Retail in Asia

In Trends

SMEs expect more added value from loyalty programmes, says Metro

Metro Cash & Carry, leading international wholesaler with over 750 stores present in 26 countries, is planning to introduce a Services & Partners concept full of unique customer benefits sourced by Metro and other renowned multinational players, according to Igor Bagnobianchi, Head of Loyalty Programme CRM at Metro Cash & Carry. The move aims to provide more added values for its customers.

Metro launched the initial stage of its global loyalty programme in 2014. Since then, more than 1.5 million of professional customers – restaurants, small retailers, hotels, and other independent businesses – have become members of Metro loyalty program. It already successfully operates in 6 countries and this year is about to be introduced in 6 additional markets including China and France.

In order to better understand customer expectations, Metro committed loyalty management expert Comarch to conduct a research. Comarch questioned 17,000 Metro customers and found that more than 70 percent of them are interested in seeing and using added value services in store and multi-partner benefits.

"The Focus Groups we conducted for METRO following the online study emphasized the opportunity to invest in unique differentiators such as personalized communications, in-store VIP treatment and Partner sourced benefits," states Marcin Sobek, Comarch CRM Managed Services Director, responsible for the study.

SME customers strongly appreciate the concept with 81 percent of them giving top scores to services related to planning their shopping, same result as for ensuring best quality and conditions. Moreover, third party deals and discounts are appreciated by 69 percent of business customers.

"Even though the study asked business owners from countries as distant as Spain, Russia, India or Turkey we experienced surprisingly contiguous results. Wherever they live, our customers are entrepreneurs sharing the same business challenges and passion to succeed; and this strengthens our dedication in providing globally sourced support to them," explains Igor Bagnobianchi.