When will consumers start enjoying the shopping experience again? The British Retail Consortium has recently reported that consumer spending increased 6.3 per cent from April 2008. With sales figures up on this time last year, can we see this as an indicator that the general guilt of spending any money unnecessarily has subsided? And is there anything businesses can do to make the public love shopping again?

Stephen Robertson, Director General, British Retail Consortium, said: “The best sales growth for three years is good news but let’s be cautious. A sunny Easter that fell in April this year is the key reason why overall sales are up compared with last year when Easter was in March and miserable. Sales of garden goods, outdoor leisure, clothing and food did well but other non-food sectors missed out on the seasonal boost and the total spent on food rose less than food inflation, indicating the amount sold dropped.

Following a tough winter, there’s some pent up demand but there’s no reason to think customers suddenly feel flush or eager to spend. With unemployment set to grow through the rest of the year, mounting jobs worries will hold back spending for some time. It would be great if the historically weak performance of the last twelve months was behind us but we shouldn’t celebrate yet.”

Businesses have done a lot to try and entice the public back into spending and it is working to some extent but there are limitations to the success consecutive sale periods can have. It can damage overall consumer loyalty, devalue the brand and the rewards can rarely match what a loyalty and membership programme can offer?

When the objective is to make consumers feel rewarded for buying and/or remaining loyal to a specific brand, a loyalty and membership programme can do this extremely effectively. The other advantage is that marketing a brand in this way incurs no cost for participating businesses; all they have to do is offer an exclusive discount for members. A business’ customers who are members of the loyalty or membership programme receive extra free rewards which give added value to the exclusive discounts they receive from the business.

The Rocket Marketing Group operates a number of loyalty and reward programmes and the largest of these is The Big Savings Club. The Big Savings Club features businesses offering exclusive discounts, from a variety of sectors including Shopping, Entertainment, Travel, Health, Fashion, Kids and Motoring. When a customer joins this club they are given seven free rewards which they can redeem along with the discounts offered by the featured businesses.

Rocket feel that consumers should really start to love shopping again when they receive the exclusive discounts and free rewards contained in The Big Savings Club. The rewards include a Free European Flight, Sail to France for Free, Free UK Hotel Accommodation, Worldwide Accommodation for a week for just £200, 2 for 1 Golf, City Cruise and £400 off a Holiday to Florida.

Contact Us if you would like to discuss how a Rocket Marketing Group loyalty and membership programme and free rewards can make consumers love shopping at your business.

Offers correct at time of publication and subject to terms and conditions.

The Big Savings Club is one of The Rocket Marketing Group’s most successful rewards programmes, giving members exclusive discounts on everything from holidays and entertainment to shopping and motoring. The club carries obvious advantages for its members, as the exclusive discounts ensure they can maintain a full and luxurious lifestyle even in the harshest of economic climates. The initial benefits for members of the club include a free European flight, free ferry crossing to France, free city cruise break, worldwide accommodation, free hotel accommodation all year round and £400 off a holiday to Florida. All of this is great for the consumer, but the rewards for the partner businesses can be even bigger.

When your own brand’s discount sits along side such big member rewards, the associative value is immense. Consumers feel rewarded instantly and this adds more worth to the exclusive discount they redeem from your business. Plus as a member of a closed group the consumers enjoy a special relationship with your brand. The positive experience for the consumer is translated into a consistent source of revenue for your business.

Brand loyalty is a concept that has become a little lost in the current sale culture of the high street. To find a way around the obstacle of consumer brand-switching is key for surviving the recession and emerging stronger in future years.

With a membership base of over 50,000 people, as a partner of The Big Savings Club you instantly have a receptive audience for promoting your exclusive discount and ultimately, your brand. The fact that partnership is completely free means that it is an extremely cost-effective alternative to other expensive advertising and promotion solutions. And all you have to do as a partner is offer an exclusive discount for members on your products or services. Our existing partners have found the club to be a great form of promotion which delivers real results.

Helen Parkinson, Cottages4you Partnership Account Co-ordinator commented “Cottages4you have been a partner of The Big Savings Club since June 2007 and the bespoke JML Savings Club since 2008. In that time the partnership with the two clubs has generated a total transaction value of £12,746. We have featured in two booklets which have gone out to thousands of customers. It’s an effective way of getting our branding across to consumers.”

As the recession looks set to continue and The Big Savings Club membership numbers continue to grow now is a good time to start gaining big rewards from The Big Savings Club.

We would love to talk to you if you want your business to get a big boost from big savings. Whether you’re interested in promoting your brand by becoming a partner and featuring your business in The Big Savings Club, or if you prefer to join us as a client and gain incremental revenue by selling our clubs to your existing customers.

Contact Us for further information.