In the current economic climate point cards, which are issued everywhere from small restaurants to airlines, could become an important tool not only to increase customer retention and grow spending, but also to win new customers.
According to some of the numerous surveys on the topic, more than 95% of Japanese consumers own at least one loyalty card, and 30% of Japanese women under 40 carry ten or more cards in their wallets.
Almost every retailer in Japan, from small restaurants to large companies such as airlines, department store chains and credit card companies, has a loyalty card program. However, until recently the use of these cards was limited to a single company – reward points collected at retailer A could only be used at stores of this particular chain.
But this limited use of loyalty cards mainly to drive loyalty and therefore sales is increasingly a thing of the past. More and more Japanese companies are discovering them also as a tool that also allows them to attract consumers from non-competitors, and launching cards that can be used at a wide range of stores and service providers.
One such format is the T Card, which was originally introduced as a loyalty card for members of rental video chain Tsutaya. The company has now turned it into a stand-alone brand that allows it’s almost 30 million members to collect and redeem reward points at over 30 retailers with more than 27,000 stores nationwide, including convenience stores, electronics stores, cinemas and restaurants.
In September 2009, T Card went mobile and subscribers of Japan’s largest mobile provider DoCoMo were able to collect points on payments made through their mobile phones. In February 2009, the service was extended to include Japan’s other two mobile phone companies.
T Card website (Japanese)