Beyond everyday shopping, supermarkets are becoming a space in which to offer a different experience to consumers. Retailers have realised that loyalty programmes are the best way to capture the attention of potential customers and also to create a bond through rewards, benefits and experiences.
In the previous article we analysed the different loyalty programmes of the main retailers in Spain, this time we will focus on Mexico. Who do you think will stand out? Read on… we’ll tell you!
Analysing loyalty programmes
As we mentioned in the previous article, the success of a loyalty programme lies in a customer-centric strategy. It is essential that the core value proposition (CBO) is attractive, motivating and easy for the customer to understand. Ideally, it should combine a rational offer (with discounts and direct coupons) with emotional and aspirational offers, including other benefits such as personalised challenges, gamification…
In this article we analyse the loyalty programmes of the 5 main retailers in Mexico: Walmart, Soriana, Chedraui, La comer and HEB.
Walmart – Walmart+
The US brand has more than 6 million customers a day. They are present in Mexico and Central America with 2,870 and 885 shops respectively, representing 60% of the brand’s international shops. In 2022 it achieved sales of 819.17 billion pesos, which represented a growth for the company of 11.3% compared to 2021.
The brand provides services at no cost in its app, accessible to all users.
- Customers have the opportunity to experiment with their favourite products from home through the augmented reality that the app provides.
- In addition, thanks to the virtual fitting room, they can visualise how the clothes fit by selecting a generic mannequin or their own model.
- It also offers the planning, recommendation and follow-up of purchases, seeking to provide a more comfortable experience for the customer.
This app also offers other functionalities such as creating a shopping list, scanning products or finding the right aisle for a product.
As for the loyalty programme, its OBV is based on aspirational benefits through monthly ($12.95) or annual ($98) subscriptions to get the benefits offered by the brand. Consumers are offered a 30-day free trial.
- Partnerships: collaborate with external brands by offering access to the pluto TV platform and Paramout+. These benefits can provide an incentive to choose the brand.
- Aspirational benefit: Since last year, the brand has offered an accumulation benefit called “Walmart rewards”. This is a currency created by Walmart, which accumulates according to the products purchased. Once enough coins have been accumulated, they can be redeemed on future purchases. The brand launched this initiative in its programme, increasing aspirational feelings on the part of the consumer to achieve great benefits.
- Scan&Go: this service is available to all the brand’s customers, offering a different and fast shopping experience. Consumers scan the desired products during their in-store experience, being able to finalise the purchase from Walmart pay. This provides a different, fast and contactless experience.
- Unlimited shipping: Consumers place as many orders as they want without having to pay extra for shipping.
- Savings on outside services: Members will save up to $10/gallon at more than 14,000 locations nationwide. These benefits are also a strong incentive to choose this brand over the competition.
- Relationship benefits: Members have early access to special pricing, launches or promotions. With this action, they bring the brand closer to the customer. By being eligible for benefits before other consumers, members feel part of the Walmart community.
- Other additional benefits: In addition, on some occasions they launch different promotions in which the member must pay an additional fee to acquire it. The objective of this is to offer greater benefits to the member for being part of the Walmart community.
Soriana – soriana rewards
Soriana is a Mexican company, with great weight in the food retail sector in Mexico. It has a network of 802 shops throughout the country and more than 520 million customers a year. The company’s revenues in 2022 reached 166 billion pesos, representing a growth of 6.9% compared to the previous year.
Soriana’s loyalty programme focuses on an accumulation policy that allows consumers to experience a sense of gratification when they discover that their purchases generate benefits, both in the brand itself and in external services.
All the benefits offered by Soriana have one main focus: to accumulate enough points to be able to redeem them at a later date.
- Accumulate points: all members who purchase products by presenting their rewards card can earn 1 point for every 8 pesos of purchase. In addition, additional points can be earned on selected products to get benefits much faster. With this, they have the opportunity to redeem all accumulated points for:
- Free products.
- Exclusive collections made available to members.
- Discount on the final price of purchases by deducting part of the cost with the accumulated points.
It should be noted that the accumulation of points was unified in a card in collaboration with Payback (the loyalty programme belonging to American Express). However, this partnership is now about to end. Soriana and Payback will end their partnership at the end of July this year, so members will have to transfer all accumulated points to the new Soriana rewards card if they do not want to lose all their bonuses.
- Health discounts: With the purchase of pharmaceutical products, members will be eligible for different benefits such as “accumulate 3 and get 4”. Special health promotions make consumers perceive that the brand cares about their well-being. In addition, it offers ethical medicine benefits to people over 45 years old, increasing bonding and the feeling of belonging to a group.
- Partnerships: in collaboration with external brands, Soriana offers members exclusive experiences at the cinema, aquarium and even interactive channels for the youngest members of the household. Users can obtain these experiences by redeeming part of the cost with the points accumulated on their reward cards.
- Double points for financing purchases: members who acquire the “Falabella” credit card will be able to make purchases at Soriana by accumulating double points in Soriana Rewards, 4% electronic money on the total purchase and great discounts on featured products.
Chedraui – My Chedraui
Chedraui is a company born in Mexico and one of the main retailers in the country. In addition, its distribution network has more than 388 shops and more than 377 shops in the United States. The brand’s revenues in 2022 reached 104.74 billion pesos, which represents a 16% increase compared to 2021.
