A premium homewares brand built on craftsmanship, design, and customer trust

Wallace Cotton is a New Zealand lifestyle and homeware brand known for its approach to everyday living – blending timeless design, natural fabrics and effortless luxury across premium bed linen, home textiles and sleepwear.

Founded in 2005, the brand has built a loyal following through its considered aesthetic, quality craftsmanship and commitment to creating pieces that feel as beautiful as they are lived in. With a strong retail footprint across New Zealand and a rapidly growing ecommerce presence, Wallace Cotton continues to cultivate long-term relationships with more than 95,000 customers who value comfort, style and thoughtful design.

A Dotdigital customer since 2023, Wallace Cotton expanded its partnership in 2025 with the addition of Dotdigital Personalization, helping translate the same curated, on-brand experience customers love in-store into every touchpoint of the online journey.

Translating a premium brand promise into an efficient website experience, without resorting to discounts

Wallace Cotton has built its reputation on thoughtful design, premium quality, and timeless homewares. Customers come to the brand expecting a considered, considered, on-brand experience – one that reflects the care and craftsmanship behind every product. However, this premium positioning was not fully carried through to the website experience.

Without website personalization, every customer was met with the same generic journey, regardless of browsing behaviour, preferences, or purchase intent. This limited Wallace Cotton’s ability to guide customers toward relevant products, curate meaningful experiences, or increase average order value in a way that felt natural and on-brand.

Compounding the challenge, revenue growth could not rely on traditional retail levers like discounting. Protecting price integrity was critical to maintaining the brand’s premium perception, leaving little room to drive performance through promotional tactics without risking long-term brand value.

Turning the mini cart into a personalized styling experience with Dotdigital Personalization SmartBlocks

To create a brand world that communicated the premium brand promise and aligned it with the website shopping experience, Wallace Cotton partnered with Dotdigital Personalization to introduce website personalization – starting with a strategic focus on the mini cart.

In 2024, the team was first introduced to Dotdigital Personalization at a Dotdigital Masterclass in New Zealand. They were a perfect candidate – with Dotdigital already directly integrated, and a tech stack spanning Shopify & OnTempo, the decision was straightforward: one connected platform that could power email, SMS and website personalization without adding integration overheads. Dotdigital stood out in the selection process, offering a frictionless direct integration between 2 platforms.

The experience uses real-time behavioural data (e.g. products viewed, items added to cart, and previous browsing patterns) to intelligently recommend complementary and higher-value items aligned with each shopper’s interests.

The real time personalization opportunity allowed Wallace Cotton to move beyond a one-size-fits-all approach and instead guide customers toward thoughtfully curated product combinations – such as coordinating bedding, cushions, and accessories – that felt natural, considered, and true to the brand.

The mini cart became more than a transactional touchpoint; it evolved into a personalized styling moment that reflected Wallace Cotton’s attention to detail, craftsmanship, and customer-first philosophy.

Importantly, this level of personalization delighted their audience, allowing Wallace Cotton to increase average order value and drive incremental revenue. Rather than incentivizing customers with discounts, the brand used relevance and inspiration as its primary growth lever – reinforcing its premium positioning while delivering measurable commercial impact.

Dotdigital Personalization, has helped us create more personalized recommendations and experiences that resonate with our customers. We’re already seeing the value of using our customer insights in a more considered way, and with a strong roadmap ahead, it feels like we’re only getting started.

Ben Harris – Ecommerce Manager

The results highlighted the commercial impact of relevance-led website personalization, demonstrating that meaningful revenue growth can be achieved without relying on discounting.

• Average order value 20% higher than the site-wide average
• Measurable ROI over 800% in first 6 months
• SmartBlocks contributed 6% of total website revenue

Dotdigital SmartBlocks turned website personalization into a significant performance driver. Within six months, SmartBlocks contributed 6% of total website revenue, with customers engaging in personalized content consistently achieving an average order value 20% higher than the site-wide average.

Beyond topline revenue uplift, the programme delivered a strong commercial return, achieving an estimated ~800% ROI over the measurement period, driven purely by personalized experiences rather than promotional incentives.

Crucially, these results were achieved without compromising price integrity. By focusing on thoughtful, relevant product recommendations at moments of high purchase intent, Wallace Cotton was able to grow conversion and order value while reinforcing its premium brand positioning and long-term brand value.

Multi-platform expansion of personalization

Building on its success, Wallace Cotton plans to expand personalized product recommendations across the website and into email, delivering a more cohesive end‑to‑end customer experience. Key next steps include enhancing abandoned cart and re‑engagement emails with personalized product recommendations to drive relevance, re‑engagement, and conversion.

Millie’s Cookies has spent more than 40 years living off a single, reliable moment: the smell of fresh cookies pulling shoppers in on impulse as they walked through a shopping center. That moment built the brand. It also meant the business had almost no relationship with its customers beyond the till. As footfall declined and store count fell from around 150 to 45, that impulse-driven model stopped being enough to build a business on, and Millie’s had to become a brand people could find, join, and buy from without ever walking past a store.

10x+ return on investment

Dan Hall joined Millie’s in 2025 to lead that shift. “Our natural place in the market was in decline,” Dan says. “We had to pivot from a one-size-fits-all, in-store approach to something built around an actual, ongoing customer relationship.” The clearest proof that the shift was working wasn’t a big campaign. It was a free cookie.

Awareness was the real barrier, not appetite

Millie’s had run an online business for about a decade already, but most customers didn’t know it existed. “A lot of people still think you have to go into town to get a Millie’s cookie,” Dan says. “Even after ten years online, we’re still working against that assumption.” The challenge wasn’t convincing people to like the brand. It was convincing them the brand existed somewhere other than the shopping center.

Building a reason to go online

The team’s answer wasn’t a discount blast. It was the free birthday cookie: sign up to the database, get 10% off a first order, and a QR code lands on your phone good for a free cookie in any store within 30 days of your birthday. “On paper, giving away a free cookie isn’t particularly massive,” Dan says. “But it’s been one of the sharpest, lowest-cost moves we’ve made toward getting people to actually engage with us online instead of just walking past us in a shopping center.”

“It’s not the flashiest thing we’ve built, but it’s the one I’d point to first if someone asked what actually got customers to make the leap online.”

It worked because it gave people a real reason to sign up. Every redemption meant another verified, opted-in contact, captured and managed through Dotdigital, and another customer who now had an online relationship with Millie’s that didn’t exist a year earlier. Email, SMS, and WhatsApp all sit in one place for the team now, rather than stitched together across separate platforms, which Dan says makes it easier to actually build the journeys instead of managing the tools.

Proving the shift to the business

Getting a traditionally in-store business to invest further online meant proving the case first. “You show up with a small idea, a clear result, and you let the numbers do the arguing,” Dan says. Once redemptions started tracking alongside real online sales, the internal conversation changed. “The moment finance can see a straight line from a free cookie to online sign-ups to repeat online revenue, you stop having to sell the shift. You’re just reporting on it.”

Dotdigital has been the engine behind a 10x return on our CRM investment. It’s not just a platform, it’s how we finally built a real relationship with our customers.

