Go Back The Retention Playbook

Cater to the Influx of Mobile Shoppers

One of the best ways to leverage SMS marketing to maximize retention? Integrate all of your marketing strategies together with your mobile channel to create better experiences.

loyalty reward
Go Back The Retention Playbook
How Loyalty Creates Long-Term Brand Lovers Strengthen Emotional Bonds With a Loyalty Program Create Loyalty Experiences That Drive Value
Cater to the Influx of Mobile Shoppers Personalize and Predict Shopper Engagement Show Customers You Recognize Them
Engage on Social Media Educate, Inform, and Reward Incentivize Customers to Refer Friends

Learn more about how Yotpo can help your brand drive stronger retention.

More than ever, consumers are on their phones. Every day, the average person spends over 4 hours on a mobile device and checks their phone more than 150 times. Now, consumers not only expect to shop via mobile — they prefer it.

A recent Yotpo survey revealed that more than 65% of online shoppers choose to browse or buy online from their mobile devices, as opposed to on a laptop or desktop computer. So, for brands looking to drive retention, it’s essential to do so on the channel they prefer most — on their phones, via text. 

For activewear brand LSKD, SMS marketing has proven to be a game changer. They capture SMS subscribers across the buyer journey, including a pop-up (which has a notable 89% CVR), as well as from checkout, their loyalty program, and through word of mouth via their Facebook group.

“We’ve seen higher conversions on SMS than on email,” says Will Bolton, Digital Marketing, LSKD. The brand now sees an average of 81x ROI on their SMS flows, including welcome, abandoned cart, browse abandonment, and loyalty points reminder flows.

Text shoppers with loyalty program-related updates

One of the most action-inspiring texts a shopper can receive after they’ve made a purchase is a reminder of an available discount, special offer, or reward balance they’ve accumulated and still have yet to use. More than 47% of consumers have said that receiving a text about their loyalty points or rewards would encourage them to make a purchase.

When customers realize that they have enough points for a reward, it can be the motivation to make a purchase. Brands maintaining a steady connection with their customers can expect a rise in overall program engagement rates and brand loyalty. Using audience segmentation, you can send personalized text messages to loyalty members with the number of points necessary for redemption.

“Coming out of the holiday season, we always use our loyalty program,” says Shawn McIntyre, Director of Digital at tentree. “We remind customers of their loyalty points or the dollar amount they’ve accumulated coming out of the holiday months of shopping with us.”

In addition, your brand can tailor mobile experiences with additional loyalty-centric messaging, like segmenting loyalty program members based on VIP tier with exclusive benefits or sales, and texting shoppers when they’re a few points away from earning a reward to drive engagement in between purchases. This sense of urgency catalyzes loyalty members to take action and take advantage of your offers.

You can also let loyalty members know about an upcoming points expiration. Send shoppers a text with the exact date their points are set to expire, specifically those set to expire in the next 30 days.

With SMS marketing working together with your loyalty program, your brand can drive real business value from the emotional loyalty you build. By incentivizing shoppers to engage across the most personal channels, your brand can reduce churn, increase product adoption, provide better experiences, and ultimately, drive retention.

Collect product reviews and photos via SMS — then reward with loyalty perks

Additionally, brands can provide seamless, mobile-first experiences for shoppers by making it as easy as possible for shoppers to interact with your brand. If a shopper has made a purchase, send a follow-up via text asking shoppers to submit a review and photo. 

Rather than have to log back into their computer, a clunky and time-consuming experience, consumers can quickly leave a review from the palm of their hand, then move on with the rest of their day. In fact, our data shows that brands collect user-generated content, including reviews and star ratings, at a 66% higher conversion rate when requests are sent via SMS rather than email.

Plus, brands can sweeten the deal by rewarding shoppers with a discount, or even better — loyalty points, for leaving a review or photo. Brands can capture more of that valuable user-generated content while engaging shoppers with rewards — a win-win strategy that strengthens a shopper’s connection to the brand.

Reduce friction in high-intent customers’ path-to-purchase

Loyalty members are often brands’ most valuable shoppers. In our Loyalty Program Benchmarks Report, we found that within 90 days after launching a loyalty program, brands see:

  • 8.5x ROI
  • A 164.4% increase in repeat purchase rate among loyalty redeemers
  • An 88.5% increase in average revenue per customer when comparing loyalty redeemers versus non-redeemers
  • A 71.3% increase in purchases per customer when comparing loyalty redeemers versus non-redeemers

These high-value customers want to support your brand, but you need to ensure their path-to-purchase is seamless. By leveraging loyalty and SMS marketing together, you can truly offer members the curated experience they crave.

Increase members’ cart size and purchase likelihood by sending a personalized product link and drive loyalty customers right to checkout to easily complete their purchase. Seamlessly send curated links for:

  • Best sellers
  • Tailored recommendations based on member data
  • Launches and exclusive releases to encourage loyalty members to try new products

Read the next lesson to learn how your brand can personalize messaging to drive better customer experiences.