Outdoor Retailer - Summer 2019 - 15

Courtesy Healthy Living Market

month and $30 for every $1,500 spent-has
been great for her business.
"We have a reason to talk with shoppers at
the counter beyond asking them for a credit
card," saysEchols. "It gives customers more
personal time with us. They want to know
where they're at with their rewards, and we're
getting people back because of the program."
Gary Lisbon, director of retail operations at
Colorado's Neptune Mountaineering agrees.
"We get a great response from our customers,"
he says. Neptune's loyalty program awards
customers 5-percent store credit on any fullpriced item.
"People are psyched," says Lisbon. "It gives
customers reasons to keep coming back, and it
keeps us competitive in the marketplace."
Uncle Dan's, which has 16 stores and is now
owned by Camping World, has had a loyalty
program for a decade, which gives customers $10 in rewards for every $250 they spend.
"The program continues to strengthen our
email marketing campaigns," says Carla Arias,
specialty retail director for Uncle Dan's.
THE BEST PROGRAMS CAPTURE CUSTOMERS'
ATTENTION IN AVARIETY OF WAYS
REI's loyalty program is constantly top-rated. As a co-op with locations in nearly every
state and private label gear that earns bigger
margins at the register, REI can give back
more than most other stores without damage to its bottom line. Customers pay a $20
enrollment fee to be part of a robust pointsearning program and gain access to members-only travel and events. Plus, REI invests
in growing the outdoor community and conserving wild places, which further compels
people to buy.
But you don't have to be REI to have a relationship with your customers that will make
them come to you first. At family-owned natural grocer Healthy Living Market, which has
three stores in New England, CEO and owner
Eli Lesser-Goldsmith recently set up a Core
Shopper loyalty program designed to surprise
and delight the store's guests and also to help
staff better understand customer buying habits. "Shopping is part of the human condition,"
says Lesser-Goldsmith. "We do everything we
can to get people to do it here."

"IT GIVES CUSTOMERS MORE PERSONALTIME WITH US.
THEYWANTTO KNOWWHERE THEY'RE ATWITH THEIR
REWARDS, AND WE'RE GETTING PEOPLE BACK BECAUSE
OF THE PROGRAM." -DEANN ECHOLS,THE GREATOUTDOOR STORE

GET THE
MESSAGE
Healthy Living
Market shares its
values alongside
baragins.

Based on buying habits, a Core Shopper
might get to the register and get a coupon for
a free cookie from the bakery or a kombucha.
They'll also receive further discounts on sale
items and bulk foods.
The store is giving deals, but also leveraging shared values. Healthy Living promises
to never sell food with GMO dairy products
or corn syrup, and the company is putting that promise front and center with its
program, connecting with people who care
about healthy eating, while dispelling the
notion that the store is more expensive than
other grocers.
Healthy Living is using the program to
make more money and to gather data on how
much Core Shoppers spend on each visit. The
program is also incentivizing those shoppers
to spend more next time with a basket lift-a
discount toward a bigger dollar purchase that
expires in a short time.

NOT ALL CUSTOMERS VALUE THE
SAME INCENTIVES
It doesn't make sense to award someone a
cookie or kombucha if they don't value those
rewards. The ability to target customers with
custom offers gives a loyalty program legs.
"Some of the store's customers are motivated by money, some are not," says Arias,
who hopes to grow and expand Uncle Dan's
program. "Maybe what sets us apart, what
makes us specialty, is coming up with tailored
solutions," she says. "Maybe it's just as simple
as asking people what they want-a deal a day,
vouchers, premium shopping events. Maybe
there's not a specific answer for everyone."
Most retailers know the challenges of reaching millennials who don't want a keychain of
membership cards like their parents have.
Convenience and customization are key. Sign
up needs to be quick and easy, preferably webor app-based, and rewards need to be frequent
and relevant in order for the program to stay
on a millennials' radar.
The North Face VIPeaks program is reaching customers of all ages with points for
money spent, as well as awards for checking in
from climbing gyms, national parks, and urban art and culture events. The brand uses the
email addresses it acquires through rewards
sign-up to invite customers to events, to educate them on what the brand makes beyond
waterproof shells and down jackets, to let customers know what the company cares about,
like conservation, and to encourage shoppers
to try new sports.
Ian Dewar, head of customer lifecycle and
analytics, says The North Face wanted to give
customers something back, but not always on
their next purchase.
"We found that customers are more interested in annual rewards certificates than
diving into a rewards catalog, and we found
that asking customers to shop on our schedule
didn't work," Dewar says.

Summer 2019 / OUTDOOR RETAILER 15

Outdoor Retailer - Summer 2019

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