Dan Hall, Millie’s Cookies

The numbers tell the story

The CRM program, run through Dotdigital, now returns more than 10 times what’s invested in it, evidence Dan points to whenever the business questions further investment in online channels over physical retail. “I feel as though Dotdigital has kind of been the engine behind that activity,” Dan says. More than a year on, roughly three-quarters of the online database remains actively engaged, well above what a typical reactivated list tends to hold onto, proof that the online relationship is sticking, not just spiking around a single campaign.

Looking ahead

Dan sees the biggest opportunity as still being awareness, not tactics. “Even after ten years of having an online business, we’ve still got a huge way to go in getting people to realize they don’t need to go to a shopping center for this,” he says. The plan is to keep building simple, low-cost reasons for offline customers to engage online, the way the birthday cookie did, while widening into SMS and WhatsApp, both a natural fit for a customer base that buys last-minute.

Co-branded partnerships, with the likes of Jet2, and conversations underway with other retailers, are stacking on top of that same goal: reaching people where they already are, and giving them a reason to find Millie’s online instead of waiting to walk past a store. “We’re still just scratching the surface,” Dan says. “The brand’s been around 40 years in people’s memories. Now we’re building the version that lives in their inbox.”

By the time you’re ready to launch your loyalty program, you’ve already done the hard part. You’ve set your goals, you know what you want your program to achieve. You’ve mapped out earning rules and used customer insights to design rewards that will make joining your program worth it for customers. All that’s left is to launch. 

But what happens if you go live and no one signs up? 

Even the best-designed loyalty program will fall short of delivering results if it’s not properly promoted. Customers can’t join a program they’ve never heard of, and they won’t join if the value isn’t clear.

Your active member rate, your redemption rate, your ROI — none of these are meaningful until you have enough members in the program to measure anything. A well-promoted loyalty program should enroll 30–50% of your customers within the first six months. Enrollment is the metric that everything else is built on. 

This article covers everything you need to hit that number, including:

• How to build a sign-up page that actually converts
• How to make loyalty visible at every point in your customers’ on-site journey
• Which marketing channels to activate and in what order
• The metrics to track once the program is live

If you’re not sure if a loyalty program is right for your business, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. 

Step 1: Build your loyalty program sign-up page

Your loyalty sign-up page is the most important part of your entire enrollment strategy. Everything else, from your emails, on-site promotion, and social media posts, all exist to drive traffic to this page. If it doesn’t drive conversions, none of the rest matters. 

Here are our recommendations for creating a great signup page and what to avoid.

What works

Lead with the benefit to the customer

“Earn rewards every time you shop” will outperform “Welcome to our Loyalty Program.” Your headline should answer the question “what’s in it for me?” before customers even ask. 

Put the welcome bonus front and center

Show customers what they get just for joining before they’ve done anything. That immediate value is what tips hesitation into action.

Show customers how it works

Customers shouldn’t have to read three paragraphs to understand how the program works. A simple visual flow removes the cognitive effort that kills conversion.

Make the rewards clear

Show customers what their points are worth. “500 points = free shipping, 1,000 points = $10 off, 2,000 points = free gift” converts. “Exclusive rewards” doesn’t. If customers have to guess what their points are worth, they’ll assume the answer is not very much.

Talk about your tiers if your program has them

Show the thresholds and the benefits available at each level. The top tier should feel aspirational, while the first tier should be immediately within reach.

Use a single, prominent sign-up call-to-action (CTA)

One button, one action. ‘Join now’, ‘Start earning’, ‘Get 500 points’. Secondary CTA’s can sometimes dilute the customer’s decision and make it harder for them to act.

Add social proof 

If you already have enrolled members, share it. “12,000 members already earning” adds credibility and reduces hesitation. It tells customers the program is worth joining before they’ve even read a word about it.

What to avoid

Walls of terms and conditions

Link to full terms and conditions, but don’t paste them on the page. Anything that looks like small print signals risk, and risk kills sign-ups.

Asking for too much information upfront

Loyalty should feel like a benefit, not an application process. The simpler the form, the higher the conversion.

Hiding what points are worth

Being transparent builds engagement and trust. Customers who understand the value of what they’re earning are far more likely to stay active in the program.

Assuming customers know they’re already enrolled

If customers are automatically enrolled, make that clear when they sign up for your marketing or make their first purchase. The focus of your loyalty program landing page is no longer to convince people to join; it’s to help them understand what they’ve already got and how to make the most of it.

Step 2: Build loyalty into your website

Your sign-up page can’t do all the work on its own. For enrollment to reach the numbers that make a loyalty program worth the investment, loyalty needs to be visible everywhere a customer might encounter your brand on-site.

Header or navigation link

A permanent link in your site navigation keeps the program in view on every page, for every visitor.

Top tip: Label it clearly, like a simple “Rewards” or “Loyalty”, and avoid burying it in dropdown menus where customers can’t find it.

Site banner or hero

A banner on your homepage or category pages drives awareness among visitors who aren’t actively thinking about loyalty yet.

Top tip: Lead with what they’ll earn, not what the program is called. “Earn 500 points on your next order” will outperform “Join our rewards program.” 

Enrollment pop-up or slide-in

A pop-up or slide-in that appears at a defined trigger point (e.g., time on site, scroll depth, or exit intent) invites visitors to join the program.

Top tip: Trigger it on exit intent or after 45 seconds or more on the page, not the moment someone arrives. Lead with the incentive, keep the form simple, and make sure it’s not showing to customers who are already enrolled.

Product page loyalty widget

A small widget on product pages that shows how many points a customer would earn for the product they’re currently looking at.

Top tip: “You’d earn 47 points on this order. Join to start earning.” works well because it’s specific and contextual. The customer is already in purchase mode, so the prompt feels helpful rather than interruptive.

Checkout prompt

A message at checkout showing non-enrolled customers the points they’re about to miss, with a one-click option to join.

Top tip: Show non-enrolled customers the points they’ll miss out on. “You’re earning 0 points on this order. Join and earn 120 points” is more motivating than a positive framing of the same information. Customers who can see exactly what they’re leaving on the table are more likely to act.

Step 3: Promote your loyalty program on your marketing channels 

Your website reaches the customers who are already there. Your marketing channels reach everyone else, including people who’ve bought from you before and have no idea a loyalty program now exists. 

Launch announcement email

A dedicated email campaign to your entire customer base announcing your new loyalty program

Top tip: Customers who’ve already bought from you are your most likely early enrollees, as they already have a reason to come back. Lead by sharing a welcome bonus and keep the email to a single CTA.

Post-purchase sequence

An automated email is sent 24–48 hours after a purchase, inviting customers to join while their experience with your brand is fresh.

Top tip: Frame it as a natural next step: “You just earned your first points. Here’s what you can do with them” positions enrollment as activating something they’ve already started building up, which is far more exciting than asking them to sign up to something new.

Re-engagement series

An automated sequence that uses the loyalty program to encourage lapsed customers to come back.

Top tip: Lead with the points, waiting for them, rather than offering a discount. “You have 340 points about to expire” creates urgency without giving anything extra away, plus it’s personal in a way a voucher code never is.

Order confirmations

A loyalty mention in every order confirmation, showing non-enrolled customers the points they missed on that order.

Top tip: Order confirmations have the highest open rates of any email you send. Using them to promote loyalty enrollment costs nothing and is one of the easiest touchpoints you have. 

