Summary
Arts and crafts retailer Michaels wanted to improve its customers’ experience by making its in-store discounts for teachers, military, and seniors available online, and by enabling these customers to verify for the discount once and have it automatically applied to future purchases. By integrating SheerID’s Audience Network into its loyalty program, Michaels was able to digitally verify 200K customers and give them access to the discount through its Michaels Rewards program whenever they wanted to use it. This strengthened Michaels’ omnichannel presence and increased customer loyalty.
When we integrated SheerID’s Audience Network into Michaels Rewards, we were able to verify 200,000 seniors, teachers, and military customers.
Challenge
With more than 1,200 stores in 49 US states and in Canada, Michaels is the largest arts and crafts dealer focused exclusively on makers. For years the company rewarded seniors, teachers, and the military with an in-store exclusive discount of 15%. When Michaels launched its e-commerce presence in 2014, it wanted to ensure a consistent omnichannel experience for all their customers and realized there was room for improvement in the redemption process. Offer verification took place at the point of sale, which created friction in the purchase process. Teachers and members of the military didn’t always have valid IDs, and asking seniors to prove their age could get touchy.
To enhance the customer experience and bridge the gap between online and in-store redemptions, Michaels wanted to make their exclusive offers available online and tie them to Michaels Rewards, its popular loyalty program.
Solution
Michaels implemented our Audience Network to digitally verify customers’ eligibility for its exclusive offers. Customers simply enter a few pieces of basic information and are instantly verified as teachers, seniors, and members of the military community. Using SheerID enabled the company to easily tie the offers to Michaels Rewards members’ profiles.
Once enrolled in the loyalty program, customers could automatically redeem their offers online or have a sales clerk apply them to in-store purchases simply by pulling up their rewards profile.
To engage customers more fully, Michaels makes these exclusive offers evergreen and promotes them year-round through email, social media, and web banners. Our Audience Network helps Michaels facilitate greater loyalty by giving it the security to expand the discounts to 20% to honor customers on their special holidays, such as Grandparents Day, Teacher Appreciation Week, and Memorial Day.
SheerID not only prevents discount abuse, it helps both our company and customers get the most out of Michaels Rewards.
Results
Integrating SheerID into Michaels Rewards streamlined the customer experience. Shoppers could instantly and conveniently apply their discount to every purchase, which encouraged them to spend more. Staff no longer had to verify customers at the point of sale, though they remained happy to apply the discount during the checkout process if customers who hadn’t been verified online provided proper identification.
The new approach has also given Michaels a way to more fully engage shoppers that are aligned with its brand and important to its business, particularly teachers, who Steve said shop twice as frequently and spend twice as much as Michaels’ average customer.
Michaels’ partnership with SheerID has been so successful the company is considering expanding its personalized offers to customers in Canada. “We’re excited by the opportunity it gives us to create greater customer loyalty,” Steve said.
Integrating our senior, teacher, and military personalized offers into our rewards program has helped us engage our customers more deeply. We can provide a richer experience and additional perks to groups we highly value.