Opinion from Paulina Lang Head of Behavioural Science at Together Agency

IPM Member Agency Together explain how they use the COM-B Model to help inform brand strategy and creative. The process is part of a framework used to identify appropriate interventions linked to key drivers or barriers of behaviour.

Explaining how the abbreviations work within FMCG with the example of a healthy snack product, Paulina states; “we can begin by thinking about Capability; can the consumer physically open the snack? They need to ensure the packaging is easy to open to ensure it’s not a physical barrier.

The psychological capability would be to establish if they understand the health benefits of the snack? Is it made clear enough?

Next is Opportunity. Physical opportunity would be that the snack is easily available. Some food items are only available in certain countries, so if the consumer knows about the product but cannot access it; this would be a barrier. You want the product to be in local stores and prominently displayed. Social opportunities would involve promoting it as a healthy snack consumed by similar people; so the social media campaigns and the marketing of the product would look at the social influence and trends on behaviour, online endorsements and reviews.

Finally, we have Motivation. Reflective motivation around the product would establish if the customer consciously thinks and values the health and nutritional value of the product? Whereas automatic motivation is the emotional connection to the brand or just an impulsive buy. An example is that the package triggers positive emotions that influence the customer to pick the item up.

Combining all these factors together, we can design creative and strategy around breaking the most important barriers, and drive the consumers to pick this product.”

To find out more about how these fascinating methods inform strategies you can access the full interview here

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Opinion from Jonathan Hill

Cities across the country are following the lead of the Mayor of London, and ULEZ (Ultra Low Emissions Zone), by implementing their own measures to reduce carbon produced by combustion engines.  
 
Xpression are based just outside Oxford, where Oxfordshire County Council and Oxford City Council have introduced a zero emission zone (ZEZ) to improve air quality, cut carbon emissions and move towards zero emission travel in the city.  The ZEZ is an area of Oxford where zero emission vehicles such as fully electric motor cycles, bicycles, cars and vans can be used without incurring charge but where others may be charged – including hybrids.  
 
Jonathan Hill, MD of Xpression Logistics said “we are investigating a number of ideas to reduce costs for our customers who need to deliver or collect goods from inner-cities, finding ways to minimise the daily fees incurred by combustion engines, whilst cutting carbon”.   There are a number of ideas they are investigating but the most obvious was for the business to invest in electric vehicles (including electric vans) to add to their electric car fleet.  “We have already worked on a number of carbon-reducing ideas such as running all diesel generators on carbon-offset fuel with which we also intend to run two vehicles on the logistics fleet” said Mr Hill. 
 
Xpression have for many years had a close relationship with Volkswagen and therefore their first instinct was to research (and then purchase) a Buzz.  Mr Hill said “the initial opinion of the drivers what sceptical, but as each of them has the opportunity to test drive the Buzz and use it to make deliveries, their minds are quickly changed”.   EV technology has improved dramatically over the years and the Buzz is proving to be able to do nearly 300 miles on a full battery, charge quickly, have plenty of space to carry customers’ goods and (importantly to the team) is exceptionally comfortable to drive.  
 
“We took the Buzz to the British Grand Prix at Silverstone this year and it was ideal, as well as attracting a lot of attention”.   Mr Hill added  “I am not concerned about the future of logistics in an EV world, every problem is an opportunity and this company is looking forward to managing those opportunities going forward”
 
For more information please email Jonathan@xpressionevents.co.uk or call 01869 232234

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Opinion from Andrew Ryan, Director at Halo

When John Pemberton invented Coca-Cola in 1886, not even their catchy positioning of “Delicious! Refreshing! Exhilarating! Invigorating!” could persuade consumers to try it over all the other carbonated wonder tonics and elixirs already on the market.

So, to help increase sales his bookkeeper started giving away tickets for free tastes of Coke, but Pemberton chastised him for extravagance. Fast forward a few years when tycoon Asa Griggs Candler bought the company in 1888, he revisited the bookkeeper’s idea, and distributed thousands of bits of paper like the ones above, and so the coupon as we know it was born.

