior is the psychological boost consumers get in moving from the unpleasantness of uncertainty to the satisfaction of certainty resolution.

    The popularity of WeChat Pay, one of the largest mobile payment apps in the world, is one example. After tapping to pay with WeChatPay, a mobile payment user is sometimes awarded a bonus of an uncertain size. This strategy motivates the user to pay with this specific app again.

    The same is true of many consumer goods companies. Meal-kit delivery services such as Blue Apron send their subscribers a box of unknown groceries every week. Apple music pushes a list of new music to their subscribers. Birchbox mails out boxes of skincare and makeup samples, and BarkBox gives pet owners a box full of surprise dog treats and toys based on that month’s theme.

    “These services all share one important feature,” says Hsee. “They keep the box mysterious and let their customers have fun opening the packages and discovering the products. The uncertainty keeps the customers coming back.”

    In the study, published in the Journal of Consumer Research, the researchers performed four experiments in Hong Kong and Chicago and found uncertain rewards consistently motivated consumers more than certain rewards in both lab and field settings, and in both small and large magnitudes.

    In one experiment, students at a running club in Hong Kong were told they could earn points by running, jogging, or speed walking on a 400-meter outdoor track during a 15-day event.

    Half of the members were randomly assigned to a group certain of its reward—after each lap, each member would receive five points. The other half were randomly assigned to a group uncertain of its reward—after each lap, each member would randomly receive either three or five points. At the end, participants could exchange their points for a gift card at a local café for the equivalent in Hong Kong dollars.

    As the researchers predicted, the running club members who didn’t know in advance which reward they would get logged more laps than those in the group guaranteed the five points per lap, even though the uncertain-point condition promised a worse financial outcome. “In other words, people literally ran ‘the extra mile’ (precisely, 2.59 more kilometers) for the uncertain incentive,” the study says.

    This uncertain reward is particularly beneficial for marketers who want their existing customers to return. “However, for the marketers whose solo goal is to recruit one-time customers, they should be cautious and not just mindlessly add uncertainty into their product design or pricing strategy,” Shen adds. In the study, the researchers show that uncertain rewards are effective only if the uncertainty is resolved immediately, and only after, not before, one has engaged in repetitions.

    Marketers have had success already in getting consumers to repeat behaviors. Grocery stores encourage shoppers to bring cloth bags and coffee shops encourage drinkers to bring their own mugs, both for the reward of a small percentage off their purchase. But the study suggests that such efforts may be even more successful if consumers don’t know the amount of the reward in advance.

    “Our research reveals that human reactions to uncertainty are more complex and nuanced than commonly thought,” they say.

    Lees ook:

  • 3 in 4 Singaporean consumers want more personalized retail rewards

    3 in 4 Singaporean consumers want more personalized retail rewards

    Though many consumers are currently lukewarm about their relationships with brands and retailers, three in four consumers in Singapore will buy more from retailers if they are better rewarded for their loyalty, a study conducted by ICLP finds.

    Out of 750 consumers surveyed, only 3 percent consider themselves to be devoted to their preferred retail brands, expressing willingness and desire to forge enduring relationships with them. They also gave average to low scores in terms of passion (brand enthusiasm), commitment (loyalty), and intimacy (willingness to share information with a retailer).

    These findings come at a time when Singaporeans’ love affair with shopping and retail has been under strain. Even as retail sales show a modest year-on-year growth of 2 percent as of September 2016, there have been a slew of notable closures in the local retail landscape, most recently that of John Little, one of Singapore’s oldest department stores.

    These findings come at a time when Singaporeans’ love affair with shopping and retail has been under strain. Even as retail sales show a modest year-on-year growth of 2 percent as of September 2016, there have been a slew of notable closures in the local retail landscape, most recently that of John Little, one of Singapore’s oldest department stores.

    “What we are seeing from our research is that many Singaporean consumers still relate to brands and retailers at a transactional level, so when times are uncertain, they easily resort to the myriad of choices that are at their disposal, often literally at their fingertips now,” said Bruno Tay, Country Manager of the global loyalty marketing agency ICLP, which conducted the survey as part of an international study across nine markets.

    “It’s not too late to turn things around, though. In fact, retailers now have a chance to truly stand out if they appeal to the heart too — by approaching communication, reliability, consistency, reward and recognition from a human perspective,” he suggested.

    The study asked Singaporean consumers  to rate their retail experience with brands on seven core relationship criteria, namely recognition, rewards, reciprocity, reliability, respect, trust and communication. These were then mapped onto a model based on Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love, in partnership with an expert on relationship dynamics Professor Ron Rogge at the University of Rochester in the United States.

    Based on the three dimensions of a relationship — passion, commitment, and intimacy, the consumers’ experiences with brands and retailers are then further classified into six types. In increasing order of desirability, these range from empty, liking, casual, romantic, companionate to devoted.

    Devoted consumers — who currently form the marginal minority in Singapore — are those most willing to share personal information, opinions and desires with their favourite brands, and are least likely to stray to competitors. Notably, 92 percent of customers that fall into this group would recommend a brand they are devoted to. This is a significantly higher proportion than for consumers in the other types of relationships with their retail brands.

    Only 12 percent of customers in a ‘liking’ relationship would recommend a retailer to others, 27 percent in a ‘casual’ relationship, 56 percent in a ‘companionate’ relationship, and 69 percent in a ‘romantic’ relationship.

    “The rarity of devotion among Singaporean consumers underlines a sizeable gap and opportunity for local retailers and brands. Devoted consumers are keen to be advocates, so driving this pinnacle relationship can have tremendous effect on retailers’ business through word of mouth and social media sharing,” Tay said.

    The research findings suggest that Singaporeans do not just want traditional points-based reward programs, but also personalized rewards. Much like in a relationship with friends and loved ones, they would engage more when they receive genuine gestures that surprise and delight them.

    Around 67 percent of Singaporean consumers will buy more if retailers use their data in carefully considered, contextual ways to better understand their individual needs and preferences. This suggests the need for retailers to better leverage data technology and put in place more robust customer relationship management practices.

    Another 61 percent of consumers also place an emphasis on the importance of better communication, indicating that they will buy more if brands communicate with them better, in ways that express reciprocity and shared passion.

    Within the global context of the study, Singaporean consumers appear to parallel quite closely their counterparts in Hong Kong and Australia, where only 1 percent and 3 percent,respectively are in devoted relationships with brands.

    This is in stark contrast with the 21 percent of consumers in India who are devoted to their preferred brands. However, across the nine markets surveyed, including United Kingdom, United States, Brazil, United Arab Emirates, mainland China, Hong Kong, India, Singapore, and Australia, there is broad consensus that a well thought out loyalty programme can help deepen consumers’ connection with brands.

    “Thinking about our own personal relationships, we know that people fall in and out of love and friendships — lured by ‘greener pastures’,” Tay said. “Now we know that the same thinking can be applied to brand relationships that are dynamic and ever changing. Retailers looking to build and maintain devoted customer relationships should seek to truly understand the emotional factors that drive consumer loyalty.