Thai mall card launch
Thailand-based The Mall Group is spending B300m (Eur6m) on its new M Card loyalty programme.
The company, which operates shopping malls around Thailand, aims to have 1.2 million cardholders within a year and 5 million by 2014.
Supaluck Umpujh, the group’s vice-chairman, said the programme aimed to encourage existing customers not to switch to rivals in the long term in a challenging retail environment. The company will spend B100m marketing the card at its Mall, Emporium and Siam Paragon branches.
The card will cater to both local shoppers and expatriates to offset an almost 20% drop in foreign tourists this year.
The programme is a joint initiative between The Mall Group and over 2,000 partners in the fashion, hotel, airline, hospital and automotive sectors to general product merchandising.
Members receive one point for every 25 baht spent at nine outlets of the three retail brands, except PowerMall where customers gain a point for every 50 baht spent.
Customers can apply for the M Card without fees between up until October 31. Membership also entitles holders to special prices on more than 1,000 items, privileges from business allies, and ‘surprise’ rewards.
“The various offerings from our M Card will stimulate customer buying as well as increase spending per visit,” said Supaluck. “We expect sales volume via this card to be about 20 billion baht, almost half of our total sales this year.”
Chamnarn Maypreechakul, the group’s senior chief marketing officer, said: “This member reward scheme will help us better collect a database of shoppers, understand their demand and create customised marketing to them.”
The group expects its overall sales will reach 40 billion baht by year-end, up 5% from 2008.