By 1913, Coca-Cola had redeemed over 8.5 million free drink coupons.

Thankfully the humble coupon itself has made a smooth transition to the 21st century and the new dawn of digital coupons will soon be the norm. If you want to boost your sales and attract more consumers, couponing is still a solid marketing tool to use. Coupons can help you create a sense of urgency, reward loyal consumers and increase brand awareness.

This is especially true in the cost-of-living crisis when consumers are even more value conscious. The tightening of consumer purse strings is placing an even greater demand on the need to deliver value where it matters. This is being born out from our findings across the UK, Europe, Africa and the US that there is a noticeable increase in response and uptake on any promotion that delivers real consumer value. Free and Save messages are currently outperforming all other mechanics.

However, unknown performance can place greater demands on budgets which is where Fixed Fee comes in to provide much needed cost certainty. Fixed Fee is perfect for when costs are variable and the final outcome is unknown. It allows a campaign to be budgeted for regardless of the final performance, protecting the variable costs under a one off completely covered​ Fixed Fee with the backing of re-insurance.

By combining the powerful mechanic of couponing with the cost certainty benefits of Fixed Fee, brands can better navigate these tough trading conditions.​

Why coupons?

1. Couponing creates a sense of urgency. When consumers see that a coupon has an expiration date, they are more likely to act fast and make a purchase before they miss out on a good deal.
2. Couponing appeals to the masses, everyone loves saving money, and couponing allows consumers to feel like they are getting more value for their money.
3. Couponing encourages repeat purchases. By offering coupons that can be redeemed on future purchases, you can increase consumer retention and loyalty. You can also use coupons to cross-sell or upsell other products or services that complement your main offer.
4. Couponing generates word-of-mouth. Social sharing. When consumers are happy with purchases, they’re more likely to share their positive experiences with friends and family. You can also incentivize referrals by offering coupons to both the referrer and the referee.

  Quick couponing checklist                                         

• Set clear goals and objectives for your coupon campaign. What do you want to achieve? Who do you want to target? How will you measure your success?
• Choose the right type of coupon for your offer. There are different types of coupons, such as percentage off, £1 off, buy one get one free, free delivery. Choose the one that best suits your product or service and your target audience.

Tracking, ROI and first party data

• Analyse and optimise your coupon campaign. You can monitor and evaluate the results of your coupon campaign regularly. You can use metrics such as redemption rate, conversion rate, average order value, consumer acquisition cost, consumer lifetime value. You can also collect feedback from your consumers to improve your offer and consumer experience.
• Coupons can help you collect valuable consumer data and feedback. You can use coupons to ask consumers for their email addresses, phone numbers, or opinions. This can help you build your consumer database and improve your marketing strategies.

The humble coupon might not get the recognition it deserves, especially at awards events, but you clients will thank you for the direct impact it can have on driving trade.

Couponing is certainly not broken, far from it, but they might need fixing in which case we’d be delighted to help.

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The IPM is delighted to welcome members to take part in our brand new Webinar Series. As a member of the IPM, you now have the opportunity to share invaluable knowledge, champion thought leadership and raise your profile.

In the fast-paced world of promotional marketing, staying up to date with the latest trends, strategies, and insights is essential for success. The IPM Webinar Series offers you a unique platform to engage with industry experts, thought leaders, and seasoned professionals who are at the forefront of promotional marketing. Through these webinars, you’ll have access to cutting-edge information, innovative ideas, and best practices that can propel your campaigns to new heights.

Taking part in The IPM Webinar Series is free for IPM members. For more information on how you can get involved contact emmak@theipm.org.uk

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Opinion From Holly Eddleston: Head of Influencer Marketing at BIG little LDN.

