August 9, 2021

Why Brand Loyalty is Important (and how lifestyle data helps)

two people at desk with phone, monitor and grooming products

Brand loyalty programs have been around for a long time now. And with good reason. Loyalty program members typically generate 12-18% more revenue for businesses than non-members. 

It’s well worth the effort to develop brand loyalty initiatives. 

When built into an app, lifestyle data from wearables and smartphones can enhance loyalty offerings. But before we get into that, let’s examine why brand loyalty is so important. 

Retain High-Value Customers

Regular customers — those loyal to your brand — typically spend more than casual shoppers. In part, because they shop more often, but they also spend more on each visit. One study found that consumers spend about 40% more on their fifth purchase than on their first purchase in the apparel sector. 

That same study found that grocery store return customers spend 23% more in months 31-36 than they did in the first six months of shopping. 

The takeaway? Nurturing new customers into returning, loyal customers will help build a high-value customer base. 

One way to do this is by offering a loyalty program. Today, this often takes the form of an app that offers discounts or product deals based on milestones. For businesses, this approach provides a real benefit: access to customer data. 

Gather Customer Data

A loyalty program app becomes really useful when used as a data-gathering tool. Through data analysis, you can find correlations between purchasing behaviour and consumer characteristics. 

From product categories to shopping times to spending habits, the POS system offers a good amount of data. Combine that with opt-in data from the app’s user, such as age and location, and you can begin to build a good picture of who your customers are. 

Opt-in lifestyle data, such as that available through the Sprout Open Health API™, offers even more opportunities to understand your customers. Typically, this is gathered through wearables and smartphones. 

Acquire New Customers

Developing brand loyalty among your returning customers can also help to bring in new customers. When you treat customers well, they tend to tell other people about the experience. And if you offer these return customers incentives through loyalty programs, they’re also likely to tell people about it. 

Not only have you developed a loyal customer, but you’ve also created a brand advocate.

That first visit, and first purchase, is likely to lead to another. This is especially true if you take advantage of cross-selling tactics. Consider the stats: a business has a 60-70% chance of selling to an existing customer versus a paltry 5-20% chance of selling to a new customer. 

How Lifestyle Data Helps Build Loyalty

When building and maintaining customer loyalty, lifestyle data can be invaluable. It provides data and insights that simply aren’t available from a POS system. But it’s about more than the raw data. It’s also about how that data is applied. 

Adds Relevancy

Lifestyle data, such as that gathered by wearables or smartphones and delivered through the Sprout Open Health API, add a layer of relevance to your existing data. It can help explain a change in clothing type or size or a shift in food buying habits. 

Lifestyle data is particularly beneficial for providing more targeted product recommendations. This can be in the form of personalized rewards such as discounts for a distance walked or time spent being active, for instance. 

The Uniqueness Factor 

Incorporating lifestyle data gives your app a unique hook and better insight into behavioural patterns. Companies that utilize this dataset can stay ahead of the competition and provide loyal customers with incentives that encourage continued returns to your business. 

From increased sales to reduced customer acquisition costs, developing brand loyalty is worth the effort. Incorporating lifestyle data into your efforts can help to maintain that loyalty in a competitive business environment

Sprout Open Health API™ is built to enhance new and existing applications with advanced features designed to deliver personalized customer experiences while safely and securely capturing health and lifestyle data to deliver real business outcomes.  To learn more, book a discovery call today. 

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