Rhone is getting into the rewards game.
The men’s performance wear brand launched its loyalty program, Rhone Rewards, to consumers on July 11. Included in the new program is free two-day shipping with every order, the ability to earn points with every purchase for free products and exclusive offers on new gear. For members, there is no annual subscription or membership fee.
To become a Rhone Rewards member, customers must take a brief quiz meant to give them a personalized shopping experience catered to their style, interests and size preferences. They’re asked questions like, “How often are you wearing activewear?” or “How often are you traveling?”
“We just want to build a profile of [customers’] preferences so we can understand them and deliver exceptional products to them,” said Adam Bridegan, CMO of Rhone. “It’s all about the customer experience.”
When developing the loyalty program, Rhone, which has seen triple-digit year-on-year growth since it launched in 2014, looked at what its competitors were offering. Bridegan says they’re the “first and only” to offer free two-day shipping on all orders without any subscription and without any fees.
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With Rhone Rewards, however, the brand may be missing an opportunity. “The fact that there are no subscription fees is really unique and really new. Customers these days are really open to the possibility of paying to be part of something that’s exclusive,” said Syama Meagher, CEO and chief retail analyst at Scaling Retail.
Lululemon is one brand Meagher believes has set a benchmark for what a successful rewards program should look like. “When I reference and think about their program, you pay a membership fee, you get access to classes, and you get to try new products. It’s basically this modern-day way of doing focus groups,” she said. “In addition to that, Lululemon is doing discounts and shipping perks.”
Rhone Rewards comes ahead of the brand’s “Lime Day” loyalty sale on July 15, which is the brand’s version of Amazon Prime Day. “This will be a loyalty sale on July 15, the same day as Prime Day, and we’ll be offering 15% off site-wide,” said Bridegan.
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This is the brand’s first stab at a loyalty program. Prior, it had tested offering points and incentives for referrals and for placing online orders. “We did a lot of user-testing to gather feedback — customer data and surveys have been instrumental in the new products we’ve offered — and the loyalty program is the culmination of that,” he said.
According to Bridegan, feedback from customers was that they wanted to quickly earn products, and the loyalty program will allow them to earn gear and gift cards.
“In our testing phase, we’re going to be surveying our customers after they sign up,” said Bridegan. “Our Facebook group and our Reddit users will be constantly feeding us information on the rewards program.”
As DTC brands navigate ways to keep customers coming back, often after catching their attention through a digital ad, launching a loyalty program is trending among them.
Down the line, Rhone also hopes to reveal additional rewards based on user demand in tests, for instance, introducing birthday rewards and incentives based on the number of orders customers place.
