Target Streamlining Loyalty

Target is rethinking its loyalty strategy to integrate its popular digital coupon platform, Cartwheel, with its REDcard 5%-off rewards program, as well as the points-based REDperks pilot the retailer has been testing quietly for the past year.“[Cartwheel and REDcard] are two really important programs that work in different ways, but allow us to identify a large number of transactions,” chief marketing officer Jeff Jones said during a recent financial community meeting during which executives boasted that Cartwheel has racked up more than 22 million downloads and $3 billion in sales.Meanwhile, with REDperks, the mass merchant has been testing the value of a non-tender loyalty rewards program. Jones indicated the company is “really, really pleased” with the pilot, which previously was limited to Apple's iOS operating system but early this year expanded to Android devices.“So what you will see us do as we move forward into this year is to simplify and integrate those programs and so the power of non-tender rewards points, the power of 5% savings every day, personalized discounts with Cartwheel in a simple, single sign-on, one barcode checkout kind of program all on the mobile device,” Jones said during the financial meeting.“We’ve got a huge opportunity to identify more [shoppers] and bring them a broader rewards portfolio. We are focused on acutely understanding the [shopper] lifetime value, getting to know them more deeply, their attitudes, their preferences, their behaviors and then give them more personalized experiences and more personalized promotions,” said chief executive officer Brian Cornell at the meeting.Earlier this year, the company hired industry veteran Keith Colbourn to lead the effort as senior vice president of loyalty and lifecycle marketing. Colbourn heads the development of data-driven marketing strategies that drive traffic and sales, deepen brand engagement and build guest loyalty.“[Colbourn] brings deep subject matter expertise and a proven ability to build highly effective customer-centric, mobile-first marketing and loyalty platforms,” Jones said in a media release announcing Colbourn’s hire. “We are on a path to transform Target and build a differentiated shopping experience that caters to our guests’ evolving expectations. [Colbourn’s] leadership will be a tremendous asset as we continue to modernize and expand our capabilities.”Colbourn joined the mass merchant from promotions and loyalty company Quotient Technology (formerly Coupons.com), where he served as svp of retailer digital solutions. He led the Retailer iQ platform business, working with leading U.S. retailers in the mass, grocery, drug and dollar store channels.Prior to that, Colbourn served as svp of loyalty and analytics at Safeway. He also previously was vp and global loyalty practice leader at dunnhumby, and held leadership roles at e-commerce pioneer FreshDirect and The Loyalty Group (now LoyaltyOne).In 2014, Colbourn was named to Shopper Marketing’s Who’s Who in Digital Shopper Marketing list.

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