Sales Promotion

Loyalty Programs

Promotions that offer customers a reward, such as price discounts and free products, for frequent purchasing or other activity are called loyalty programs.  These promotions have been around for many years but grew rapidly in popularity when introduced in the airline industry as part of frequent-filer programs.  Loyalty programs are also found in numerous other industries, including grocery, pizza purchasing and online book purchases, where they may also be known as club card programs since members often must use a verification card as evidence of enrollment in the program. 

Many loyalty programs have become ingrained as part of the value offered by a marketer.  That is, a retailer or marketing organization may offer loyalty programs as general business practice.  Under this condition loyalty program does not qualify as a sales promotion since it does not fit the requirement of offering a short-term value (i.e., it is always offered).  However, even within a loyalty program that is part of a general business practice, a sales promotion can be offered such as special short-term offer that lowers the number of points needed to acquire a free product.