SMS

A dedicated message to your opted-in customer list announcing the program or promoting a limited-time enrollment bonus.

Top tip: SMS works well when there’s a deadline attached. “Join our loyalty program by Sunday and get 500 bonus points” is short, specific, and urgent, which is exactly what SMS does best.

In-store or Point of Sale tech (POS)

Staff promote the loyalty program to customers at checkout, with support from till prompts and printed materials. 

Top tip: Customers who buy in-store are often completely unaware that an online loyalty program exists. Give staff a simple script and make sure the point-of-sale screen prompts enrollment for anyone who isn’t already a member.

Packaging inserts

A card or flyer in every dispatched order, with a QR code linking directly to the loyalty sign-up page.

Top tip: Customers are at their most engaged when they open a package. They’ve just had a positive experience with your brand, so it’s the perfect time to introduce your loyalty program by including a flyer in their package.

Referral loop

Enrolled members share referral links or codes with friends, bringing new customers directly into the program.

Top tip: When a new customer uses a referral code, make sure they’re enrolled automatically. Redirecting them to a separate sign-up page can turn off referrals that would otherwise have converted.

Sequencing tip

Avoid the temptation to activate everything at once. At launch, start with your email database; they’re your fastest route to early numbers. Layer in on-site automation and post-purchase triggers in the first two weeks, then bring in SMS and any offline channels once the core flows are running smoothly.

Measuring loyalty and KPIs to track

Loyalty programs generate a lot of data, and once your program is live, the data will start to tell you what’s working and what isn’t, but only if you’re looking at the right things. These are the numbers that matter, so you can see how your program is performing and the impact it’s having on sales.

Loyalty program health metrics

These metrics tell you if the program is working, and whether customers are joining, staying active, and finding the rewards worth having.

Commercial impact metrics

These tell you whether the program is generating a return. In other words, whether loyal members are more valuable than non-members, and by how much.

Engagement and communication metrics

These metrics tell you how well your loyalty marketing is performing, whether customers know what they’ve earned, what tier they’re in, and what rewards are available to them. 

Dotdigital Loyalty: Loyalty that lives where your marketing does 

Designing a great loyalty program and getting people to join it are two things most platforms make you solve separately. Dotdigital Loyalty is built differently. 

Your loyalty data and your marketing automation live side-by-side, so the two work together from day one, rather than talking to each other through botched connectors that cause lags in experiences and gaps in data. 

Most marketing platforms can tell you what emails a customer opened and what products they browsed. Dotdigital also knows:

• What tier they’re in
• How many points do they have
• When their points expire
• When they joined the loyalty program
• What rewards they’ve redeemed

That’s a richer picture of who a customer is and where they are in their relationship with your brand. It makes every campaign, automation, and personalized experience more relevant than anything a standalone loyalty platform could power on its own. 

What’s the benefit for marketers?

Every reward lands at the right moment

When a customer earns points or hits a new tier, your automations respond immediately because the data that triggers them syncs smoothly with the tools that act on it.

You’re up and running fast

Just one click from the Shopify App Store, and 8+ ready-made storefront blocks mean your loyalty program can go live without developers, agencies, or a long implementation project.

Expert support from the start

Dotdigital loyalty experts work closely with you. From bespoke onboarding to personalizing your program, we’re with you every step of the way.

Everything is included from day one

Pricing is based on order volume, not which features you want to use. Every capability is available from the moment you start, and all on one invoice.

If you’re ready to build a loyalty program that works with your marketing rather than alongside it, Dotdigital Loyalty is coming very soon. Register your interest and be the first to know when it’s ready.

It’s a good question, but not the only one you should be asking. A better question would be, how can we grow more organically? Or how can we make our existing customers spend more? What can we do to keep customers coming back? The answer to all of these is simple: build a loyalty program. 

Loyal customers spend more, buy more often, and bring new customers with them at no extra cost to you. There’s solid data supporting this, too: 

• It can cost 25x as much to acquire a new customer as to retain an existing one
• 80% of future revenue typically comes from just 20% of existing customers
• It’s 5x more likely that a loyal customer refers a friend to your brand
• Recommendations from family and friends are now 45% more influential than they were 12 months ago
• On average, loyalty program members spend 67% more than non-members
• Over the last 12 months, 45% of shoppers spent more to reach the next tier of their loyalty program

We’ve got a full breakdown of the business impact of loyalty if you want to dig deeper into the numbers. 

The case for having a loyalty program is strong, but knowing how to build one that actually delivers big numbers is harder. This article dives into the details. We’ll walk you through the earning rules you can build into your program, the business goals you can hit with a well-structured program, and five ready-to-use templates you can adapt to your brand. 

What to reward and how to reward it

Trying to reward everything devalues your loyalty program and tells customers that you’re not quite sure what you’re trying to achieve. The most effective loyalty programs are built backward, starting with the goal you want to reach first. 

Here’s a breakdown of the earning rules worth building into your program and the thinking behind each one. 

1. Rewarding customers for spending

This is the foundation of most loyalty programs. Spend-based rewards are easy for customers to understand, easy for marketers to communicate, and they reinforce the behavior that matters most – repeat purchases.

2. Rewarding customers for connecting with your brand

3. Rewarding customers for being advocates

4. Rewarding your customers for time spent with your brand

Loyalty strategies for every business goal

Loyalty programs aren’t one-size-fits-all. The most effective ones are built around specific business objectives, rather than points for purchases. Here are seven ways you can tailor your loyalty strategy based on your team’s goals.

1. Increasing customer lifetime value

Customer lifetime value (CLV) is the total revenue a customer generates over their entire relationship with your brand. Your highest-value customers tend to share a few things in common: they buy regularly, they engage with your communications, and they feel a genuine connection to your brand. A loyalty program strengthens all three.

How to tailor your loyalty strategy to boost CLV

• Tier programs give customers a long-term reason to keep spending; the higher the tier, the better the benefits, which means every purchase feels like it’s building toward something

• Anniversary rewards sent on the date of a customer’s first purchase are a simple, personal way to reinforce the relationship and prompt a return visit

• Points multipliers on categories a customer already buys from make the program feel like it was built for them specifically, and that personal relevance keeps customers more engaged and more likely to come back

2. Reducing churn and re-engaging lapsed customers

Every brand has customers who go quiet. The question is whether they’ve moved on or just lost momentum. Loyalty programs give you a way to find out and a reason for lapsed customers to return that doesn’t rely on discounting.

How to adjust your loyalty strategy to cut churn

• Points expiry reminders let customers know their balance is about to disappear, creating urgency without giving anything extra away when they realize they have something to lose

• Win-back campaigns built on loyalty data let you reach lapsed customers with something personal (like a message that references their last tier, their points history, or the products they actually bought) rather than a generic voucher that could have gone to anyone

3. Increasing average order value (AOV)

Loyalty programs are one of the most effective tools for encouraging customers to spend a little more per visit without offering blanket discounts that reduce what you make on every sale.

