One way to keep online customers coming back for more is to keep them flying, Safeway Inc.'s Safeway.com and Vons.com have found. In a test with United Airlines in the fourth quarter, the online grocers found an offer for extra mileage rewards points persuaded customers to shop more often with their credit cards. Safeway customers who bought online were offered bonus mileage points on their third shopping visit. "We had a good response," GroceryWorks, Safeway's e-commerce provider, tells InternetRetailer.com.
Safeway and United typically award 125 mileage points for every $250 in purchased groceries. But during its special promotion, Oct. 1 - Dec. 31, a shopper earned blocks of 3,000 points for every three purchases of $100 or more, on up to a maximum of 15,000 points for 15 purchases of $100 or more. The largest award issued was for 12,000 points, to a customer who shopped once each week during the 12-month campaign.
The program was coordinated with the Safeway Club Card and Vons Club Card loyalty programs, enabling Safeway to gather information on the shopping behavior of the mileage program participants.
Safeway and United ran the promotion to build on an existing alliance program, a GroceryWorks spokesman says.
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