Why choosing solidarity rewards is a winning bet for your brand?
Today's consumers expect brands to go beyond simple transactions.
They are looking for varied experiences that can be activated quickly, and that resonate with their values. Yet traditional loyalty programs often struggle to meet these expectations, generating frustration and disinterest.
A Comarch study reveals that 76% of consumers abandon a loyalty program when they find no real added value.
In this context, solidarity rewards are emerging as an innovative and engaging solution.
They not only build customer loyalty, but also strengthen the emotional relationship between the brand and its consumers by aligning their commitment to causes that matter.
By converting points into charitable donations, for example, or integrating solidarity actions into the shopping experience, brands can meet growing expectations in terms of social and environmental responsibility.
Consumption has become a militant act.
Solidarity rewards offer a unique opportunity to transform every customer interaction into a meaningful experience, while generating a significant ROI for the brand.
The relational and the emotional make their appearance in e-commerce
Today's consumers are constantly solicited, and the relational and emotional have become essential levers for building lasting loyalty.
Customers are no longer just looking for material benefits, but for experiences that go beyond simple purchases, fostering a deep and lasting bond with brands.
To meet these expectations, it's essential to integrate engaging actions into the customer journey. Your customers can, for example, earn points or rewards by sharing reviews, taking part in collaborative challenges or signing up for a loyalty program.
More playful mechanics, such as a solidarity version of the “wheel of fortune”, also help to capture customer data while offering a differentiating experience.
Usually used to offer promotions, products or free delivery, this wheel can be redesigned to align with your values: by turning the wheel, customers earn a solidarity reward such as an amount they can redistribute to an association.
These approaches transform customer interactions into engaging, emotional experiences, while strengthening their loyalty.
Various use cases make it possible to integrate your commitments at the heart of customer journeys
Solidarity rewards offer the flexibility to adapt to different marketing objectives.
Here are a few use cases, among others, to maximize both customer engagement and ROI:
Offer a gift when registering for your relationship program
Signing up for a relationship program, or loyalty program, is a key step in establishing a connection with your customers.
To motivate them, you can offer a gift donation with each new registration.
In this way, you value their commitment from the outset.
Example: A brand could advertise: "Join our loyalty program and contribute to a cause! For each registration, we'll make a donation to an association of your choice."
Offer a donation with every order
Solidarity rewards can be integrated directly into the customer journey.
An order can trigger a donation to an association, offering your customers the chance to support a cause close to their hearts.
This mechanism can be adapted according to your objectives: each purchase can generate a donation, or one can be triggered above a certain amount, encouraging your customers to reach a precise threshold while participating in a meaningful initiative.
Example: a cosmetics brand could propose: “For every order over €50, we finance the planting of 2 trees thanks to our partnership with the reforestation association Semeurs de Forêts.”
Give a personalized gift to your best customers
Customer gifts are an excellent opportunity to strengthen ties with your most loyal buyers.
By replacing classic goodies with a donation to an association, you create an emotional experience that enhances your relationship.
A personalized gift donation can include a card explaining the impact of the action: how many meals offered, square meters of forest preserved or families helped.
This transparency transforms a simple gift into a positive initiative.
Example: For the festive season, a luxury brand could offer its VIP customers a donation to fund educational projects in underprivileged communities.
To learn more about more rewards for your VIP customers we have an article for you.
Offer donations for every purchase during your highlights
CRM campaigns, such as those organized around Earth Day or Pink October, are strategic moments to integrate solidarity rewards.
Offering a donation for every purchase made during these periods maximizes the impact of your actions, while increasing customer satisfaction.
For example, a ready-to-wear retailer might propose: "For every order placed this month, we'll donate €5 to an environmental association. You can choose to support one of these projects: protecting coral reefs, supporting organic farming or raising children's ecological awareness at school."
Let your customers convert their loyalty points into donations
Loyalty points are often perceived as a standard benefit.
By allowing your customers to convert them into donations, you add a new dimension to your program.
This mechanism enhances customer commitment by actively involving them in a solidarity-based approach.
Example: the ALL - Accor Live Limitless program allows members to convert their points into donations to support local or global causes, reinforcing their attachment to the brand.
Loyoly x Dift, the perfect alliance for successful emotional loyalty
With Loyoly, enhance the value of your customers' actions (referrals, reviews, UGC), and with Dift, let them spend their loyalty points on donations to associations. This synergy offers a fluid experience where every customer interaction becomes an opportunity for engagement, while aligning your marketing strategies with strong social values.
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Loyalty programs are strategic for your brand, and we can probably help. Check out our platform!
Solidarity rewards maximize your ROI
Solidarity rewards offer measurable returns on investment and strategic benefits for your brand, including:
Reinforcing brand image
By aligning your actions with responsible commitments, you strengthen your brand image, which translates directly into a positive impact on your performance.
A strong image inspires trust, attracts new customers and builds loyalty among existing ones, while increasing the perceived value of your products.
In fact, brand values are important for 27% of French first-time buyers. What's more, for 13% of them, a misalignment of values between brand and consumer can lead to a break in loyalty. (Industry Report 2024, Loyoly)
This positioning, in addition to differentiating your brand, creates a lasting preference that encourages repurchase and stimulates spontaneous recommendations, essential levers for a measurable ROI.
Optimizing costs
The budget for a donation is entirely flexible, with micro-impacts possible from as little as 50 cents.
What's more, donations benefit from a 60% tax exemption in France, further reducing your costs.
Finally, offering donations instead of physical rewards (goodies, products) reduces logistics expenses and simplifies reward administration.
Increase sales
Mechanisms such as strategic tiers, where a donation is unlocked above a certain amount, or interactive campaigns, such as the “solidarity wheel”, boost customer engagement while stimulating online conversions.
By positioning the threshold just above your average order value, you encourage your customers to increase their orders.
Create lasting emotion and encourage re-purchase
A loyal customer thanks to positive-impact actions is more likely to remain loyal to your brand and make recurring purchases.
By regularly sharing news of the association supported and the concrete actions made possible thanks to your customer's donation, you strengthen the emotional bond while subtly and positively reminding customers of your brand.
This approach maintains customer commitment throughout the year and naturally encourages re-purchases on your site.
How to set it up?
Implementing solidarity rewards is simpler than it sounds, and can be adapted to all stages of the customer journey.
Whether it's proposing a donation at registration, integrating solidarity actions into the purchase path or transforming loyalty points into donations, these mechanisms are designed to be flexible and align with your marketing objectives.
For effective implementation, choose solutions that integrate easily with your existing tools, such as points engines or CRM platforms.
The aim is to make the experience seamless for your teams and your customers, while offering real added value.
Would you like to find out how you can easily integrate these mechanics into your strategy? Visit dift.com to find out more.