How to tweak your loyalty strategy to increase AOV

• Spend thresholds tied to points multipliers, like “Spend $75 to earn double points this weekend,” work better than a flat promotion because it’s personal, clear, and time-bound

• Tier benefit ladders (where higher tiers unlock better rewards) give customers a long-term reason to spend more on every visit to get to the next tier to unlock 20% their next order

• Bonus points on specific products draw attention to higher-value items without reducing the price of those items directly

4. Improving conversion rate

A loyalty program gives you something extra to show customers at the moments they’re most likely to hesitate. Sometimes that’s all it takes to tip them toward completing a purchase.

How to tailor your loyalty strategy to get more conversions

• Points balance reminders at checkout show customers exactly what they’re earning in real time, turning the act of spending into visible progress toward a reward

• Reward redemption at checkout gives customers an immediate reason to follow through on a purchase they might otherwise have left, like a $5 reward sitting unused in their account

• Welcome bonuses for new members give first-time visitors a real reason to make that first purchase, and adding a bonus offer that activates when they buy drives them into further action

5. Building brand advocates

The most underrated output of a great loyalty program is advocacy. Customers who feel genuinely rewarded talk about it, and that word of mouth carries a level of trust that paid advertising simply can’t buy.

How to use loyalty for advocacy

• Two-sided referral rewards (points for the customer referring, a discount for the friend they bring in) create a loop that has both sides winning, which makes people far more likely to share

• Social engagement rewards for following your brand or sharing content encourage customers to spread the word across their whole audience

• Exclusive benefits for top-tier members (like early product access, event invitations, personalized gifts) make loyalty feel like something worth telling people about, rather than a points balance sitting in an app somewhere

6. Launching a new product or collection

When you have something new to launch, your loyalty program gives you a ready-made audience of people who already like you and a way to reward them for being first purchasers or early adopters.

How to use loyalty to launch new products

• Bonus points on new product categories during a launch window give loyal customers a reason to try something new without needing to discount it on day one

• Tier-exclusive early access gives your best customers the chance to get there first. That sense of exclusivity drives real excitement and often generates social buzz before the product is even available to everyone else

• Limited-time earning campaigns focused on the first two weeks of a launch concentrate purchase behavior in the window where momentum matters most

7. Collecting reviews and social proof

Genuine customer reviews are one of the most persuasive things a potential buyer can come across. A loyalty program gives you a reliable way to collect them without resorting to tactics that undermine their authenticity.

How to use loyalty for social proof

• Points for verified reviews give customers, who’ve already bought, a timely reason to share their experience while it’s still fresh

• Follow-up sequences triggered after a purchase reaches customers at exactly the right moment, with loyalty points giving them a reason to act straight away, rather than put it off and forget

Five loyalty program templates you can steal

The best loyalty programs are built around how your customers shop. Most follow recognizable patterns, though, and that’s what makes them a good starting point. Here are five templates worth adapting, each designed for a different type of ecommerce business, with a structure you can pick up and make your own.

The essential points program

Best for: Brands launching loyalty for the first time. Simple to build, easy for customers to understand, and effective at building the habit of returning.

Earning rules

• 1 point per $1 spent
• Double points on first purchase
• Birthday bonus (2x points)
• Points for email and SMS subscription

Rewards and tiers

• 100 points = $1 off
• Free shipping at 500 points
• Free gift at 1,000 points

Dotdigital tip: Set up an automated welcome email that fires the moment a customer enrolls, showing their starting balance and exactly how many points they need to reach their first reward. When customers can see where they’re headed, the journey feels worth starting.

The VIP tier program

Best for: Brands with customers who buy four or more times a year. Tiers give your most loyal customers something to work toward and benefits that go well beyond a discount.

Earning rules

• 1 point per $1 spent
• 2x points on new collection launches
• 3x points during birthday month
• Points for product reviews
• Point for social media follows

Rewards and tiers

• Bronze: standard redemption, free shipping at 300 points
• Silver: 1.25x point value, early sale access
• Gold: 1.5x point value, exclusive rewards, free shipping on every order
• Platinum: 2x point value, early product access, personal stylist/advisor

Tiers are evaluated on a rolling 12-month basis.

Dotdigital tip: Set up an automated email that goes out 30 days before a customer’s tier is reviewed, showing them exactly how much they need to spend to hold or improve their status. Customers who can see the finish line are far more likely to push for it.

The high engagement loyalty program 

Best for: Brands where customers buy frequently and feel genuinely invested in the product or category.

Earning rules

• 1.5 points per $ spent
• Bonus points for repeat purchases of the same product
• Points for leaving verified reviews or sharing experiences
• Triple points during birthday month 
• Points for completing a customer profile

Rewards and tiers

• Redeem points for products, services, or exclusive offerings
• Free trial or sample rewards
• Early access to new launches or features for top-tier members
• Exclusive members-only packages

Tiers: Newcomer > Enthusiast > Expert

Dotdigital tip: Use your loyalty data to send replenishment reminders just before a customer is likely to run out or re-engage. A well-timed message with a points nudge is relevant and helpful rather than promotional, and that distinction is what keeps customers coming back.

The high-value, low-frequency program

Best for: Brands where customers spend more per order but don’t buy as often.

Earning rules

• 1 point per $1 spent
• 5x points on first purchase over a threshold value
• Bonus points for sharing usage testimonials or creative content
• Two-sided referral rewards
• Points for detailed reviews

Rewards and tiers

• Redeem points for vouchers or account credit
• Free shipping or priority access for loyalty members
• Exclusive access to premium products or services
• Personal consultation or setup service for top-tier members

Tiers: Member > Insider > Partner

Dotdigital tip: For categories where customers don’t buy very often, tie points expiry to inactivity rather than a fixed date on the calendar. Points that expire after 12 months of no activity feel fair. Points that disappear on January 1, regardless of behavior, feel random, and that frustration sticks.

The subscription and recurring engagement loyalty program

Best for: With ongoing delivery cycles or regular engagement like subscriptions, refills, or membership-based services.

Earning rules

• 1 point per $1 on one-off purchases
• 1.5 points per $1 for recurring subscription purchases
• Double points for trying a new product or feature
• Points for completing a preferences or feedback profile
• Bonus points for referrals or gifting subscriptions

Rewards and tiers

• Redeem points for complimentary products or services added to the next delivery
• Tiered discounts for subscription members
• Free delivery or early access for members
• Exclusive products available only to loyalty members

Tiers: Newbie > Regular > Devotee

Dotdigital tip: A quarterly loyalty summary showing what subscription customers have earned and redeemed, alongside personalized recommendations based on their history, is a low-effort way to remind them that the relationship is worth keeping.

Building loyalty that lasts

A loyalty program is only as good as the thinking behind it. The earning rules you choose, the rewards you offer, and the moments you decide to recognize all send a message to your customers about how well you understand them and how much you value the relationship beyond the transaction.

The templates and frameworks in this article are a starting point. To get the most from your loyalty strategy, you need to treat it as a living strategy, testing what works, acting on what the data tells you, and continually finding new ways to make customers feel like staying is the obvious choice.

If you’re thinking about what that could look like for your brand, Dotdigital Loyalty is coming soon. Register your interest and be the first to know when it’s ready.

Every marketer wants loyal customers. They’re the people who come back, spend more, and tell their friends about you. The tricky part isn’t knowing loyalty matters. It’s figuring out what actually earns it.