Having worked in this field for over a decade, Holly remembers when brands were trading lipsticks for a Facebook post and #Ad was yet to be a thing. Holly has been instrumental in running global campaigns for Dove, Peroni Nastro Azzurro, Diageo and Red Bull so we wanted to pick her brains and share some of the most common challenges brands face when working with influencers, and how to overcome them.

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1. Target audience

Many brands approach influencer marketing by looking at the influencers directly, rather than the data behind them. If you’re trying to sell a product or service in the UK, you’ve got to talk to an audience based in the UK. It’s common for UK based influencers to now have a larger following in the US or Australia. Audience data is key when it comes to casting your ambassadors. At BIG little LDN, we have tools to help identify where followers are based and wouldn’t recommend working with an influencer who has less than 70% of their audience in your target location.

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2. Fake followers

Influencers base their fees on how many followers they have, yet without the right tools in place, brands will find it difficult to tell whether those followers are genuine or not. Before working with any influencer, we look at the data behind their follower acquisition. What we’re looking for is a steady line of growth. Any unusual spikes in follower count would be a red flag and could indicate that the influencer has bought followers and is not acting in the best interest of the brands they represent.

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3. Measuring engagement

Another problem we face a lot is the number of followers can be totally arbitrary due to fraudulent activity. Metrics such as engagement rate and the quality of the language used  in comments are much better measures to focus on. When we see consumers commenting on our influencers’ posts that include “try”, “want”, “buy”, “need” – this shows purchase intent and is what we’re looking for during each campaign as opposed to simply reporting on impressions and reach.

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4. Influencer management

So, you’ve found your influencer, you’ve told them your campaign, now what? We’ve worked with social teams who have been great at building online communities, but have never managed influencers before. Without clear structure, direction and a posting schedule the most competent of social teams can fall down at this next hurdle.Working with influencers isn’t the same as working with your internal teams. It takes careful planning and ongoing project management to ensure everyone is on the same page and expectations are met. A poorly run campaign can easily result in an influencer relationship turning sour and having the opposite effect. A lot of the time, this is overlooked and as a result brands can end up wasting budget purely as a result of miscommunication. Over the years, we have crafted fool-proof templates that save our clients time and money and ensure the greatest return on investment.‍

5. Negotiation

When starting out with influencer marketing, brands can find it difficult to know if they are paying a fair price for the influencer and deliverables set. Having run hundreds of campaigns in the past, we know what a rate card should be and when someone could be trying to overcharge. It’s possible for brands to access to preferential rates and other added value ways of working by leveraging the relationships BIG little LDN has forged over the years, For example, influencers will have set prices for individual Posts, Stories or Reels, but if you are planning a campaign with multiple deliverables over a longer period of time, we will look at the campaign in its entirety and negotiate a price that is fair for the influencer, while keeping within the brands budget.

Email for guidelines to influencer prices.

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6. Contracting

The most important part of any business relationship is the contract, so it surprises me how many brands still don’t contract their influencers and then wonder where it all went wrong. Contracts lay out deliverables, timelines, fees, responsibilities and content usage rights meaning there is a single source of truth in the event of any misunderstanding. Working with a UK top 100 media law firm, we have drafted watertight contracts and make sure these are signed and in place with every influencer before we employ them to represent our clients.Working with influencers without a contract in place poses a great risk to the business and may even mean the content they’ve paid for doesn’t legally belong to them.

Most of the brands who approach us and haven’t yet dipped their toe into the world of influencer marketing because they view it as being very expensive. However, our tried and tested method of end-to-end influencer campaign management, alongside our access to thousands of up-and-coming influencers, audience insights tools and negotiation experience means any expense laid out, will be relative to the return on investment you see.

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If you’re thinking of running an influencer campaign or want to learn more about how influencers could boost your sales, get in touch.

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Opinion From IncentiveSmart

There are some things we can’t help but resent spending our money on. When that ‘Check Engine’ light starts glowing, or when the school uniforms get a little too tight once again, or when the dentist sits back in her chair and says, “I’ll need you to book another appointment”. They are the bare necessities – and, unlike the bear necessities, they definitely aren’t free to scavenge from the forest floor as you hum a merry tune.

