Today, Colruyt Group launched the Xtra loyalty card. This is a single loyalty card which, from April 4th, can be used by a massive 3.7 million customers in over 600 shops and collection points comprising Colruyt, OKay, Bio-Planet, Spar Colruyt Group, Collect&Go, Dreamland, Dreambaby and ColliShop. From autumn 2017, DATS 24 will be added to the list. For customers who like to stay mobile, an Xtra app is available. All Colruyt Group’s shops and webshops have their own promotions and offers and, to make it even easier for customers, with Xtra they will automatically and immediately have access to each chain’s respective deals. With the launch of Xtra, Colruyt Group wants to get to know its customers better and to target information, offers and product ranges and services more accurately.
Convenience: automatic and immediate benefit
First and foremost, Xtra is a handy loyalty card for Colruyt Group’s 9 chains and webshops. “With this unique service, we want to make life easier for our customers and, above all, offer them simplicity in a society which is complex enough already,” says COO Frans Colruyt. “Anybody who shops with Xtra in Colruyt Group’s 9 participating chains and webshops immediately and automatically enjoys the offers running in that particular chain or webshop at that moment. All discounts are clearly indicated on the receipt. Simplicity and transparency are the winning hand.”
Xtra: 1 card, 1 app and 1 password
The new card will be sent out to 3,700,000 customers in Belgium and Luxembourg from April 4th and replaces the current Colruyt, OKay, Bio-Planet and Dreambaby loyalty cards. Switching is simplicity itself, customers can use the card immediately they receive it.
For customers who prefer to stay mobile, there’s also the Xtra app. This gives customers in the shops the same benefits as the Xtra card. With the Xtra app, customers always have their loyalty card in their pockets. In addition, they can link different mobile payment apps (like Bancontact, KBC or SEQR) to the Xtra app so that they can pay with them.
Finally, Xtra online provides more simplification and convenience. With the Xtra login, customers will have access to all webshops from now on with a single user name and password.
Customised information and benefits
Over the years, Colruyt Group has evolved into a close-knit group. Frank Colruyt continues, “With our different chains, we want to be alert to our customers’ needs.” Customers do indeed have different needs and requirements at different times of their lives, and with its different chains, Colruyt Group can provide an appropriate response to each stage. “This group card makes it both very clear that we are a close-knit family of companies, and that we have shared values and aspirations,” explains Frans Colruyt.
Via Xtra, Colruyt Group can tune its information, offers and (shop) ranges even more closely to the interests and needs of its customers at every stage of their lives. On the one hand, customers can manage their own personal data and indicate which folders or newsletters they want to receive via their Xtra login. Later, it will be possible to show a preference for certain products, brands, dietary habits, etc. “What’s important here is that customers remain in charge of their own data, so they can alter or remove it at any time,” adds Frans Colruyt.
On the other hand, customers will be served more efficiently with offers, folders and communications that are relevant to them because, via Xtra, Colruyt Group will have more insight into their needs and purchasing behaviour in the different chains. “Relevance is a very important concept to us here. Based on new insights we can, for example, adjust the range in our stores to respond better to local preferences and so provide the customer with a more suitable offer. In short, Xtra offers a lot of potential to get to know our customers better. It is yet another stage in our ambition to deepen the relationship with our customers and enter into more dialogue with them,” says Frans Colruyt.
Privacy 100% guaranteed
Colruyt Group thinks that it is extremely important that customer privacy is guaranteed at all times. The retailer therefore stresses that data about purchasing behaviour is 100% secure at all times. Frans Colruyt explains, “We keep data so that we can serve our customers better, with total transparency. So any use must adhere to this.”
The future
Colruyt Group has invested a lot of time and resources in developing its group loyalty card, associated app and login. It was a major operation, from integrating IT systems and databases to distributing the card to 3.7 million customers, as well as creating all the communication about it.
“We are extremely proud of this new milestone in the history of Colruyt Group. Over the next few years, we want to create a positive follow-up. In autumn 2017, customers with Xtra will also enjoy offers at DATS 24. In the long term, we can also include our Cru and ZEB shops in the mix,” concludes Frans Colruyt.