For a customer deciding which brand to shop with, charity to donate to, or service to subscribe to, the decision starts with the product, but ends with how the brand makes them feel. When a brand creates a journey that’s personal and frictionless, customers feel they’ve discovered a brand that cares about their entire experience, not just the conversion. That’s what makes a true brand advocate.

The tools and data marketers have access to today make building those experiences more achievable than ever. But as competition has increased, many brands have become focused on winning new customers and forgotten what happens next.

Those early touchpoints are important, of course, but it’s not the only thing marketing teams should be thinking about. It often means the early stages of the customer journey are smooth and effective, while the latter stages become more of an afterthought. Unfortunately, that’s where loyalty is won. 

In this article, we’re sharing what customers really want from brands, including: 

• What they look for when choosing new brands to shop with
• What kinds of loyalty programs and rewards do they want
• The real business impact a customer loyalty strategy can have on your bottom line

What customers actually want from brands

53% of customers consider loyalty programs to be“important” or“extremely important” to their future relationship with a brand

For Dotdigital’s Customer trend index 2026/27, we surveyed 4,000 consumers to find out what really inspired their loyalty to brands. Loyalty programs ranked fourth-highest as a driver, with 53% using them to determine whether they’d return to a brand.

62% of customers want a points-based loyalty program

Points-based reward systems are customers’ preferred type of loyalty program by some distance. Airlines, supermarkets, and credit cards have helped make them a familiar part of the customer journey, and the sense of progress customers feel when they reach a rewards threshold makes them as popular as ever.

Customers want free shipping (53%), cashback (52%), and gifts or samples (45%) from brands in exchange for their loyalty

Hard benefits like free shipping, cashback, and free products offer dual benefits: they reduce friction and add immediate value for shoppers. They give customers a good reason to keep coming back to the same brand rather than shopping around.

43% of customers want special moments like birthdays and anniversaries rewarded through loyalty programs 

Loyalty programs should offer rewards that non-members simply can’t access, and a birthday reward is one of the most effective examples. In Dotdigital’s The loyalty divide report, we found that only 28% of marketers are collecting birthday data. That’s a big missed opportunity to make customers feel genuinely valued on one of the most personal days of the year.

Only 15% of customers consider the marketing messages they get to be“very relevant” 

Building loyalty is easier when customers feel like the brands they shop with truly understand them. That means communicating in the moment, with personalization that goes beyond a first name in a subject line. Relevant marketing is speaking to what customers actually need and want, right now.

The loyalty divide continues across generations and locations

On average, Gen Z is most loyal to their three favorite brands 

As the youngest generation in Dotdigital’s loyalty research, Gen Z is still deciding which brands deserve a place in their lives. That’s a real opportunity for marketers. Get the experience right, and you have a good shot at becoming one of the few brands they truly champion.

Baby Boomers (shoppers aged 60+) are loyal to 10 or more brands 

On the other side, Baby Boomers have spent a lot of time (and money) finding the brands they trust. That loyalty, once earned, tends to stick. Convincing them to add your brand to the list takes effort, but it will pay off in the end.

59% of Millennials say loyalty programs are “important” or “extremely important” to their commitment to a brand

Millennials are the generation most motivated to shop with brands that offer loyalty programs. They’ve grown up seeing the value in earning air miles and paying less through membership pricing, making them the most engaged and consistent users of loyalty programs today.

54% of Gen X shoppers want free shipping and returns as a reward from loyalty programs 

Gen X shoppers are practical, wanting rewards that offer immediate value and a smooth experience. Free shipping matters to them, but so does how a brand treats them when something goes wrong. Customer service is one of Gen X’s top loyalty drivers, which means the post-purchase experience is just as important as the reward itself.

62% of Gen Z prefer free gifts and samples as loyalty rewards 

Gen Z wants rewards they can enjoy straight away. Free gifts and samples deliver exactly that, and for a generation that’s highly active on social media, receiving something physical also creates a natural opportunity to share, extending your brand’s reach beyond the loyalty program itself.

46% of US consumers have actively increased their spending to reach a loyalty reward 

Nearly half of US shoppers have consciously increased their spending to reach a reward tier. That number rises to 65% among full-time workers and 72% among the highest income bracket. The customers most capable of driving your revenue are also the most motivated by loyalty programs.

43% of UK shoppers say that free shipping and returns are at the top of their loyalty rewards wishlist

When asked what they want more of from loyalty programs, UK shoppers said free shipping or returns (43%), freebie products and samples (42%), and birthday or anniversary rewards (37%) were at the top of their list. What’s consistent across the board is a preference for rewards that feel immediately useful or like they’re getting just as much as they’re giving to a brand.

47% of Singapore shoppers want personalized discounts from loyalty programs

Singapore’s appetite for personalization extends to the rewards customers want. At 47%, it’s well ahead of the US (36%) and the UK (33%), showing that a one-size-fits-all loyalty offer won’t cut it in this market. Programs that reflect individual purchase history will consistently outperform generic ones.

72% of Australian  shoppers rate product quality as the loyalty driver

Product quality is the foundation of customer loyalty. But the two things right behind it are squarely within a marketer’s control. Customer service and loyalty programs both sit in the top three loyalty drivers for Australian shoppers, with 51% stating that loyalty programs are an essential reason to return.

What loyal customers are actually worth

It can cost 25x as much to acquire a new customer as to retain an existing one

Loyal customers spend more per order, buy more frequently, and refer other customers at no cost to you. None of that is new information, but it’s easy to lose sight of when acquisition feels more measurable and more exciting to talk about.

80% of future revenue typically comes from just 20% of existing customers

If a fifth of your customer base is generating the majority of your revenue, marketers’ focus shouldn’t just be on finding more customers; it should include how you move more of your existing ones into that top 20%. Tier progression, points multipliers, and rewards that grow over time give customers a clear path from being an occasional buyer to a high-value regular.

It’s 5x more likely that a loyal customer refers a friend to your brand

Referrals from loyal customers don’t just cost less than paid acquisition; they also convert better and stay longer. Someone who finds a brand through a friend already arrives with a level of trust that no ad can manufacture. And, unlike a paid channel you switch off when budgets tighten, loyal customers keep referring without any ongoing costs.

Recommendations from family and friends are now 45% more influential than they were 12 months ago 

Word of mouth is now the fastest-growing driver of brand discovery, outpacing AI and search. Loyal customers are your most credible source, so building a refer-a-friend feature into your loyalty program turns word of mouth into a repeatable, measurable acquisition channel.

On average, loyalty program members spend 67% more than non-members 

Members spend more because every purchase feels like progress toward something, like a points balance inching toward a reward or a tier being within reach. That sustained momentum is what separates loyalty from a discount: a discount has an end date, while loyalty doesn’t.

Over the last 12 months, 45% of shoppers spent more to reach the next tier of their loyalty program

Nearly half of shoppers have changed their spending behavior as a result of a loyalty program. They’re choosing one brand over a competitor, adding another item to their basket, or coming back sooner than they otherwise would have. That’s the power of a loyalty program; it doesn’t just reward loyalty, it creates the conditions to inspire more of it. 

The business impact of a good loyalty strategy

Customer loyalty isn’t about giving blanket discounts and hoping people shop with you again. Your finance team won’t thank you for that approach, and it won’t build the kind of customer relationships that deliver the numbers above. 

