Don't be lame with loyalty 😎

I had a very depressing conversation with a retailer this week. They told me about their latest loyalty implementation and how they had to settle for a paint-by-numbers loyalty program because it was the easiest to implement from a technological perspective. Inspiring for customers, right?

Luckily, my sadness was offset by some unique loyalty plays that I saw around the world, which shows that loyalty programs don't have to be boring with a little planning, cretivity and care.

Firstly, you may have noticed that Adore Beauty changed their loyalty program this month from Adore Society to Adore Rewards. This was to move the program towards omnichannel rewards rather than just online rewards and... "inspired" by Mecca. They've retained the express delivery benefits, kept Spend & Save discounts, and in a clever differentiator to Mecca, allows customers to choose their quarterly reward rather than being assigned a mystery box. See, I said "inspired".

Secondly, McDonald's was clever in teaming up with Snapchat, allowing their MyMcDonald's rewards users in the US to use their points they've accrued for a Snapchat+ membership. MyMcDonald's rewards customers can receive a 1-month subscription to Snapchat Plus, marking the first time Maccas has offered a digital subscription service as a redeemable reward. Very clever in a time of cost-of-living pressure… especially for those teens who are struggling right now. Sob. But a great product alignment and a nice way to reach a broad audience of trial users for Snapchat+. A lesson in loyalty partnerships.

The third one that caught my attention was Costco, which rejigged its Costco Executive Membership. This is their top-tier membership, which costs $120, double the price of their next membership, Gold. However, the interesting perk they've included is that Executive Members can access the stores one hour earlier than general customers, at 9am. Additionally, they'll keep their warehouses open an extra hour until 7pm on a Saturday for their Executive Members. Plus, they'll get 2% cash back on all their purchases. Talk about the high flyers of that warehouse shopping life.

Lastly, the loyalty idea that wasn't actually part of the loyalty club was the brilliant release of the Amazon Switch 2 by Walmart. Customers who pre-ordered the Nintendo Switch this week received their Nintendo Switch by 9 a.m. wherever they were in the country. Some members reportedly got it at 7 a.m. Those who pre-ordered also received surprise Pringles and Coke with their orders. At a time when anticipation peaks and emotions are heightened, this is such a brilliant play by Walmart to capitalise on a special moment for their customers. It will leave a lasting impression and an emotional footprint.

I feel restored. All of these came to my attention this week. Yes, I know it's easy to roll out a tiered points-based refer-a-friend loyalty system. But tailored and disruptive loyalty rewards are way more impactful than any quick win, long-term program. Either that, or you could just send Coke and Pringles with everything.

Cheers
Bushy

PS. If you are still on the fence about whether loyalty and loyalty programs are going to be a thing, have a look at what Google just released this week around the ability to add loyalty structured data into their product search results, so customers can see benefits at the time of search.

P.P.S. There are just 10 days until our Reset & Scale Meta Bootcamp kicks off. And this week, we announced our Industry Experts who will join us to bring you or your team up to speed with opportunities in your Meta account. It is packed with expertise! Message me if you want team discounts.

ECOMMERCE NEWS (from the past week)

📦 Amazon for Business lands in Australia
Sean Walsh and Brett Sinclair hinted at it in their episodes, and now it’s finally here: Amazon for Business. Australia becomes the 11th country to get access, conveniently timed with EOFY. It launches with 30% off your first purchase (capped at $100) and brings with it the usual B2B bells and whistles: bulk discounts, multi-user management, and approval workflows. Right now, it’s clearly geared towards SMBs but we see you Amazon… creep, creep, creep.

💯 Meta’s new ‘Opportunity Score’ wants to rate your ad campaigns
Ready for another performance buzzword? Meta launched Opportunity Score, which rates your campaign out of 100 based on budget, audience, and placements. They claim advertisers who adopt its suggestions see a 12% drop in cost per result. The big question is, are you being scored by a bot? Or is a bot scoring another bot? Bonus: Meta also dropped a new AI video editing feature that lets you change outfits, locations and styles in your video with a few clicks.

📼 Video advertising is booming—and everyone wants in
According to IAB’s new Video Advertising State of the Nation report, video now makes up 27.5% of Australia’s internet ad spend. Just in time, LinkedIn announced new ‘first impression’ and CTV ad formats. Mattel launched Australia’s first commerce TV campaign on Tubi. And Amaysim proudly told the world it used AI to generate its new TV commercial in just two weeks. They seem… proud? Good on them.

🎬 Big W gets bold with live shopping
A little rough around the edges, but Big W deserves props for testing their new live shopping format. Their latest stream, hosted by comedian Mel Buttle, went live on June 11 as part of their toy sale. Yes, the first ten seconds of the replay could’ve been cut (Mel looks less than thrilled), but credit to Big W for investing in talent and trying something new. Legacy retail doesn’t have to be a sitting duck.

🎨 The AI Creativity Benchmark is here
A new tool (and a bit of research) called The Creativity Benchmark dropped this week, and it’s strangely insightful. Built by some of the brightest advertising minds like Zoe Scaman and James Herman, the tool matches you with the AI content tools best suited to your creative style. I ran it. ChatGPT-4.5 topped my list. Gemini 2.5 Pro came dead last. Probably because I let ChatGPT fill out the survey responses for me.

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Nathan Bush is an independent Australian ecommerce transformation consultant, with expertise in marketing, technology, and team leadership. If you're looking for fresh ideas, facing key decisions, or implementing significant investments, I'd love to work with you. Learn more and get in touch.