The supermarket is another place where spending hard-earned money rarely feels like a joy. Besides the occasional treat snuck into the trolley, there are plenty of bare necessities that make their way down the conveyer belt quite unceremoniously.

This is, of course, why supermarket loyalty schemes prove so successful. Most of us have to go to the supermarket at least once a week and, unless it’s way out of our way, the supermarket with the most beneficial (and, most importantly, memorable) loyalty scheme is likely to be our destination.

That brings us onto to Asda, who recently unveiled a new pounds-based rewards scheme for their customers – a novelty in the supermarket circle, given the emphasis Asda’s main competitors place on points, rather than pounds. And, when it boils down to the age-old debate between money and points, Asda’s new efforts are just as relevant to B2B loyalty as they are to the traditional, B2C loyalty schemes.

So, here it is – our in-depth, up close and personal look at Asda’s new rewards scheme – what we admire, and what experience has taught us we’d rather steer away from.

Asda’s Rewards Scheme: What’s the Deal?

Back in August, Asda started rolling out its first loyalty programme. While they were late to the game (Tesco launched their Clubcard back in 1995, for instance) the supermarket had maintained a competitive edge through the years with its rollbacks and competitive pricing strategy.

Asda Rewards is centred around a ‘Cashpot’, which grows larger each and every time shoppers scan their app at checkout, or complete ‘challenges’. This is the interesting part – the money in this Cashpot can be redeemed through a voucher, which can be put towards their next Asda’s shop (either in person, or online). Is that not a voucher scheme we ask?

The scheme is made more unique by the challenges ASDA offers to shoppers (for instance, £1.50 can be earned for any 10 items of fruit and vegetables), and by the ‘Star Products’ found throughout the store that can earn a 10% return in their Cashpot. It’s obvious that these challenges are designed to encourage shoppers to spend more time in store, more time looking for things (and trying new things they wouldn’t usually go for), and, ultimately, spend more money.

It’s a great idea, aside from one pretty big detail – historically, points-based rewards have demonstrated far better success rates in the long-term, even though we love having a little extra cash to spend when temptation is right in front of us.

Our Reservations Over Cash-Based Rewards

We get it. Finding an extra £20, getting that better-than-expected tax rebate, or opening a birthday card to find a handful of notes is a good feeling. We all like to know we’ve got a little no-strings-attached cash to spend on something extra, or just take the sting out of an unavoidable expense. This is, of course, the motivator behind Asda’s scheme. Shoppers can spend their accumulated ‘cash’ on a few extra treats among the usual cupboard supplies.

The counterargument, however – and one that we align with at Incentivesmart – is that cash isn’t memorable, and the kind of stuff we usually spend those unexpected extra doses of cash aren’t long lasting, either.

Remember what we said at the beginning of this article, about how there are some things we will always resent spending money on because they’re boring necessities? Add to that list things like toilet roll, dishwasher tablets, toothpaste, lightbulbs, washing up liquid, and socks! Saving a little on these humdrum expenses is all well and good, but it’s not exciting or memorable in the same way that accumulating points is – when you have to take time to think about exchanging them for rewards and experiences that actually mean something.

It’s very likely that Asda is aware of this. Why? Because their in-app challenges cater to that part of us that enjoys working toward a goal, rather than simply accumulating points with each purchase. It gives customers a more active role in the scheme – something which is usually reserved for points-based reward schemes.

Now, the obvious counter-counter argument in favour of cash-based rewards is that Asda operates in a very different ecosystem to most businesses. Supermarkets aren’t like other businesses offering rewards schemes. We go to the supermarket very regularly and, often, our choice of supermarket is also dependent on other factors: which one is closest to where we live? Which one stocks the brands/products we like the most? Which one suits our budget?

Where Do Points Have the Edge?

There are plenty of reasons why points continue to hold an edge over pounds, even in the unique world of supermarkets – and even when you take into account the surface-level appeal of cash over points, which only hold value within a closed loop environment.

