RBC has entered the mobile loyalty space with a new app.
The RBC Rewards app lets customers with rewards credit cards see their points; search and book flights, hotels and car rentals; shop Apple and Best Buy products; and get relevant offers and product recommendations based on their interests.
“Many of our customers say they want quick, easy, convenient ways to interact with us, and with the push to mobile we know [they’re] interacting with their phones,” said Athena Varmazis, vice-president, global loyalty program and rewards at RBC.
“So, we wanted to bring them an amazing experience of getting anything they wanted out of the rewards program on their mobile phone. They aren’t beholden to going to their laptop or their desktop, so it was really around making sure that we are bringing the benefits of the rewards program to where our customers are—anywhere, anytime.”
RBC added features only available on the app, including the ability to “favourite” a travel search or product from the various categories. Once a customer has earned enough points, they’ll get a notice that their goal has been reached.
RBC did consumer research throughout the entire development cycle, including a trial period where customers played around with the app. Early on, one key piece of feedback was customers wanted a reason to keep coming back to the app.
RBC decided showing customers how their points are racking up daily would be a good reason to use the app frequently. “They can see they’ve earned 10 points today or hundreds of points in a particular week depending on their level of purchases,” said Varmazis. “So that was really exciting and we received some really great feedback on that feature.”
One of RBC’s aims with the app is to raise awareness of the “breadth and depth” of the rewards program, said Varmazis. In research, customers said they knew about travel and hotel rewards, but didn’t realize other components such as merchandise through RBC’s partnerships with Apple and Best Buy. The app brings that to life by being interactive and showcasing all of the various items.
RBC is promoting the app in branches, on social media and on its websites. Messaging will also be incorporated in advertising for RBC’s Avion credit cards.
