Customer loyalty isn’t what it used to be – and that’s a good thing! Although there’s still plenty of opportunity to get a free coffee when you collect ten stamps or stuff your purse with supermarket vouchers, there are new ways brands are doing it too. From your classic supermarkets to modern bingo sites, smart brands are turning ‘bonus culture’ into a well-thought-out strategy for engagement. This is how they’re doing it.
The Power of Loyalty Cards
Let’s begin at the start (or close to it). Tesco Clubcard is arguably the poster child of UK loyalty schemes. Launched in 1995, it was genuinely revolutionary at the time – rewarding shoppers with points that could be turned into vouchers. It fostered a sense of brand loyalty, but that wasn’t where Tesco’s vision for Clubcard ended. The little blue card helped Tesco understand its customers better, allowing for tailored promotions and deeply personalised marketing. By 2023, over 23 million UK households were signed up.
Of course, Tesco isn’t the only company with a points card. The Boots Advantage Card offers one of the most generous point schemes in the retail space, with 4 points for every £1 spent, and Sainsbury’s Nectar Card has partnered with everything from Esso to eBay. The thing that links these cards the most strongly though is that the real magic is in the data. All of these programmes collect purchase behaviour and shopping habits. This is invaluable for retailers, letting them tailor discounts and reduce decision fatigue.
How Discounts Drive Behaviour
While loyalty ‘in the good old days’ was about collecting points, today it’s increasingly about instant gratification. We won’t get into the whole Gen Z/attention span debate, but suffice it to say instant discount codes work. A 2022 McKinsey study found that 68% of consumers said discounts influenced their choice of retailer, even when it wasn’t their usual go-to.
ASOS and H&M are both brilliant examples, offering exclusive member discounts, early access to sales, and birthday perks. It doesn’t even come as something only recent customers get, it’s more a way of building a shopping habit rather than good old Hennes saying thanks. Better still, these discounts are almost always time limited, fostering a sense of urgency.
Loyalty in the Entertainment Space
Retailers aren’t the only ones who understand the value of a well-timed bonus. Online entertainment platforms, including bingo sites, have tapped into this same psychology. Anyone who’s played on a bingo platform will know that reload bonuses, enhanced jackpots and loyalty ladders are part of the ecosystem. There’s an enormous variety of bonus bingo promotions, each designed to foster loyalty and keep regulars coming back.
Free bingo is a hugely popular option, making certain rooms completely free of charge during hours that would usually be quieter. Not only does this make use of the infrastructure at a time when it wouldn’t be making much money anyway, it also creates a secret club kind of atmosphere. The free bingo girlies can get together, chat in the chat room, and wait for a win. Community building is a cornerstone of bingo, one of the reasons it’s so successful both in real life and online.