Consider the fact that, in a recent survey, Tesco’s points-based Clubcard still ranked #1 among customers. Asda ranked fourth, behind Sainsbury’s and The Co-Operative, both of which also offer points-based schemes. The offer of cash is not, in and of itself, an instant selling point; customers are a lot savvier than that.

We spend a lot of time thinking about rewards schemes, and how to offer the best (and most enticing) programme to your customers, so we have some ideas of our own about why this could be. Here are just a few…

Points make consistency easier for businesses

Giving away tangible rewards or experiences makes better financial sense than giving away cold hard cash. Why? Because, with a carefully planned points-based rewards scheme, you can accrue and offer some genuinely enticing rewards to customers without narrowing your margins on your own products or services.

Consider the fact that Asda’s first ‘Milestone Mission’ for customers is to spend £50 in-store or online. If they hit that milestone, they get £1.50 back, which works out at 3%. Another offer mentioned on Asda’s own site is £1.50 for any 10 fruits or vegetables (so unlocking this milestone will, presumably, cost less than £50), while another will see £5 invested into the Cashpot for every £25 spent on school uniforms.

The rules are inconsistent. It could be argued, of course, that this inconsistency is what keeps the scheme fresh, and what keeps customers checking in on their Asda Rewards app. If it was the same old deal every time they went in store, it wouldn’t be so memorable, right?

But how long can the novelty sustain itself? The benefits of a scheme that is based on a very simple, memorable, and clear system (for instance, 1 point for every £1 spent, and £1 for every 100 points accrued) remain clear as day – and, judging by Tesco’s popularity with customers, the lack of novelty is not a fatal flaw. Why? Because the rewards themselves change – not the rules of the game.

Points keep customers within your closed loop, without restricting them to a limited range of rewards

One of the biggest reasons why cash rewards are a bad idea for businesses is because, after the reward has been handed over, you get no more insight into what customers are spending that cash on, or where they are spending it.

Asda know this, and they have circumvented the issue with their Cashpot, which can only be redeemed or ‘emptied’ in Asda’s stores or through its website, so it’s pretty much straddling the fence between cash and points. It looks like money and acts like money, but only within Asda’s own big-little ecosystem. Is that really cash because as we know cash can be spent anywhere!!

Money can be spent thoughtlessly; points are better accrued

Asda’s Milestone Missions do give shoppers something to work towards they’re accruing the cash just the same. Points require imagination – they give shoppers a definitive goal to work towards, and a real, motivating reason to keep accruing those points, and not to just spend them for the sake of it each time they start to build-up. And, provided you can focus on offering a really strong, versatile and exciting selection of rewards for customers to spend their points on, allow them to mark favourites so they can identify what appeals to them, you can capture their imaginations for the long-haul.

Points are best for getting customers emotionally involved in the scheme

Building loyalty isn’t just about giving customers a reason to come back to you each time they need the product you offer, or the service you provide. It’s also about cultivating a long-term, steadfast emotional connection that will keep your customers loyal even when your competitors are offering a better on-the-spot deal.

An emotional connection is the difference between casual loyalty, and the evangelistic behaviour that can enable businesses to really thrive – the customers who will recommend you to friends and co-workers, and who will represent the bedrock on which your business’s success is built.

Cash is, as we mentioned above, unmemorable, and pretty workaday. Unless it’s a massive lump sum inheritance or prize money, you’re probably not going to remember it a couple of weeks, a few months, or a year down the line.

Points create a story in our heads. The process of picking out a reward you want and very gradually working toward it is different and, provided the rewards are relevant enough to really inspire your customers to earn them, very memorable indeed.

Points are better value

The final cherry on the cake is that commercially, points provide better value than cash. We’ve provided a simple points vs cash model to demonstrate this:

So, What’s our verdict?

