TORONTO – A new report suggests 89 per cent of Canadians have signed up for loyalty programs, but few appear happy with the returns.
Montreal-based Aimia Inc., which operates Aeroplan and other customer-loyalty programs, released its second annual study Tuesday looking at how consumers view the way in which companies use their personal data.
It says despite the high level of enrollment in Canada, only eight per cent of consumers in a loyalty program feel they are actually receiving better offers as a result of sharing their personal details.
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Aimia says Canadians are most willing to share their names, email addresses and nationalities with the programs, but are least willing to divulge information about online purchases, their web histories and cellphone numbers.
Globally, says Aimia, only 23 per cent of consumers say the communications they receive from businesses are highly relevant to them, which suggests businesses are not using customer data to personalize and tailor customer experiences effectively.
“This is a golden moment for companies to build meaningful relationships with their customers, but this opportunity will quickly disappear if companies fail to respond appropriately,” said David Johnston, group chief operating officer at Aimia.
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“To be successful, companies must think about what they can do for the customer, not to the customer, with each personalized communication, experience and offer.”
Aimia — which surveyed 20,000 consumers in 11 countries — says of the 89 per cent of Canadians enrolled in a loyalty program, 59 per cent have done so with supermarkets, 22 per cent have signed up with banks and 18 per cent with restaurants.
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