At the DX3 2013 Conference back in March I listened to a talk by Shop.ca‘s Drew Green talk about how the company’s success in Canada came from a number of reasons, including how loyal Canadian customers are. It’s simple, he said: if Canadians find an experience they like, they come back.
A new survey from Hotels.com and its Canadian site Hotels.ca echoed those sentiments today. It found that Canadians show more brand loyalty than their American counterparts. In fact, the survey found that 86 percent of respondents said they were engaged in a loyalty program.
The survey garnered response from over 700 Canadians across the nation. It’s all part of a loyalty discussion that Hotels.com is promoting, via a North American Twitter chat on October 17th from 3-4p.m., using the hashtag #MyFreeNight.
“Most of us appreciate something extra in return for our repeat business,” said Hotels.com travel expert Taylor L. Cole. “Loyalty programs provide added perks like free products, upgrades, discounts or more from your favourite brands.”
The survey found that grocery and drugstore chains had the highest brand loyalty at 58 percent, followed by travel services (airlines or hotels) at 15 percent. Within the travel industry, airline programs dominated with 52 percent of Canadians belonging to an air travel program, followed by hotel chains at 31 percent.
Most Canadians (73 percent) are conservative in the number of loyalty programs they join, committing to five or less, while the perks offered through loyalty programs were the primary draw for signups at 67 percent.
And it appears that while Canadians are “loyal” in the sense that they return to businesses that they had good experiences with, regardless of the program, most Canadians (63 percent) are not willing pay higher prices for goods or services in exchange for brand loyalty program benefits.
Hotels.com/ Hotels.ca is a leading online accommodation booking brand under the Expedia, Inc. global network. with approximately 220,000 properties around the world. The site features more than 7 million Guest Reviews from users who have actually stayed in the hotels to ensure customers can make an informed choice when booking.
