Part
01
of two
Part
01
Loyalty Programs in Mexico
Examples of popular loyalty programs in Mexico are Club Premier and Pay Back. Retirement Miles, a rewards program launched by Vitalis in 2017, aims to help workers to accumulate points/rewards upon consumption of their products and add this to their retirement fund.
RESEARCH STRATEGY
Information about loyalty programs in Mexico are not as robust and this could be caused by language barrier in which most articles are written in Mexican/Spanish and attempts to translate them more often than not results in getting the initial concept/idea lost in translation. However, credible sources such as Oracle, Nielsen, and Loyalty Academy Org have published a number of reports in which the general landscape of loyalty programs in Mexico could be deemed. Oracle and Nielsen have both published reports on loyalty programs and a few highlights from these reports are related to the loyalty programs in Mexico. Loyalty Academy Org had published a 1436-page Loyalty Guide document into which two of the most popular loyalty programs in Mexico are presented: Pay Back and Club Premier.
Based on the "Loyalty Guide" published by Loyalty Academy Org, loyalty programs in Mexico that are popular are mostly "coalition loyalty programs" or multi-brand loyalty programs, into which different brands/companies are working together to provide loyalty programs/rewards programs to their members. Below is a list of key findings on the loyalty program landscape in Mexico.
The information that we were unable to find is the trends in loyalty programs. We started our research by exploring companies' websites, annual reports, press releases of loyalty programs in Mexico such as Club Premier and Pay Back to get an understanding on how their loyalty programs have been evolving since their inception. Unfortunately, these companies are private and their financial disclosures are not found online.
We also tried searching articles and press releases about trends in loyalty programs from mainstream media outlets in Mexico such as Forbes Mexico, El Financiero, Marca, Milenio, and Diario de Queretaro, among others but we did not find any information regarding these loyalty programs (Club Premier and Pay Back or other loyalty programs in general). We also searched through other reports, this time on a global scale, that might contain the information requested regarding trends in Mexico's loyalty programs.
Nielsen and Oracle have outstanding reports in regard to loyalty programs and some insights on these reports include the Mexican landscape. However, the reports mainly focused on what consumers are looking for on their loyalty programs and not necessarily on how loyalty programs have evolved through time. PwC has a study on Mexican consumer and their loyalty but the report did not touch on loyalty programs but only on brand loyalty in general.
Lastly, we broadened our initial research to the last three years (2016-2019) to get other insights that might be helpful in triangulating the missing information but this scope still did not yield the information needed. We went as far back as five years (2014 – 2019) but unfortunately, the information was still not found.
Note: Media articles are mostly written in Mexican/Spanish and the idea/concept might have gotten lost in translation when the documents were translated into English, hence the lack of information.
LOYALTY PROGRAMS IN MEXICO
According to a 2016 Nielsen report, Latin America has the lowest participation rate in loyalty programs and only 32% of Mexican consumers are members of any loyalty program. The most common way Mexicans indicate their loyalty program membership is by scanning a card at the store. 76% of Mexican loyalty-program members find "mobile-payment integration" as appealing, 69% of Mexicans find store-specific mobile apps as appealing, and 59% find third-party apps that "consolidate loyalty-program information" as appealing. On the other hand, the use of registered phone numbers is considered by Mexican as their most popular option when allowing access in their loyalty account.
WHAT PUTS OFF MEXICANS FROM JOINING LOYALTY PROGRAMS?
According to a 2018 Oracle report, the following are the reasons why Mexicans are not keen on joining loyalty programs:
- 28% don't join a loyalty program if they don't visit that place/store often enough.
- 42% of Mexicans are put off by the amount of information required to sign up.
- 41% thinks that sign up time is too time-consuming.
- 19% thinks that the rewards are not interesting enough to make them join.
- 20% never really join loyalty programs.
TOP THREE REASONS WHY MEXICANS LEAVE A LOYALTY PROGRAM
Based on the same Oracle report, Mexicans are said to leave loyalty programs due to the following reasons.
- 60% of Mexicans say rewards expire too quickly and this prompts them to leave the loyalty program.
- 43% of Mexicans think the rewards are too difficult to earn.
- 48% says there are too many conditions for claiming the rewards that make the claiming process difficult.
- 33% think the rewards are not personally relevant.
- 21% says there is too much personal data required.
EXAMPLES OF POPULAR LOYALTY PROGRAMS IN MEXICO
PAY BACK
Launched in September 2012, Pay Back Mexico is a "state-of-the-art platform that enables digital technologies, performance marketing and sophisticated CRM" as part of the American Express Group. Pay Back members can accumulate points from its more than 5,000 affiliate stores that include Santander, Petro 7, Hertz, Interjet, Mission Hostels, etc. The platform can be accessed via the Pay Back Wallet and their new Pay Back mobile app.
CLUB PREMIER
Club Premier is Mexico's leading coalition loyalty program boasting over four million members. The loyalty program is the operator of Aeromexico's Frequent Flyer program. Aeromexico is Mexico's flag carrier. Club Premier members can also earn Premier points from other affiliated brands such as SkyTeam™ Airlines, American Express, LAN and Copa Airlines, Aeroméxico and a bevy of large hotel chains and car rental companies.
VITALIS' RETIREMENT MILES
Retirement Miles, a rewards program launched by Vitalis in 2017, aims to help workers to accumulate points/rewards upon consumption and add this to their retirement fund. The app was only made available in March 2018 and to date, more than 1,000 users already signed up for the program. The program is backed by the Mexican government and Mexican Employers Confederation (Coparmex) and other organizations are starting to add the Retirement Miles to their strategic plans. (Source 6)