Chedraui’s loyalty programme focuses on offering rewards through challenges, surprises and promotions, with the aim of connecting with consumer emotions and aspirations. Through this strategy, Chedraui combines in its Basic Value Offer (BVO) rational benefits with emotional ones to provide the customer with immediate rewards at the time of purchase and others that they receive later and that motivate them to continue shopping at Chedraui to get them.
The My Chedraui OBV offers its customers:
- Aspirational benefits: For each purchase they will receive benefits by completing different challenges: healthy purchases with fruit or vegetables, gourmet purchases in wine or cheese pairings…
- MiChedraui wallet: a card on which the customer can accumulate bonuses to enjoy promotions. To accumulate $10, a purchase of $200 is required. These promotions are segmented according to each customer’s consumption, making the shopping experience more convenient and personalised.
- Personalisation through surprises: the brand rewards members based on criteria such as spending, purchase frequency or the purchase of specific products. This personalisation adds value to the programme, which enhances the customer experience and increases redemption rates because it is tailored to each customer’s needs.
- Exclusive promotions: the brand offers unique benefits for the member and their family. When benefits are extended to the family, not only the individual customer is recognised, but also his or her family circle is thanked. This strengthens the relationship between the brand and the customer, reinforcing customer loyalty and satisfaction. In addition, word of mouth is encouraged through positive brand experiences for family members.
- Pharmacy plan: this is a programme in which the member receives a free medicine when purchasing 3 products in the same category. Through the application, the member can register each purchase and keep track of the number of products remaining to receive the bonus.
La Comer – orange wallet
La Comer is a Mexican supermarket chain, mainly present in central Mexico. During 2022 it achieved a total of 33,436 million pesos in sales, representing an increase of 15.7% compared to 2021.
The brand’s loyalty programme is called “Monedero naranja”. Its OBV is based on aspirational and emotional benefits:
- Accumulate and earn: the brand uses an aspirational strategy to motivate its customers to accumulate points, and seek to reach the most valuable products. In its OBV it offers 1 e-stamp for every $100 of purchase. These stamps will be accumulated in the orange wallet to redeem up to 80% of the price on big branded products.
- Pharmacy rebates and discounts: with this type of rebates, the brand wants to highlight the importance of the health of its customers, so they offer different direct discounts on the purchase of medicines.
- Discounts throughout the pharmacy and 6 discounts during the year.
- Cumulative benefits: by accumulating 3 purchases, the consumer can get 1 free medicine.
- Recruitment strategy: to encourage entry into the “La Comer” community, the brand offers direct incentives that the consumer will obtain once they register:
- 15 stamps for your loyalty collection when registering
- 10% bonus on your first purchase (Purchase between 500$ and 5000$)
- Free shipping
- Other additional benefits: the user gets promotions every month in different categories. Incentivizing the consumer to be attentive as these promotions vary on a monthly basis.
HEB – HEB prime
HEB is a US supermarket chain with a large presence in Mexico, with 79 shops throughout the country.
Its loyalty programme is called “HEB prime”. Its strategy is mainly aspirational, through an annual ($499 per year) or monthly ($49/month) membership, members can access the different benefits of the programme.
Through this programme, consumers can enjoy direct discounts on their purchases. In addition, it not only provides direct discounts on their OBV, but also offers relational benefits thanks to “Live Healthy”. The benefits offered by the brand are:
- Online catalogue.
- Free home delivery from $400 for being a member of the programme. If you are not a member, you will have to pay shipping costs.
- Exclusive promotions or coupons on own and external brands.
- “Live Healthy” nutrition services: by being part of the “HEB prime” community, members can access the brand’s nutritional advice free of charge. They will be able to assess their body composition, determine their weight or body fat percentage and find out their metabolic age.
- Wellness Plan: Although this programme is not included in the membership, it is essential to highlight it as it offers bonuses on medicines or certain products with a completely free card.
- o How do you get bonuses? Through the accumulation of points when making purchases. By completing the required cycle of purchases, the consumer gets discounts or free products.
From this analysis, we can see that customer relationship programmes should provide a balanced and simple core value proposition. The brand should offer its customers rational, but also emotional and aspirational offers that strengthen the link with the brand.
Unlike the analysis carried out in Spain, the vast majority of loyalty programmes in Mexico are using an annual or monthly payment subscription model to access the benefits of the programme. This strategy is gaining prominence in most sectors, such as streaming (Netflix, HBO…), as they seek to establish a constant and loyal link with the customer. For this reason, 70% of organisations have initiated or are contemplating the implementation of some kind of subscription service. Through these paid programmes, they aim to provide an enhanced and personalised experience, with the objective of gaining customer loyalty and continuing to expand their business.
Another difference with loyalty programmes in Spain is the importance that Mexican brands place on consumer health and wellbeing. They provide services, bonuses and discounts on medicines to promote and bring access to health. This is because in Mexico pharmaceutical products can be purchased in the supermarket, creating a business opportunity that does not exist in Spain.
It is increasingly important to provide a digital channel where the consumer can find out about all the benefits, coupons or promotions offered by the brand. Therefore, omni-channeling and ease of use are key elements that influence the effectiveness and success of a loyalty programme.
Do you want to optimise your loyalty programmes?
At Cognodata we are specialists in the design, development, automation and execution of CRPs (Customer Relationship Programmes). Thanks to our headquarters in Mexico we have wide coverage to carry out international projects transforming loyalty programmes into a customer relationship programme, always focusing on the consumer.
Do you want to know our success stories in Mexico?