Pantaloon Retail India (Pril), country’s largest retail company, has now decided to make use of its customer relationships by launching loyalty programmes for its various formats, and integrate it at the same time at the back end to have a better understanding of customer buying habits.
At present, the company already has a loyalty programme titled “Green Card” for its Pantaloons format.
The company is planning to launch a loyalty programme for its biggest format Big Bazaar, which accounts for almost half of the total space under management. It is also the company’s flagship hypermarket format. The company has also decided to launch a new loyalty programme across its troubled home retail format and integrate its Pantaloons loyalty card programme with the others to be launched.
“This will help us to get an integrated view of the customers’ buying habits across different formats,” said a senior official, who did not wish to be identified.
This move is expected to help the company cross-sell products and services to customers. A research report by Angel Broking states that Pril (on a standalone basis) registered the highest year-on-year same-store sales (SSS) growth since November 2008 at 7 per cent, indicating increasing consumer confidence and sustenance of economic growth. The value and lifestyle retailing segments of Pril registered year on year SSS growth of 7 per cent and 6 per cent respectively, in April 2009.
Apart from Pril, Bombay Stock Exchange-listed Shoppers Stop has its loyalty programme called “First Citizen, which now counts 1.4 million customers as members. According to a Mumbai-based industry analyst, loyalty programmes form an effective tool for retaining consumers. “Not only consumers earn points after every purchase, which can be redeemed, retail companies these days are giving a lot of offers to its loyalty card holders.
Source: Financial Chronicle
