Case Study: Boots The Advantage card has provided the retailer with valuable information on its customers

Case Study: Boots

The Advantage card has provided the retailer with valuable information on its customers

The Boots Advantage card is one of the most successful loyalty programmes in the UK.

Launched eight years ago, the scheme has 13 million active customers, and about half of all transactions at stores use the card.

'Advantage card customers are valuable - the average transaction value for a cardholder is, on average, 50 per cent higher than for a non-card holder,' says group IT director Rob Fraser.

'When someone takes out an Advantage card, their spend starts at the normal level, but moves up over time to match the average for cardholders. It is not just taken by our highest spenders; you do see that change in behaviour.'

Customers earn points for transactions - typically a minimum of four pence in every pound is accumulated on the card, but with special promotions, the average return...