February 28, 2023
Source: Victoria’s Secret
Victoria’s Secret’s rebranding effort adds an inclusive rewards program
Victoria’s Secret & Co. last week said it was launching “The VS & PINK Collective,” a pilot of its first loyalty program that gives Victoria’s Secret and Pink customers an opportunity to share rewards. The test program will cover 30 percent of Victoria’s Secret and Pink customers in select states. A full scale rollout is planned for later this year.
Currently customers can earn reward points by either using the Victoria’s Secret credit card or being enrolled in the Pink Nation rewards program. The VS & Pink Collective rewards customers of both brands in a nod to reality.
“Sometimes people come in only for Victoria’s Secret product. Sometimes they come in for Pink. And then sometimes people have a mixed bag of a little bit of everything. And that usually is true with our most loyal customers,” Sarah Sylvester, EVP marketing for Victoria’s Secret, told RetailWire.
The piloted program will give members access to various rewards and member exclusives such as a birthday gift, free shipping for eligible online purchases, early access to new products and double points days.
The VS & PINK Collective program is tiered, with customers moving up based on their purchases. The Insider tier is open to all, followed by All-Access, which is reached after making $300 in purchases in a year. The VIP level includes those who spend $750 or more. Credit card members earn points at a faster pace to receive added benefits.
Ms. Sylvester said the new program came from listening to its customers. The program, in turn, includes a digital community to facilitate peer-to-peer interactions through two features (spaces and styles).
“You can literally go on the app and communicate and hear from others and hear directly from us,” she said. “We patterned it on social media and the way that people like to communicate, so it literally feels like you can be swiping and scrolling through and connecting with one another.”
Ms. Sylvester said that VS & PINK Collective is part of a five-year brand transformation effort that began at Victoria’s Secret in 2021.
“We’re listening to our customer and putting the customer at the center of everything,” she said. “I hope that this feels that we are listening and giving her a program that she wants and that it’s celebrating her and she’s having fun with us as well. And I do believe it’s a tangible proof point because it is free and it’s open to all. Everyone is invited and accepted.”
- Victoria’s Secret & PINK Announce Pilot of New Loyalty Program, the VS & PINK Collective – Victoria’s Secret & Co./GlobeNewswire
- Is Victoria’s Secret’s inclusivity messaging resonating? – RetailWire
- Can Victoria’s Secret shift its brand image from sexy to empowering? – RetailWire
- Will Adore Me bring love to Victoria’s Secret? – RetailWire
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Discussion Questions
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Will the VS & Pink Collective rewards program be successful in driving incremental sales for the two Victoria’s Secret & Co. brands? Do you expect Victoria’s Secret and Pink loyalists to take to the program’s social/digital community feature?
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Victoria’s Secret has lost a massive number of customers and a significant amount of market share over the past 10 years. As such, it needs to do something to both prevent further erosion and rebuild its customer base. The loyalty program will help with that — but only to an extent as it is more focused on existing shoppers. What’s more important is the continued evolution of the brand to be more aligned with what modern shoppers want. I guess the loyalty app may help communicate that and gather feedback, but it is very much a peripheral piece of the puzzle.
Decades of research show that a brand with more than 50 stores that launches a loyalty program should see a 5 percent to 8 percent uplift in sales so if the VS and Pink program is average, it will drive more business. However these brands have the opportunity to create much more engagement via the community feature, so I will be interested to see how that evolves. Of course the people joining this loyalty program probably already belong to 20 others, so perhaps Victoria’s Secret should consider collaborating with additional brands that are relevant to target customers.
Spot on. But a 2.5% funding rate for the customer that chooses to pay with something other than their credit card, it will not drive incremental lift.
So with the past loyalty program the brand Pink and everything else had separate loyalty programs? Even though both brands are sold in the same store and share customers? If I understand that correctly then Victoria’s Secret was in desperate need of a new loyalty program. This one is all-inclusive, which is what a loyalty program should be.
It’s surprising that Victoria’s Secret has just now created a robust loyalty program, yet better late than never. It does seem odd to separate the Pink brand from all the rest given that Pink isn’t the only “other” brand in the Victoria’s Secret portfolio. Regardless, if Victoria’s Secret truly believes in its transformation plan, a fully-functioning loyalty program has to be part of the picture.
Unifying the rewards for these two brands can drive sales and loyalty. It could certainly inspire mom and daughter shopping sprees.
As shopping gets more social, VS and Pink loyalists may turn to the online community for more reviews and feedback before they buy online.
