Meijer is a $19.5b grocery retailer with a loyalty program that serves 6.2M customers annually.
Bringing new value to mPerks was a task that required relentless testing, knowledge of the existing program, and collaboration with experts across the company.
Solution
We were approached by our friends at EKKO Studio to increase consumer engagement with their Meijer’s loyalty program, mPerks. To bring this to life, we focused on making mPerks more digitally engaging and inclusive for all consumers. We shined a spotlight on Meijer’s core values, bringing community and savings to the forefront.
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Gone are the days of loyalty programs with earning limits and one size fits all rewards. In the new mPerks program, users are rewarded for shopping behaviors, pharmacy usage, brand engagement, and now get rewarded for every dollar spent. The icing on the cake is claiming personalized rewards in categories such total cart and fuel to ensure the consumer’s hard earned points are going towards what matter most to them.
Top Goals
Role
As this project grew, so did our involvement in this agile initiative. We started by planning the details and laying the experiential groundwork on the program team and finished strong by overseeing all mPerks related UX work. Final visuals and user experience were created in collaboration with Meijer’s scrum design team, system foundations team, and marketing partners.
Methods
The wonderful User Experience Research team at Meijer included us in initiatives that informed our experience from architecture to verbiage, keeping every decision consumer focused.
01
Moderated Testing
When testing large flows, moderated testing was performed to have full insight into the consumers thoughts.
02
Unmoderated A/B Testing
When comparing variations of concepts that had clear focus, we often performed A/B testing to get quick results.
03
Diary Study
Before launching the program, we followed consumers organic behaviors to stress test our designs.
End to End consumer mPerks Journey
Savings is the heartbeat behind the brand.
Through opportunity mapping, workshopping and cross organization collaboration we brought mPerks to the forefront of the consumers shopping journey, making savings the heartbeat of Meijer’s shopping experience.
Behind every great design is a lot of collaboration, inspiration, and a pinch of luck
Savings is Personal
Meijer meets you where you spend to make the most of how you save.
Testing proved customers favored focusing on one part of the loyalty program at a time, paving the way towards a personalized mPerks experiences that allows users to explore:
Program success was reliant on consumers taking the drivers seat in the way that they are rewarded.
More control on reward types adds a responsibility to be digitally engaged from the consumer. In the existing program, users were rewarded automatically so engagement is a new step in the process.
A visual language that Go Beyond Aesthetic
Visuals reinforce that mPerks points are the currency used to claim rewards.
We communicated the points based program shift to consumers through a visual language that positioned points as the currency and the rewards they claim as the prize. This messaging was paired with stress tested terminology, resulting in a more personalized, engaging experience.
Transparency creates clarity.
Our mPerks history is a comprehensive experience that gives the consumer complete snapshot of all points coming in and out of their account. This helps give an accurate picture of their account activity as well as celebrate all the little ways they save more with Meijer.
Change is good, but often challenging
To provide customers with peace of mind, we introduce them to the new program with a walkthrough experience, provide them with additional tutorials, and consistent messaging from storefront to phone.
Lending a helping hand
Because mPerks already had a strong following, we were conscious of existing customers.
To do this, we created a chatbot sequence to step in and answer program details in a way that is specific to the consumers mPerks account details. Curious to see how many points you have or specific ways to earn points? No problem!
Clairity is in the details
Intentional gamification creates understanding and delight.
Micro-interactions were used to guide the users through otherwise complex scenarios. Details give the user reassurance when rewards are redeemed, points are earned, and that Meijer values its community of customers.