Loyalty works best as a multi-layered strategy that incentivizes customers in different ways, based on what they actually do. When loyalty rewards are tied to specific customer actions, the impact on your business is real and measurable.

In practice, this looks like: 

Increased purchase frequency

When customers are working toward a reward, they come back more often. A customer who’s visited your store twice and earned points both times has a reason to make that third visit, especially if a reward is within reach. Over time, those extra visits add up to a lot more revenue.

Higher average order value

Points multipliers on specific products or collections, minimum spend thresholds, and the pull of tier progression all give customers a reason to add more to their basket. Someone who was going to spend $45 will round up to $50 if it means hitting the next tier or unlocking a reward like free shipping.

Lower churn

Customers actively earning points are harder to lose. Their accumulated points balance and tier status become a switching cost that competitors have to work against. A customer who’s only a few points away from ‘Gold’ status isn’t going to a competitor for one purchase.

More brand advocates

Loyal customers bring in new ones through conversations with friends and sharing on social media. Referrals from loyal customers typically convert better than paid acquisition and tend to stick around longer, too.

Think of loyalty like a flywheel. A customer finds you, you reward their conversion, they come back, spend more, and refer a friend. That friend becomes a customer, you reward them too, and on and on it goes. The flywheel keeps spinning, and over time, your loyal customers do a lot of the hard work for you. That’s the real business impact of a loyalty program, and that’s why the brands that invest in a loyalty strategy grow more efficiently over time. 

If you’re thinking about what that could look like for your brand, Dotdigital Loyalty is coming soon. Register your interest and be the first to know when it’s ready.

In Dotdigital’s Customer trend index, 53% of shoppers said that whether a brand has a loyalty program influences their overall commitment to it. That’s a clear signal that loyalty has moved from a nice-to-have to something customers are actively factoring into their decisions. The question is less “should loyalty programs exist” and more “is this the right moment for yours?”

This is an important question because not every loyalty program delivers. A brand can do everything right: invest the budget, buy the technology, build the mechanics, and still watch the numbers come in flat. Often, it’s not the program that failed. It was the conditions it launched into.

A loyalty program amplifies what you’ve already got

While 53% of shoppers find that loyalty programs inspire loyalty, 71% rank product quality as the number one driver of brand loyalty. Other top loyalty drivers include having good customer service (56%) and friends and family being fans of the brand too (55%). 

Loyalty programs don’t generate commitment from scratch, but they do accelerate and reward a relationship that’s already forming. If customers are coming back because they genuinely want your product or love your brand, a loyalty program gives them more reasons to stay and more reasons to spend. 

Brands with longer buying cycles, that sell high-ticket items or one-off purchases, aren’t excluded from using loyalty programs, but they do need to build a program that serves a different purpose. That might be upselling add-ons or focusing on the post-purchase experience. This helps keep you in mind when they decide to make another purchase in five years’ time. 

Before you commit to building your loyalty program, it’s worth checking whether you have the right foundations to make it a success.

6 things that make loyalty work

1. Repurchase is a realistic outcome

Loyalty programs perform best in markets where customers return regularly, like fashion, beauty, food, supplements, and homewares. The repurchase cycle is short enough that a program can actually build momentum.

In categories with longer cycles, like high-value, one-time purchases, the dynamic is different. Loyalty programs can still play a role, but the goal shifts. It’s less about driving the next purchase and more about shaping the entire ownership experience: post-purchase support, community, the feeling that the brand is still there years after the transaction. That kind of loyalty investment can absolutely pay off; it just needs a different frame.

2. You know who your customers are

The brands that get the most from loyalty tend to have a clear sense of who their customers are and what keeps them coming back. Not a 40-slide persona deck, just enough customer data to know what to reward and how to talk about it. Loyalty rewards a relationship, and the relationship has to be there first before you can start.

3. Your existing audience is engaged

A smaller list of active, responsive customers is a far stronger foundation than a large database that rarely interacts. If your emails are consistently going unread or your community isn’t engaging, loyalty incentives alone aren’t likely to move the needle. 

4. Your marketing infrastructure is connected

Your customer relationships generate a lot of data. Whether that data actually works for you depends entirely on whether it’s connected throughout your entire marketing stack. A sophisticated loyalty program built on disconnected systems or incomplete data will always underperform a simpler one built on clean, actionable insights.

5. Someone owns it internally

Even with strong automation, loyalty isn’t something you set and forget. You need a person or team (whether that’s marketing, customer service, or an agency) to set the strategy, secure buy-in across the business, monitor results, and run the ongoing tests. Without that ownership, programs tend to drift.

6. The numbers have been modeled

Before launch, work through the financials in detail. Whatever rewards structure you’re considering, make sure it holds up against your margins. Getting your finance team involved early means fewer surprises later and gives you a much stronger internal case when you need it.

Where do you actually stand?

It’s time for a quick self-assessment to see how ready you really are for a loyalty program. 

For each question, mark yourself as: ready (A), almost there (B), or not yet (C).

• Repurchase readiness: Does your product category support regular return purchases, or is there a natural reason customers come back?

• Audience clarity: Do you have a solid sense of who your customers are and what keeps them engaged with your brand?

• Audience engagement: Is your existing audience genuinely active? Are they opening emails, interacting with content, and participating in your channels?

• Marketing infrastructure: Is your marketing platform connected enough to actually use loyalty data once you have it?

• Internal ownership: Is there a person (or team) ready to own this program day to day, not just at launch?

• Financial modeling: Have you stress-tested the reward economics against your margins?

Mostly As: Your foundation is solid 

The conditions are in place. The next question is whether the commercial case stacks up, which is exactly what the next blog in this series covers. From there, you’ll find a practical blueprint for how to build a program that holds up.

Mostly Bs: You’re closer than you might think, but there are gaps worth fixing first 

The two most common ones at this stage are audience quality and marketing infrastructure. Neither is a blocker, but they do require attention. Address them, and you’ll be in a much stronger position when you do launch.

Mostly Cs: The honest answer is: not yet

This means the investment right now is better spent on building product-market fit and growing an engaged customer base. Those things come first. When the conditions shift (and they will) you’ll have a much better platform to build from, and the program will actually deliver on what you put into it.

Before you get started

Loyalty programs don’t have to be sophisticated or complex to have an impact. In fact, the most successful are those focused on building and improving your existing customer relationships. Rewarding customer relationships will give them reasons to come back. 

If you’re already thinking about what that could look like for your brand, Dotdigital Loyalty is coming soon.

Register your interest and be the first to know when it’s ready.

We asked 4,000 consumers what drives loyalty for them, and what perks they want to see more of.

Understanding your audience’s “loyalty language” helps you build rewards and experiences they actually value.

Let’s break down what real consumers say makes them loyal to a brand, looking at how these preferences differ by generation and location.

What are the top 3 customer loyalty drivers?

The top 3 loyalty drivers

1. The brand has the best products
2. Good customer service
3. Friends or family rate the brand

Unsurprisingly, a great product is the top reason people will come back to a brand. Followed by good customer service, and in third place is the brand’s reputation amongst friends and family.

A huge 55% of consumers said that friends and family liking a brand means they’re more likely to stay loyal themselves.