Asda’s rewards scheme is likely to prove a success. They already have a significant (and, in all likelihood, loyal) customer base, and a solid reputation for offering competitive, in-store deals and prices that kept customers coming through the doors long before it launched this scheme. So, for many people, this will represent something of a cherry on the cake, rather than a game-changing, supermarket-switching prospect.

That’s not to say Asda won’t attract brand new customers, but that they will enjoy the main benefit of a successful loyalty scheme: customer retention.

More interesting to us is the fact that Asda’s rewards scheme seems to take advantage of the very best of both worlds. Cash is, at face value, a very compelling offer. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again – ask any group of people whether they want to be rewarded with cash or stuff, and the overwhelming majority will probably say cash. But, once spent, that cash is forgotten – the purchase is lost to the sands of time – and the customer’s attention needs to be grabbed all over again. You give away more money, and the cycle continues.

The cash Asda gives to its customers through its Milestone Missions and Star Products acts a lot like points. It goes into a ‘Cashpot’ and customers can see that value accruing, which caters to our desire for money over stuff, but it can’t be redeemed as cash-in-hand or spent anywhere other than within Asda’s bricks-and-mortar or online stores. It keeps people within Asda’s closed loop, much like points.

What can we take from this? That collectability (aka points!!) will always offer the greatest possible benefit to businesses. They keep the loop closed and motivate the customer to keep returning and, in so doing, accruing points. You definitely don’t need to dress them up as cash to trick people to think that’s enticing, and you don’t need to invest crazy amounts of money into the rewards you offer. Instead, you need them to be relevant, memorable, and always interesting to your returning customers.

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Opinion from David Pearson CEO at SPARK

A recent study by Emarsys, into customer loyalty in the UK, revealed that over half of UK respondents had left a brand they’d previously been loyal to in order to save money. Clearly, inflation is having an impact.

So what does this teach us about customer loyalty going into 2023?

The Emarsys’ second annual Customer Loyalty Index, which includes a survey of 2,000 UK consumers, reports that seven in 10 of those surveyed said they would be more loyal to brands that offer incentives and rewards.

However, as Mark Choueke, retail expert and author of the index, commented: “To drive meaningful customer loyalty, customer-centricity is no longer enough. Brands and marketers must now aim for customer obsession. Marketers have to really get to know each customer and internalise their habits and preferences ……..”.

Easier said than done? Perhaps not.

Behavioural science is an area that is increasingly used by brands to connect with customers, determine their needs, and foster loyalty, and it really makes sense. Psychologists have demonstrated that 80% of the decisions we make are influenced by factors we are unaware of. So, ASKING consumers why they do something will only yield 20% of the truth. To discover non-conscious attitudes requires specialist research techniques with a scientific base.

Discovering what your consumers are not telling you is crucial to engaging with them, and will help you determine which rewards or offers are relatable to their personal needs.

If you want to increase brand effectiveness and customer retention throughout 2023, talk to SPARK about our innovative psychology tools and how our insights can ignite your marketing strategies.

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We’ve all become used to the unpredictable over recent years. TLC’s marketing trends for 2023 aims to give you the best opportunity to kick start the new year- but prepared. At the start of 2020 nobody had heard of Covid, and a year ago you’d have got long odds on seeing a takeover of Twitter, a king on the British throne and an actual war on the European mainland. But as spring is on the horizon, it’s worth planning for the rest of the year ahead. This is how TLC help their clients and fellow marketers to prepare for the upcoming twelve months. Presenting their annual prediction of marketing trends for 2023 and developments that – unforeseen events aside – will be leading the conversation in marketing departments across the UK and the world. Fasten your seatbelts…

Click here to access

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Can everyday food and drink brands turn the Metaverse into a meaningful business enterprise?

At Together Agency, we’re always identifying relevant trends to keep our clients at the forefront of brand development.

That’s why we’ve taken a deep dive into the Metaverse. As people bypass traditional media, the Metaverse offers new ways for brands to engage and excite audiences. For industry creatives, it’s an opportunity to break with convention.

