BUSINESS & AG LIFE
4B — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020
Millennial Money: Make your brand loyalty pay off
By Courtney Jespersen
NerdWallet
Blogger Dani Austin of Dallas,
Texas, logged into her Southwest
Airlines account a few days before
the end of 2019.
Shortly after, she and her hus-
band, Jordan Joseph Ramirez, fl ew
to Las Vegas (and back home) in
less than 72 hours.
The spontaneous trip was part of
a last-ditch attempt to try to earn
the Southwest Companion Pass,
a benefi t of the Southwest Rapid
Rewards program that allows pass
holders to bring one companion on
fl ights for at least a full calendar
year free of airline charges (not
including taxes and fees).
But consumers jump through
hoops for more than airline rewards.
My brother-in-law is a die-
hard shopper at American Eagle
Outfi tters. He recently purchased a
jacket and jeans from the clothing
store for just $2.69.
He’s no extreme couponer, but he
leveraged his loyalty arsenal: his
store credit card, AEO Connected
Rewards account and a coupon.
So what’s the secret? When con-
sumers are devoted to a particular
brand, they can cash in.
What’s in a rewards
program?
Rewards, or loyalty, programs
favor repeat customers. That
often takes the form of discounts,
coupons or free products. Consum-
ers generally create an account and
earn points or perks after making
purchases.
The more you spend or the more
points you rack up, the greater
your payoff.
While saving money may be the
obvious benefi t, status is also an
important draw, whether it’s sitting
at the front or standing in a special
VIP line.
These structured programs
often include experiential rewards,
according to Emily Rugaber, head
of marketing at Thanx, a digital
engagement platform. At a restau-
rant, that may equate to skipping
the wait or tasting a special menu
item fi rst.
“It feels good to be treated differ-
ently,” says Jonah Berger, a mar-
keting professor at the Wharton
School at the University of Penn-
sylvania and author of “Contagious:
Why Things Catch On.”
What’s in it for retailers?
Retailers are banking on the fact
that increased customer loyalty will
aid in customer retention — and
translate into more transactions.
Holding onto existing customers
who are already familiar with the
brand is less costly than constantly
amassing new customers, Rugaber
points out.
Retailers also get your data. You
may provide your name, email or
phone number when you create an
account. That information could be
tracked with your purchases and
could leave you vulnerable in the
event of a data breach.
“The benefi t for the brand is,
knowledge is power,” Rugaber says.
“Data drives the ability to better
engage.”
“With that transaction of ‘I’m
going to give you access to my
data for the benefi ts of the loyalty
program,’ certainly the consumer
wants to be aware of who they’re of-
fering their data to and what their
rights are.”
While rewards programs are also
called loyalty programs, they don’t
engender true loyalty, says Ryan
Hamilton, associate professor of
marketing at Emory University in
Georgia.
For example, Hamilton says he’s
a loyal Cleveland Browns fan, even
when the team loses. But if the terms
of a loyalty program ever change, he
may stop using it exclusively.
Rewards programs are transac-
tional, and consumers are looking
to get something out of them.
What does it take?
You — yes, you — can score
savings like the examples at the
beginning of this article. Here are
three ways to do it.
— Look for a program. Check
to see if your favorite retailers,
restaurants or other brands have a
rewards system you can join. “Most
retailers have programs,” Rugaber
says. “Just try to see if one exists
in the fi rst place.” Registration is
quick and can often be done online.
—Set your sights on savings.
While you should avoid spending
money solely to garner rewards, it’s
smart to optimize your purchas-
ing behavior. “Understand both
the rules and also the potential
benefi ts,” Berger says. Learn what
purchases count toward points,
how many points you need to reach
a certain reward and so forth.
—Take your blinders off. If
you’re sticking with one brand
exclusively, loyalty can actually
ace you out of deals and opportu-
nities. So occasionally check for
offers from other brands. “One of
the costs of the program is limiting
your freedom of choice,” Hamilton
says. If the benefi ts still outweigh
the drawbacks, start working your
way toward savings. “If you are all
in and you’ve decided the costs in
terms of information and reduced
variety are worth it to you, then
learn the ins and outs of the pro-
gram,” he says.
China turns to internet for food supplies amid virus fears
By Joe McDonald
The Associated Press
BEIJING — Wang Feng,
house-bound by China’s
virus outbreak, counts on the
parka-clad delivery drivers
of e-commerce giant JD.com
to keep her kitchen stocked.
Demand for online food
vendors has surged since
China’s government told
the public to stay home as
part of the most sweeping
anti-disease controls ever
imposed.
On Tuesday, Wang’s phone
buzzed with a text message
that a delivery had arrived.
The retiree bundled up
against the winter cold, put
on a face mask and emerged
from her apartment complex
to collect walnut milk and
other goods from shelves on
the sidewalk — an anti-virus
measure to limit contact
with drivers who normally
go door to door.
“They work really hard,
and it’s dangerous,” said
Wang. “Without their ser-
vices, we would not be able
to survive at all.”
JD.com Inc. and rivals
including Pinduoduo,
Missfresh Inc. and Alibaba
Group’s Hema are scram-
bling to fi ll a boom in orders
while trying to protect their
employees.
E-commerce is one of the
few industries to thrive after
anti-virus controls starting
in late January closed facto-
ries, restaurants, cinemas,
offi ces and shops nationwide
and extinguished auto and
real estate sales.
The government is trying
to revive economic activity
but has told anyone who
can work from home to
stay there. Some cities have
imposed controls that allow
only one member of a family
out each day. That creates
a ready market for online
entertainment and shopping.
“I can’t go out and can’t go
to work,” said one of Wang’s
neighbors, Chen Guang,
who was picking up a box of
vegetables from the sidewalk
shelves under a sign that
said, “Contactless Distribu-
tion Point.”
Chen, who wore an entry
pass for his apartment com-
plex around his neck, said
he shops online two to three
times a week to replenish
kitchen supplies.
JD says over the past
month, its drivers delivered
71,500 tons of rice, fl our and
other grains — 20 times
more than the same period
last year, — 27 million liters
of cooking oil and 50,000
tons of meat, eggs, vegetables
and other fresh products.
Pinduoduo said orders
for apples, strawberries and
other fresh fruit from its
586,000 sellers of agricul-
tural products were up 120%
in January.
Disease fears in other
Asian markets also have pro-
pelled e-commerce demand
for food and hygiene supplies.
The Korea Economic Daily
said online mask sales in
South Korea rose 37,000% in
January over a year earlier.
Chinese e-commerce com-
panies emerged in a market
that lacked credit cards,
reliable delivery and other
features their counterparts
in the United States and Eu-
rope take for granted. That
required JD, Alibaba and
some other competitors to
create their own online pay-
ments systems or networks
of warehouses and delivery
drivers.
JD has a 180,000-strong
workforce of drivers and
warehouse workers and says
it is hiring 20,000 more to
meet demand. The company
said Dada Group, a delivery
service in which JD is an
investor, is adding 15,000 to
its workforce.
At a JD distribution center
on Beijing’s southeast side,
employees in red parkas,
masks and gloves sorted
packages and sprayed them
with disinfectant.
Goods from oranges and
toilet paper to 32-packs of
beer and cat litter came off
trucks on one side of the
building and passed down a
conveyor belt to be sorted for
individual drivers. Padded
blue boxes held fresh fruit
and vegetables.
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