As well as driving loyalty, peers are greatly influencing discovery. 48.5% of consumers said they discover new brands via friends and family, which was second only to in-store browsing (49%).

So, keeping your existing customers happy could also be your biggest acquisition tool.

A strategy that keeps both ends of the funnel flowing? The dream. As busy marketers, we love a ‘kill two birds with one stone’ moment.

What do customers want from a loyalty program?

Moving on from what consumers say keeps them loyalty, we’re now going into the perks that customers want to see. Before we delve into the preferences of different demographics, here’s a global overview of what customers favor when it comes to loyalty perks.

Top 10 customer preferences for loyalty rewards:

1. Free shipping and returns – 53%
2. Cashback – 52%
3. Freebie products, gifts, or samples – 45%
4. Birthday and anniversary rewards – 43%
5. Personalized discounts or offers – 40%
6. Extended warranties or guarantees – 27%
7. Early access to sales or new products – 27%
8. VIP services – 15%
9. Charitable donations – 13%
10. Exclusive events or eet-and-greets – 12%

Gen Z shoppers’ loyalty language

Aged 16-28, Gen Z is the youngest generation holding purchasing power. When it comes to brand discovery, influencer marketing comes in third, after friends & family and in-store browsing. A huge 74% of Gen Zers say that influencer content has helped them discover new brands or products in the last 6 months.

Top 3 loyalty scheme perks for Gen Z

1. Free shipping or returns – 46%
2. Birthday or anniversary rewards – 41%
3. Cashback and freebie products, gifts, and samples – 40%

In the last 12 months, 60% of Gen Z have spent more with a brand as a result of its loyalty program.

Millennial shoppers’ loyalty language

Millennials (aged 29–44) value loyalty programs more than any other generation, with 59% saying they’re important to their overall loyalty to a brand. This suggests that the right loyalty program could be especially effective with this age group. So, what does a great loyalty program look like for Millennials?

Top 4 loyalty scheme perks for Millennials

1. Cashback – 50%
2. Free shipping or returns – 49%
3. Freebie products, gifts, and samples – 42%
4. Birthday or anniversary rewards – 42%

In the last 12 months, 56% of Millennials have spent more with a brand to just to earn points or hit the next loyalty tier, proving that these programs really do work.

Gen X shoppers’ loyalty language

Gen Xers are aged between 45 and 60 years old. This generation says a brand having the best products is the key driver for staying loyal (69%), and 56% cite customer service as an important factor in their loyalty to a brand. When it comes to perks they like to see in a loyalty scheme, free shipping or returns, and cashback both tied for most important.

Top 3 loyalty scheme perks for Gen X

1. Free shipping or returns – 54%
2. Cashback – 54%
3. Freebie products, gifts, and samples – 49%

In the last 12 months, 43% of Gen Xers have spent more with a brand as a result of its loyalty program. So, they’re definitely having an impact and driving repeat purchases

Baby Boomer shoppers’ loyalty language

Baby Boomers are aged 61-79 years old, and product quality is key for this demographic. 3 out of 4 Baby Boomers say that a brand having the best products is the most important loyalty driver. This is reflected in their reward preferences, where they are the generation most likely to seek extended warranties and guarantees, with 30% selecting this as a preferred loyalty scheme perk.

Top 3 loyalty scheme perks for Baby Boomers

1. Free shipping or returns – 60%
2. Cashback – 58%
3. Freebie products, gifts, and samples – 47%

In the last 12 months, 25% of Baby Boomers have spent more with a brand as a result of its loyalty program.

How customer loyalty differs by region

Customer loyalty drivers and preferences also vary depending on where someone lives. Cultural context and local expectations can all shape what customers value most.

The same survey also highlights how attitudes and expectations around consumer loyalty differ across the US, UK, Australia, and Singapore.

Australian customer loyalty preferences

72% of Australians say a brand’s products are the biggest reason they keep coming back. Good customer service and recommendations from friends and family matter too, with 54% of Australian consumers saying they influence their loyalty. Loyalty programs come in close behind, with 51% calling them an important reason to return.

Two of these top loyalty drivers sit within a marketer’s control. Timely, well-automated customer service communications, like order updates, post-purchase check-ins, and proactive support, help create the kinds of experiences customers remember. And with loyalty programs influencing half of Australian shoppers’ decisions to return, having a thoughtful scheme in place can make a real difference to repeat purchases. The top loyalty perk Australian shoppers want is free shipping or returns, with 58% selecting this as a referred benefit.

Get more Australian-specific customer stats here.

Singaporean customer loyalty preferences

56% of Singaporean consumers say they’ve spent more with a brand in the last 12 months because of its loyalty program. Proving that when loyalty schemes get the experience right, they can have a direct impact on customer spend.

Singaporeans have an appetite for personalized experiences, including the rewards they want from loyalty programs. Nearly half (47%) say personalized offers are the most valuable type of loyalty reward.

When loyalty programs are built around what individual customers actually want, there’s a real opportunity to turn one-time buyers into repeat customers who spend more over time. Personalized offers, incentives based on purchase history, and rewards that feel genuinely relevant rather than generic all resonate strongly with shoppers in this region.

Get more Singapore-specific customer stats here.

American customer loyalty preferences

57% of US shoppers say loyalty programs are important to them, and in the last 12 months, 46% of US consumers have spent more with a brand as a result of its loyalty program.

Shoppers are looking for loyalty programs that offer tangible, immediate value, with rewards that feel both useful and personal. US consumers know what they want from loyalty programs: 52% want free shipping or returns, 51% want freebies, gifts, or samples, and 46% want birthday and anniversary rewards.

Discover more US-specific customer stats here.

UK customer loyalty preferences

When asked what they want to see offered in loyalty programs, UK shoppers ranked free shipping or returns (43%) as most important, followed closely by freebie products and samples (42%). In third is something marketers can influence: birthday or anniversary rewards (37%).

It’s still important to note that the same thing that closes a sale is what keeps customers coming back – perceived value for money and a risk-free experience (through free shipping and returns).

Birthday and anniversary rewards scored strongly across all generations, and are one of the easiest ways to create a moment that feels personal. To activate a birthday or anniversary program you simply need to capture the date and create an automation program to trigger. Include a warm and celebratory message and a unique discount or offer.

Get more UK-specific customer stats here.

The most popular loyalty driver

The winner here is free shipping and returns, ranking top for Gen Z, Gen X, and Baby Boomers, and second place for Millennials. It’s also the top or second-most popular perk among shoppers in the US, UK, Australia, and Singapore.

Free shipping and returns may not be the first thing you think of when you think about loyalty drivers. Far away from points or stamp cards of traditional loyalty schemes, this one is all about the customer experience.

We live in a time of instant gratification. If you want something, most of the time you can ask your search engine or LLM of choice and have it show up on your front porch the next day.

People want a quick and hassle-free shopping experience where they know if something isn’t quite right, they can return it without being out of pocket. Offering these as standard or as an exclusive benefit for loyalty program members is a popular way to keep your audience happy.

When loyalty and acquisition go hand in hand

Friends and family recommendations are one of the top drivers for finding new brands and also for staying loyal to a brand. Word-of-mouth is more than a great retention tool.

As this happens organically, it’s easy to let it do its thing, but there’s a lot more you can do. Be intentional in encouraging word-of-mouth recommendations, and reward customers who shout about your brand.

