Retailers hope for a loyal following

Rewards programs reel in customers

After years of watching shoppers flit from store to store in search of the biggest deals, U.S. retailers are hoping their attempts at building loyalty will pay off this holiday season.

Chains have rolled out rewards programs in recent years, and there are signs that the efforts are beginning to get results.

U.S. consumers hold a total of 3.8 billion memberships in customerloyalty programs, up from 3.3 billion in 2015, according to a report earlier this year from Initiatives forms:

Some offer points that can be cashed in for future purchases. Others, like Amazon.com’s Prime, require a membership fee. For $99 a year, Prime subscribers get free twoday shipping, online services and a range of discounts.

Nearly half of the loyalty membership tracked by Colloquy, 1.6 billion, are tied to retail chains, or roughly five different accounts for every man, woman and child in the country.

Retailers are eager to mimic the success of Prime, whose millions of subscriptions help Amazon lock in customers.

Prime’s influence research come in firm Colloquy. a variety of will only grow over the holidays as it Whole Foods, the grocer acquired in August.

Whole Foods is turning Prime into the chain’s rewards program, and it gave a peek last week at how it will work.

Regular customers can get an organic turkey for $3.49 a pound; Prime customers pay $2.99.

At Hollister, a chain owned by Abercrombie & Fitch Co., the Club Cali program has 8 million subscribers. The effort has led members to spend more money — and more often — at the retailer, said CEO Fran Horowitz.

It’s also a way to glean data on what shoppers want. “Our loyalty club continues to provide a wealth of insight,” she said. infiltrates that Amazon