5 Technologies That Will Shape E-commerce Loyalty Programs in 2018 and Beyond

One strategy in e-commerce to foster customer retention and escalate the overall profitability of your organization is a loyalty program—it enhances customer satisfaction and takes engagement to great heights. Loyalty programs are well-crafted marketing efforts that are designed to reward clients or customers who make regular purchases from a company. The market is flooded with a variety of e-commerce tools to facilitate loyalty programs, increase the lifetime value of customers, and improve conversion rates.

Let’s  take a detailed look at five successful technologies that are shaping e-commerce loyalty programs in 2018.

Artificial Intelligence

AI solutions, such as chatbots, revolutionize the entire customer experience, streamline interactions, and provide superior support. Artificial intelligence assists in the rapid and efficient capture of large volumes of customer data, which helps marketers design better promotional campaigns, schemes, and loyalty offers for their long-term clients. AI-powered software also automates manual or administrative tasks, leaving top marketing executives free to expend their energy on strategic loyalty programs, corporate goals, and objectives.

Beacons

Beacons are a new technology in e-commerce that can benefit your online store and make your clients happy. Retailers with both a brick-and-mortar and online presence can use beacons to connect the shopper’s online and in-person experience. Customers use mobile devices fitted with beacons that provide cashiers or salespersons their purchase history, name, and habits so that they can be targeted for personalized promotions. It boosts the effectiveness of loyalty program by ensuring that customers are constantly receive fresh, appealing, and exciting schemes that are customized to promote lifetime retention.

Internet of Things (IoT)

The Internet of Things offers opportunities to enrich customer engagement and boost loyalty levels. This technology works by providing a number of touchpoints with the ability to collect real-time data from a wide range of channels. The customer data then serves as a central repository of essential information to aid in personalizing loyalty programs. The Internet of Things can help online marketers by providing them with current and up-to-date information, thereby leading to better decisions and customer appreciation that will surely augment positive returns.

Digital Wallets

The modern consumer is digitally savvy and increasingly relying on their personal mobile devices for quick and efficient payment transactions. The high rate of mobile technology adoption has led many e-commerce stores to start offering digital wallets through which they endow loyalty points or schemes. Smartphone-based digital wallets can also be used as a source of customer data as it easily reveals and records purchase transactions. E-commerce merchants have realized the power of mobile wallets and leveraged this technology to provide better billing security, along with superior service at minimal costs.

Blockchain

With Blockchain, clients have the power to utilize cryptocurrency instead of traditional loyalty points, thereby enhancing the value, agility, and flexibility of loyalty schemes. It is highly secure and leads to a reduction in financial fraud and errors. Blockchain-based loyalty programs lead to a reduction in development costs and boosts profitability by a huge margin.

Customer is king. In our world of cutthroat competition, it has become absolutely necessary for e-commerce stores to ensure that their clients remain invested in their business and keep returning for repeat purchases. Reward and loyalty programs are a great way to keep precious clients attracted to your product or service offering.

Author Bio:

Mohit is a digital marketing expert with experience in marketing, communications, and e-commerce development. His interests include e-commerce software, accounting software, and content marketing. When he’s not working, he enjoys spending time with his family, friends, and playing chess.