At Home Rebuilds Its Loyalty Program After Actually Asking Members What They Wanted
Design Rewards replaces Insider Perks with a points system built on focus groups, CRM data, and conjoint studies rather than a boardroom guess.
At Home unveiled Design Rewards on September 23, retiring its Insider Perks loyalty program in favor of a points system built the unglamorous way: customer research, focus groups, CRM analysis, behavioral testing, and conjoint studies, rather than an executive's hunch about what shoppers want.
The mechanics are simple. Baseline members earn four points per dollar spent, VIP members who clear $350 a year earn five, and every 1,000 points converts to a $10 coupon. What matters more than the math is the intent behind it: David Coulson, At Home's head of loyalty and CRM, said the retailer wants "an ongoing listening relationship with our members" rather than treating research as something that ends the day a program launches.
That is the real story here, not the point values. Most retail loyalty relaunches are cost-cutting exercises wearing a rewards program's clothes. At Home is explicitly building a feedback loop instead, which will only prove itself over the next few quarters, but it is a far more defensible starting position than most home goods retailers bother with.
Kyle Duford, Founder & Editor, BRNDWIRE. More from Kyle →
