Meet the poly-amorous consumer
Shoppers are increasingly non-committal, saturated with options and temptations. This is the face of brand loyalty in 2018. Across all industries, retainment is a defining strategy for the next year and we’ve singled out Latchkey Loyalty as a theme in our Trending 2018 report to help with just that. Think of it as an antidote to flighty behaviour from customers. Here, we counter-intuitively propose that companies emphasise the ease of entry/exit to services or products in order to maintain long-term loyalty.
Already we see global interest in services that can automatically switch between providers to get customers the best deal. 53% on average are interested in such a service for car insurance. Enthusiasm for flexible services such as this is especially high when it comes to millennials, 47% of whom say that they’re interested in a pay-as-you-go model for car insurance. And as for financial services, 61% of global consumers say they are interested in a hassle-free way to hop between accounts to get the best interest rate.
We’ve seen Latchkey Loyalty innovations in the automotive sector, which allow for alternative models to ownership of cars, and 2017 saw retail brands really taking the lead with this trend. Amazon announced Prime Wardrobe, which delivers clothes to customers with no upfront fee and gives them a week to decide what they want to keep and what to return. Similar examples have cropped up around the globe, including Air Closet, a Japanese startup that combines two models – pay-if-you-keep and clothing rental.
However, this is not the end of contracts as we know them, nor is it the end of consumers demanding rewards for repeat custom. This is a new way for brands to shape how commitment is communicated. It’s an opportunity to promote features like try-before-you-buy, pay-as-you-use, zero-notice and flexible pricing, not only as a way to entice signup, but also as a strategy to retain customers.
Want to know how Latchkey Loyalty can transform your strategy or how it impacts your sector? Register for free for our webinar on Wednesday 24th January, based on our Trending 2018 report, rated no.1 by Forbes.
