3 new things in retail: Loyalty programs, AptDeco, and holiday shopping

1. Things to know about loyalty programs

Last week, Dick’s Sporting Goods announced that Nike’s loyalty program would be available through the sporting goods store's mobile app.

On the heels of this partnership, let’s see how consumers feel about loyalty programs and brands executing them successfully:

• Almost 70% of consumers agree their loyalty is more difficult to maintain than ever, per Clarus Commerce. Nearly 80% said they don’t want to accumulate points and that to maintain their loyalty, programs should provide immediate benefits.
• Nine in 10 said they’re likely to choose a retailer where they’re a premium loyalty member over one offering a lower price, per Clarus Commerce. Consumers who use rewards programs spend 92% more than customers who don’t, per Paytronix.
• According to a May 2021 YouGov survey, 68% of US adults like loyalty programs that send personalized offers/discounts based on their purchase history, followed by 51% for those that send exclusive discounts/offers from other brands. Only 25% like programs that help identify products/services based on information they provide.
• Since its launch in July, more than 21 million US consumers have enrolled in the McDonald’s MyMcDonald’s Rewards loyalty program. According to executives, loyalty was a significant contributor to the 9.6% same-store sales growth in Q3 2021.
• Starbucks added more than 1 million members to its Starbucks Rewards program in Q2 2021, reaching a total of 24.2 million active US members. Program members make up 51% of the chain’s US spending, per the company’s earnings call.

2. AptDeco disrupts home furnishing

Insider Intelligence spoke with Reham Fagiri, co-founder and CEO of NYC-based AptDeco, an ecommerce platform that enables individuals to sell and buy used furniture.

Insider Intelligence: Why did you start AptDeco?

Reham Fagiri: We started the company out of our own frustration trying to sell furniture on Craigslist. I was trying to sell my furniture when I was living in Philadelphia and moving back to New York and had some negative experiences. I thought to myself: “There has to be a better way to do this, where you can make it a trust community. You don’t have to deal with the awkward cash exchanges, replacing it with online payments, and offering pick up and delivery to customers.”

II: Why do you think consumers’ relationship with second-hand items has evolved differently within the fashion versus furniture reCommerce space

RF: Hand-me-downs have always happened with babies or toys or even clothes when you’re an adult. With furniture it’s different—you have a finite amount of furniture and don’t need multiple sofas. One of our big goals is to get people to change their relationship with furniture, so they don’t feel like it’s just one big purchase decision that they have to be stuck with for years. You can then keep redecorating your space, and it becomes fun for the customer.

Read the full article.

3. How the Cyber Five are stacking up for holiday shopping

Black Friday and Cyber Monday have been growing in importance to holiday ecommerce for more than a decade, despite the persistent myth that early holiday promotions would pull demand forward to take the wind out of these promotions. Retailers other than Amazon will have difficulty activating consumers outside of established tentpoles.

However, because Amazon hosted a mid-October event last year, demand was materially pulled forward. As a result, the Cyber Five period (Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday) noticeably underperformed season-average growth rates. Nevertheless, Cyber Monday, Black Friday, and Thanksgiving were still the top three ecommerce spending days for the season.

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