Nectar looks to digital for younger user boost

The loyalty programme has a core family audience because of its partnership with supermarket Sainsbury’s but wants to increase its engagement with people in their early 20s.

It is launching an interactive emailer this month that allows users to activate their personalised offers via email for the first time. It will also include rich content such as embedded videos.

James Frost, Nectar marketing director, says: “We are always conscious that there’s a pre-family audience. They might be light purchasers from our partners but we might as well start building a relationship earlier.

“Younger people are coming from a generation where a lot has changed in a short space of time and that’s borne out in mobile. Mobile gives an opportunity for us with the younger generation who aren’t so engaged with traditional channels like DM so we’re trying to build an interactive experience across a number of channels to engage with a generation that expects everything digitally.”

The programme is also considering partners that are more relevant to younger consumers. Frost believes that this will play out better through reward partners than collection partners because younger consumers will be attracted to digital rewards that they can redeem more immediately than with Nectar’s traditional reward partners.

Nectar’s efforts to reach a younger audience was prompted by the launch of its iPhone app, which was found to increase engagement with younger cardholders.

In addition to Sainsbury’s, Nectar points are available to BP garage, British Gas and Homebase customers, among others. It has also has agreements with online retailers Amazon, eBay and iTunes.