The Metaverse has been hailed as the next generation internet. Facebook has staked its future on it, expecting it to be an immersive, 3D experience. ‘Its defining quality will be a feeling of presence, like you are right there with another person, or in another place.’ At this moment, it’s a testing ground for many household brands – each seeking to understand how they might want to show up in people’s lives as more of us start spending our time there. Whether you’ve grasped what the Metaverse is or not, in a few years’ time vast swathes of the population will be living alternate lives in this digital universe. They will gain access with VR headsets or AR glasses – or maybe a next generation smart phone. They will be able to ‘jump’ between different Metaverse platforms (such as Fortnite and Sandbox) via ‘fixed identity avatars’ that are recognised by others. They will be able to interact and socialise with ‘physicality’.

“By 2026, 25% of people will spend at least one hour a day in the Metaverse for work, shopping, education, social and/or entertainment.” Source: Gartner Inc.

ALL THE FASHION

With traditional ad campaigns losing impact, progressive brands of all sizes have been experimenting in virtual reality spaces. In March this year, the first ever Metaverse Fashion Week hosted more than 70 apparel brands on the Decentraland platform, attracting audiences well over 100,000.

Making the point that the Metaverse isn’t just for fashionistas, Unilever has been demonstrating how everyday brands such as Hellmann’s Mayonnaise can also play. In 2020, the brand launched its very own island in Nintendo’s Animal Crossing game. It inspired gamers to reduce food waste and trigger donations to a charity fighting food waste. It’s a great example of how a brand can land a positive message in an original way.

At a time when experiences matter more, the Metaverse enables everyday brands ways to excite and engage a new generation of consumers, as well as gamers and anyone else prepared to take the plunge.

Check out our latest blog here and discover who the other brands are that are monetising this latest trend. 

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Brands who offer customer incentives can cut cost of acquisition and retention in the year ahead

UK consumers say that incentives will be key to securing their loyalty and custom through the cost-of-living crisis, according to new research from Edenred.
The study, which asked 2,000 consumers about how they were changing their spending behaviour in the face of the cost-of-living crisis, found incentives were more important than a range of factors including reputation or customer service in attracting customer spend and second only to price.
With the majority of consumers (54%) having already made changes to their lifestyle to cope with the cost-of-living crisis, only 15% of consumers say their household budget can accommodate further prices increases and 42% say they would need to borrow more to deal with the cost-of-living crisis.
Against this backdrop, consumers are adopting a range of value-seeking behaviours as they shop, with one-in-four consumers (26%) looking for cashback or incentives when shopping and just under a third (29%) said they were using money-off vouchers or coupons to make their household budget go further. Around a third (32%) are shopping around for the best prices.
Close to four-in-ten consumers (38%) say they are more likely to recommend a brand that offers incentives while a quarter (25%) say they will be more loyal to an existing brand. Incentives will also encourage people to switch (35%) or trial a new brand (30%).
The most attractive incentives that brands can offer are rewards for loyalty (37%) followed by cashback (35%) or vouchers (31%). A significant majority also value the opportunity to share rewards with friends and family (29%) or with a good cause (23%).
Andy Philpott, Marketing Director at Edenred said:
“While these are tough times to compete for a share of consumer spending, our research shows that brands can attract and retain value-seeking customers and avoid a race to the bottom on price by using incentives.
Whether it is by reducing customer churn, rewarding loyalty or winning new customers through refer-a-friend schemes, incentives offer every brand the opportunity to minimise the impact of the cost-of-living crisis without having to resort to price competition.
By offering customers the opportunity to give to causes they believe in or simply the ability to share reward with friends and family, brands can also build preference and differentiation through the choice of incentives on offer.
As the battle for customers intensifies, it will be the sales and marketing teams who can best deploy incentives who are likely to attract and retain customers through the cost-of-living crisis.”
To download the full report, “The battle for new customers in the cost-of-living crisis”, please visit the Edenred website HERE

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