More than discounts: 9 customer incentive ideas for retail brands
Lindsay Keener
Brand Journalist
Rewarding customers for their continued support is a fundamental part of many thriving businesses — and retail brands know just how important customer incentives are.
In the marketplace, customer incentives are typically boiled down to traditional deals and discounts, but there are often other creative options brands can use to satisfy their customer base.
Here are 9 examples of customer incentives that your brand can implement to create a fun shopping journey for your customers.
1. Free gifts
Customers receive additional gifts free of costs alongside their purchase, in celebration of a holiday, or as a thank you for their patronage.
2. Loyalty points
Loyalty program members get redeemable points they can cash in for perks on products and services.
3. Bonus rewards
Customers get extra rewards when they make a purchase with a certain product type.
4. Premium memberships
Customers can sign up for a free or paid membership subscription that includes various brand-related perks.
5. Free shipping
Online customers get free shipping on their orders.
6. Next-day delivery
Brands offer express shipping and give customers the option to receive their products at an earlier date.
7. Personalized discounts
Brands offer customer-specific discounts to members of their target audience who make up a certain population. This includes incentives like student discounts, veteran pricing, senior citizen discounts and more.
8. Payment plans
Customers have the option of paying for their order(s) in increments. For example, a customer could buy a product for $100, pay for it in four installments of $25 within a certain amount of time, and still receive their product at the same time as someone who paid full price.
9. Free samples
Customers get to experience a smaller version of a branded product for free before committing to it.
Giving back to your customers in the form of incentives doesn’t have to simply be about traditional deals and discounts. You can branch out and create more impactful incentives using creativity and consumer interests.
Lindsay Keener
Lindsay Keener is a brand journalist for Quikly. She covers stories that help to inform and educate consumer-facing marketers.
Lindsay Keener
Lindsay Keener is a brand journalist for Quikly. She covers stories that help to inform and educate consumer-facing marketers.