Already dropped by Rona and IGA, the Air Miles are now losing the Jean Coutu pharmacies. Metro, owner of the sign, wants to go it alone and launches its own 2.0 loyalty program.
“It’s better for our customers to redeem their points where it counts, on everyday products, instead of doing it for a toaster or a trip”, proposes Alain Tadros, marketing manager for the Quebec giant.
In the spring, the metro&moi card will be replaced by MOI. Already present in 200 supermarkets, it will now be present in more than 700 businesses in Quebec with the addition of the Jean Coutu, Super C and Première Moisson chains.
“Quebecers will receive more points thanks to the scale of the program and will be able to continue to reduce their bills,” promises the vp of the listed company.
Adonis supermarkets, purchased in 2015, are not part of the program at this time. Jean Coutu has been in the Metro family since 2018.
Data and discounts
Metro – which made $825 million in profits in 2021 – has returned $410 million to its customers since the program launched in 2010. The goal is to exceed this rate of $34 million in annual returns.
The 1.2 million Quebec households that are members of metro&moi know that Metro sends $15 or $20 each quarter to those who have accumulated enough points.
But the value of the data they give to Metro each time their card is scanned is less clear.
The managers of the box were stingy with comments on this subject, Tuesday, in a telephone interview.
“The data allows us to make personalized offers to our customers,” said Marie-Claude Bacon, VP Communications, who was also on the line.
The Metro program is recognized for the quality of its personalization by the reference in the field in Quebec, R3 Marketing. Users receive discounts tailored to their purchase history and keep coming back for more.
“The program is a pretext, the rebate a currency of exchange in order to have the data”, admits without embarrassment Elizabeth Harvey, CEO and partner at Adviso, a digital marketing firm in Montreal.
Screenshot, Air Miles
The end for Air Miles
It would be surprising if Adviso recommended Air Miles to its customers. The program is losing momentum: IGA (Sobeys), Rexall, RONA and the LCBO have all jumped ship recently.
The trend in the loyalty industry is towards in-house programs, shows the latest annual report from R3 Marketing. Companies want to own their users’ data.
“Online is really more expensive since cookies are regulated, because user data is less accessible,” says Elizabeth Harvey.
With MOI, Metro may be able to catch up with Loblaw and its industry-leading Optimum program by R3 Marketing.
