The pieces of the puzzle are falling into place in the turbulent sector of loyalty programs in Quebec. After Mother’s Day, Air Miles will disappear from Jean Coutu.
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From May 15, Metro, owner of the pharmacy brand, will replace the famous plane card with the new version of its own: ME. The announcement of the withdrawal had been made in September.
For now, as elsewhere, Air Miles can still be redeemed at a rate of 95 for $10 at Jean Coutu. Customers will also be able to accumulate them until May 14 through their purchases.
In two weeks, their rewards will come from elsewhere. And their data will also go elsewhere.
long agony
Appeared in Quebec in 1992, Air Miles has been experiencing difficulties since the pandemic, dropped by the majority of its retail partners.
So much so that its owner, the American company LoyaltyOne, declared bankruptcy last month before selling the program and its 10 million active members to BMO.
The Canadian bank, partner of Air Miles since its inception, could try to transform Air Miles into a credit card, according to an expert in the sector.
“If they’re going to get 500,000 new customers for a credit card out of 10 million members, that’s a good move», describes Paul Lafortune, loyalty specialist at Adviso.
In 31 years, the loyalty program market has changed a lot. If, in 1992, we especially wanted it not to cost too much to the company, we now want to have information on the customer, to get to know him.
“Air Miles qualifies less well for that,” asserts Mr. Lafortune.
In pursuit of data
That’s why the big chains are getting into loyalty building themselves now.
Between Metro’s announcement of the withdrawal of Air Miles from Jean Coutu in September and its withdrawal from stores in May, a competitor has had time to launch its program.
Empire, owner of the IGA brand, went all out with Scène+, launched on March 23. For the customer, each segment of 1000 points accumulated is worth $10 in store.
At Metro, the new MOI program will offer similar benefits, but can be used at Jean Coutu, Super C, Brunet and Première Moisson, in addition to Metro.
The current program, metro&moi, is in its 13e year and currently has more than 1.2 million active members.
In March, Canadian Tire also launched a paid component to its Triangle rewards program. Members can thus earn more Canadian Tire Money thanks to their purchases at Canadian Tire, Sport Experts, L’Équipeur and the other brands of the retail giant.
“Each company manages to have data on its customers, in order to better target them”, illustrates Paul Lafortune.