Who knows? I don’t. It seems kind of strange that this did not happen long ago — are they really two discrete buying personas?
In another area, the move to plus size models is smart. Not many people could relate to 98-pound models, I am sure that is/was off-putting to many.
Combining the loyalty programs that are part of an organization makes perfect sense as customers expect it.
Is this the beginning of Star Alliance or One World for retail stores? Are there loyalty combinations that can support specific target groups where the stores are not competing directly? Is there a way to string alliances together to invite the target to be more loyal to a particular cadre of stores?
Victoria’s Secret will only see value if they truly leverage the insights from this new loyalty program and the customer takes notice. The impact they can make in deepening their customer relationship and how it will reflect future marketing and merchandising decisions will drive brand loyalty. The challenge will be keeping the customer interested with content and product that is always evolving. The customer needs to know VS is listening to them.
The Collective concept is smart — support lovers of both VS & Pink. The social aspect of the mobile experience is a smart move, create community and a positive brand connection. As is typical, the more valuable proposition for the member is in the credit card relationship. At 2.5% hard funding rate (spend $400, get $10 reward) it will not move the needle. The design is as basic as it gets. Discounts here and there with a pick your day component which is smart — all about customer choice. For a brand that is all about feeling good, self-image and emotional connection, love and so much more the design/strategy is lacking. Nothing special here to get excited about, no true innovation when the brand could definitely use some inspiration!
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Victoria’s Secret has lost a massive number of customers and a significant amount of market share over the past 10 years. As such, it needs to do something to both prevent further erosion and rebuild its customer base. The loyalty program will help with that — but only to an extent as it is more focused on existing shoppers. What’s more important is the continued evolution of the brand to be more aligned with what modern shoppers want. I guess the loyalty app may help communicate that and gather feedback, but it is very much a peripheral piece of the puzzle.
Decades of research show that a brand with more than 50 stores that launches a loyalty program should see a 5 percent to 8 percent uplift in sales so if the VS and Pink program is average, it will drive more business. However these brands have the opportunity to create much more engagement via the community feature, so I will be interested to see how that evolves. Of course the people joining this loyalty program probably already belong to 20 others, so perhaps Victoria’s Secret should consider collaborating with additional brands that are relevant to target customers.
Spot on. But a 2.5% funding rate for the customer that chooses to pay with something other than their credit card, it will not drive incremental lift.
So with the past loyalty program the brand Pink and everything else had separate loyalty programs? Even though both brands are sold in the same store and share customers? If I understand that correctly then Victoria’s Secret was in desperate need of a new loyalty program. This one is all-inclusive, which is what a loyalty program should be.
It’s surprising that Victoria’s Secret has just now created a robust loyalty program, yet better late than never. It does seem odd to separate the Pink brand from all the rest given that Pink isn’t the only “other” brand in the Victoria’s Secret portfolio. Regardless, if Victoria’s Secret truly believes in its transformation plan, a fully-functioning loyalty program has to be part of the picture.
Unifying the rewards for these two brands can drive sales and loyalty. It could certainly inspire mom and daughter shopping sprees.
As shopping gets more social, VS and Pink loyalists may turn to the online community for more reviews and feedback before they buy online.
Who knows? I don’t. It seems kind of strange that this did not happen long ago — are they really two discrete buying personas?
In another area, the move to plus size models is smart. Not many people could relate to 98-pound models, I am sure that is/was off-putting to many.
Combining the loyalty programs that are part of an organization makes perfect sense as customers expect it.
Is this the beginning of Star Alliance or One World for retail stores? Are there loyalty combinations that can support specific target groups where the stores are not competing directly? Is there a way to string alliances together to invite the target to be more loyal to a particular cadre of stores?
Victoria’s Secret will only see value if they truly leverage the insights from this new loyalty program and the customer takes notice. The impact they can make in deepening their customer relationship and how it will reflect future marketing and merchandising decisions will drive brand loyalty. The challenge will be keeping the customer interested with content and product that is always evolving. The customer needs to know VS is listening to them.
The Collective concept is smart — support lovers of both VS & Pink. The social aspect of the mobile experience is a smart move, create community and a positive brand connection. As is typical, the more valuable proposition for the member is in the credit card relationship. At 2.5% hard funding rate (spend $400, get $10 reward) it will not move the needle. The design is as basic as it gets. Discounts here and there with a pick your day component which is smart — all about customer choice. For a brand that is all about feeling good, self-image and emotional connection, love and so much more the design/strategy is lacking. Nothing special here to get excited about, no true innovation when the brand could definitely use some inspiration!