In 2012, Adobe conducted a study which provided some significant insights into the realms of customer loyalty.

Adobe found that repeat customers are purchasing nearly 30% more items per order than first-time shoppers, ultimately generating 3 to 7 times more revenue per visit.

In addition, a report from Bain & Company found that a 5% boost in customer retention could generate an increase of up to 95% in profitability for your business.

Judging by these findings, the importance of establishing a loyal customer base and striving to satisfy them is vital in increasing your revenue while simultaneously saving money and building a positive reputation. And, in a dynamic industry where small retailers have an average lifespan of 4 years, and where UK business death rates have increased from 10% to 11.6% in the past year, customer retention could be your saving grace.

Loyalty schemes have diverse and undisputed benefits, and despite recent groaning murmurs amongst cynics, they’re certainly not on the decline. In Access’ yearly customer loyalty paper, 69% of customers said reward systems make them more likely to spend money with a particular brand; it’s evident that the field is growing in prevalence and becoming an integral factor in overall customer satisfaction.

Incentivizing customers to purchase your products allows the consumer to justify the purchase and will help them develop positive associations with your business, and in a world of shareability and dualism, word of mouth is an incredibly powerful tool — not only in retaining customers but attracting new ones.

In a retail market where competition is rife, and trade is hectic, it can be difficult to differentiate your offerings. And, as the popularity of loyalty schemes continues to rise, it is imperative that you keep up with competitors and ensure that consumers view your business’ rewards system as the most efficient and gratifying.

Here’s where we step in.

Why Crypto-currency?

Many small businesses don’t have the resources to implement loyalty schemes and perilously push them to the bottom of their priorities, but, looking at the statistics, it’s clear that rewards systems are massively influential in securing longevity for your business.

As a result of not having enough resources to innovate, new businesses continue to implement traditional methods of reward with no real tangible benefit, such as loyalty cards or points systems (check out our blog on consumers low engagement with traditional loyalty schemes). This is highlighted in a recent Neilson study, which uncovered that loyalty cards are much less likely to impact purchasing decisions in the UK. Just half (51%) of those surveyed said they would buy from a retailer with a scheme over one without, if all other factors were equal. That is the second-lowest figure globally, ahead of just Denmark.

Therefore, there is a clear indication that small businesses should begin to evolve their reward systems, to appeal to customers through providing a simple, efficient system with real benefits, subsequently developing a symbiotic relationship between consumer and retailer.

Established, Logical and Proven

As a team, we have been working for five years developing a programme that does just that. Our company, GIFTD, has provided support and aided over five hundred e-commerce retailers, improving their revenue by an average of 17%.

We have built and are consistently developing BitRewards as a spinoff from this successful business, because with Blockchain technology, we can revolutionise the whole process. Taking a new, more innovative approach towards solving loyalty and rewards challenges undoubtedly creates more value for retailers, consumers, the community and investors. Everyone wins.

BitRewards is a blockchain loyalty platform and ecosystem that enables retailers to reward their customer’s purchases with crypto-currency. Customers, the end-users, are rewarded for their purchases with liquid Ethereum-based tokens (BitRewards), which can be redeemed against future purchasing or offers, or transferred to another crypto-wallet and spent on other goods/services.

Every customer will be given a single wallet, accessible from the website of any participating merchant, or from a web or mobile app. There is no need to register for a standalone loyalty program of each retailer, and the acquired tokens can be redeemed with any other network member, combatting account inactivity.

BitRewards transfers value into tokens and credits them directly to the customer’s wallet. The value of the rewards denominated in crypto-currency is poised to go up along with the growth of the crypto-economy. Customers will also be receiving regular reports and offers from the stores where they made their purchases, which will help encourage them to spend again with that retailer — using their wallet — or spend them with another retailer who’s part of the BitRewards network.

Reduce Costs

For small retailers, we understand that cashflow can be tight, and capital can be difficult to source, especially to pay for loyalty schemes. Therefore, we will offer access to the BitRewards platform free of charge. The only cost to retailers would be the purchasing of BIT tokens on the open market to reward customers; of which will start from $200/month. Our comprehensive knowledge of retailers needs gives us confidence that thousands will be keen to sign-up.

Furthermore, the cost of customer acquisition for new businesses continues to increase. Statistics show that the average conversion of traffic into purchases in e-commerce equates to 1%, making the costs of acquiring 5 times larger than the costs to retain an existing customer. Evidently, that age-old cliché of ‘working with what you have’ continues to pay dividends.

In addition, instead of smaller retailers providing their own rewards-focussed customer service support, BitRewards can do the dirty work for them. We are capable of providing centralised support for retailers, technical guidance and quality assurance through implementing tried and tested marketing strategies. As a result, you as a retailer reduce those pesky customer service costs that can creep up on your cash flow.

Ultimately, the field of loyalty based rewards in e-commerce was screaming out for a new proposition with a fresh outlook on securing a two-way benefit system. BitRewards provides the solution to those calls, with an efficient and easy to understand programme that is assured to ease marketing worries that are so customary for new retailers. With the value of BIT tokens on the rise and the crypto-economy growing rapidly, now is the time to join the movement and receive unparalleled benefits.