You can offer points for reviewing products, a free gift for each referral, and reward customers who post about you on social media by entering them into a monthly prize draw.

There are lots of ways you can be intentional about encouraging customer shares and ways to show your customers that you value their voice.

To win customer loyalty, your loyalty scheme needs to do more than just reward purchases, but also reward and encourage customer advocacy.

Get more information on global customer trends, including how they’re changing the path to purchase, in Dotdigital’s Customer trend index 2026/27.

For over 70 years, Max Spielmann has been helping UK customers turn their memories into something they can hold. As part of the Timpson Group, Max Spielmann specializes in photo printing, personalized gifts, and same-day services across stores in supermarkets and high streets nationwide.

When Alannah Sneyd joined as Digital Marketing Manager in August 2024, she knew there was work to do.

The challenges were clear

Legacy database dragging performance down

Hundreds of thousands of inactive contacts from in-store photo kiosks were inflating email send volumes but contributing almost nothing to engagement or revenue.

Batch-and-blast approach

Segmentation was based solely on open rates (increasingly unreliable), with a “sales are down, let’s send another email” mentality rather than strategic engagement.

Generic automations with zero personalization

Browse abandonment didn’t show customers the products they’d viewed. Welcome emails didn’t check if someone had already purchased before asking for reviews.

No dedicated owner

Email had been managed as an afterthought rather than a strategic channel.

For a small team managing marketing across multiple Timpson Group brands, it was time for a change.

Rebuilding email from the ground up

Working closely with her Dotdigital Customer Success Manager, Alannah took a phased approach to transforming Max Spielmann’s email program.

Phase 1: Getting the data right

The first priority was audience quality. Alannah discovered that engagement from contacts acquired through in-store photo kiosks was dramatically lower than those who signed up via the website.

The solution:

• Introduced double opt-in for all new kiosk sign-ups to ensure quality over quantity
• Rebuilt segments based on click behavior, browsing activity, and recency – not just opens
• Removed long-term inactive kiosk customers, reducing average newsletter sends from 323,000 to 63,000

“People get nervous about reducing volume, but with the right insights in place, testing it on a handful of newsletters is often enough to show the impact,” Alannah notes.

Phase 2: Automation with actual intelligence

Next came a complete overhaul of Max Spielmann’s automations.
Key improvements:

Browse abandonment that actually works

Customers now see the exact products they browsed, not generic category links.

Extended abandonment series

A follow-up email added to the browse abandonment journey.

Welcome series with logic

Added purchase checks so customers who’d already bought didn’t get irrelevant “leave a review” emails, and those who didn’t purchase received a reminder to use their offer.

“It was a mix of everything – technical setup, design refresh, messaging, and adding sophisticated rules that just weren’t there before,” Alannah explains.

The team also tested continuously throughout the year to understand what resonated before peak season.

Phase 3: Smarter seasonal strategy

With cleaner data and better automations in place, Max Spielmann approached peak season differently – sending more strategically while actually reducing overall volume.

“Even with additional sends during peak, volume was down year on year,” Alannah says. “It’s about sending to the right people, not just the most people.”

For Christmas (when December 23rd is consistently their biggest day), the team pulled back on discounting and focused on convenience messaging for last-minute shoppers.

Working with her Dotdigital Customer Success Manager made the transformation possible, Alannah says “with our Customer Success Manager’s support, we’ve been able to achieve things that would normally require a much bigger team or agency support. The relationship is more like a consultant-client dynamic – I come with challenges, and he gives me the blueprint to execute.”

With our Customer Success Manager’s support, we’ve been able to achieve things that would normally require a much bigger team or agency support. The relationship is more like a consultant-client dynamic – I come with challenges, and he gives me the blueprint to execute.

Alannah Sneyd
Digital Marketing Manager

The numbers tell the story

Peak period 2025:

• Total email revenue increased 41% YoY
• Email sends reduced 63% YoY
• Open rates increased from 35% to 42%
• Click-through rate improved from 1.58% to 3.17%

Automation performance:

• Revenue up 78% YoY
• Automations now account for 38% of total email revenue, up from 30%
• Conversion rate increased from 17% to 37%

Impact beyond the metrics

The efficiency story resonated with leadership too. “Senior people in the business like efficiency. The fact the results have been driven from fewer sends – and we didn’t have to spend more – that went down really well. Especially when other channels are getting more expensive year on year, having email working better is just a good story internally.”

Looking ahead

With solid foundations in place, Alannah is eyeing bigger opportunities:

Unlocking in-store data

“We could almost replicate all the campaigns we’ve got just around those kiosk machines if we sorted out the data.”

Multi-channel expansion

SMS and WhatsApp remain untapped. “For customers using their phone to get photos onto the kiosk, it makes sense to explore.”

“Dotdigital has been really good for us,” Alannah notes. “The drag-and-drop builder means I can do things myself. The automation builder with visual notes means I can document why I built things a certain way. For a generalist marketer managing multiple brands, that matters.”

Würth UK is a B2B company supplying essential products to the automotive, agriculture, and construction industries. Its online store stocks more than 60,000 items.

Taking a more personalized and customer-centric approach

Würth UK has consistently achieved year-on-year ecommerce growth, supported by Dotdigital’s personalization platform.

But they wanted to take their marketing to the next level.

Their current email marketing system was stifling their ambitions due to its lack of personalisation and triggered email capabilities. They also had plans to introduce a new website and wanted to create a more joined-up experience across their website and other channels.

A fully integrated ecommerce and marketing platform

The Dotdigital implementation was led by the Head of E-Business at Würth UK, Reece Smith. He explains: “We’ve been using the Dotdigital for several years and it has made a massive impact on our customer experience.”

The team has used product recommendations, dynamic banners, and data capture popovers to expand its database and deliver impressive results. Würth UK has achieved a 72.4% increase in revenue and a 12.8% gain in average order value. In the past year, its abandoned cart emails have generated almost £800k in additional income.

The experience using the platform and the proven results instilled Reece and the team with confidence that Dotdigital’s approach to marketing automation was the right fit for Würth UK. He adds, “A big advantage of Dotdigital is the fact that it is a single centralized platform. It gives us full control to create effective, highly personalized, and fully automated content and campaigns.”

Dotdigital is a vital component in our e-commerce and marketing ecosystem

Reece Smith, Head of E-Business

The sky is the limit!

“The more we can automate, the more we can focus on the things that matter to our customers and us. We see the sky as the limit with marketing automation!” adds Reece. The team is now rolling out new automated emails, including:

• Price drop alerts – letting customers know when products they’re interested in go on sale.
• Back-in-stock notifications – to ensure customers never miss out.
• Browse abandonment emails – helpful reminders about products they were interested in but have not yet purchased.

They’re also using A/B testing to fine-tune campaigns and ensure every message hits the mark.

By combining Dotdigital’s marketing automation and personalization platforms, Würth UK will take the company’s philosophy of operating as a truly multi-channel organization to the next level. “We want to help our customers throughout their lifecycle. By ensuring our core systems talk to each other and automating wherever we can, we can go further and do even more,” concludes Reece. “Dotdigital is a vital component in our ecommerce and marketing ecosystem.”