E.l.f. Cosmetics expands loyalty program with data, gamification

Global beauty brand E.l.f. Cosmetics is overhauling its Beauty Squad mobile-focused loyalty offering to boost engagement and spending.

The digitally native retailer, which shuttered its stores in 2019 to focus on e-commerce, offers a loyalty program called Beauty Squad which utilizes a mobile app to engage consumers wherever they are and reward them accordingly. 

Beauty Squad is crucial to E.l.f. Cosmetics’ broader omnichannel strategy, as the retailer’s data shows that members of the program comprise 95% of app transactions and have a 166% higher lifetime value than non-members. 

To encourage engagement with Beauty Squad, E.l.f. Cosmetics worked with customer engagement platform Braze and Braze Alloys solutions partner Stitch to implement changes to its loyalty strategy over the last year.

Leveraging Braze technology, E.l.f. Cosmetics increased first-party data collection and expanded its communication channels beyond email, introducing additional loyalty touchpoints like push notifications. 

The company also began to incorporate loyalty milestones, such as birthdays and available rewards, into its app and website, with plans to soon include them in SMS text messaging. 

In an effort to further engage loyalty members, E.l.f. Cosmetics introduced gamification elements like badging and scavenger hunts, as well as other next-generation technology features such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR).

Results of E.l.f. Cosmetics’ enhanced loyalty efforts include a 76% year-over-year increase in average monthly loyalty engagement, 77% year-over-year average uplift in conversion rates across automated communications, and 125% year-over-year increase in monthly active app users.

Natural grocer Earth Fare adds gamification to loyalty program

In another recent example of mobile gamification in a retail loyalty program, regional natural and organic supermarket retailer Earth Fare is building on an existing partnership with Learn & Earn, a program from the Merryfield shopping app designed to reward consumers for shopping healthy brands.

Now, Earth Fare is participating in a Merryfield promotion called Micro-Moments, a blend of fast facts, pop quizzes, quick polls and videos that allow customers to earn points with each interaction. Customers participate by scanning in-aisle QR codes that prompt them to interact with Micro-Moments, educating them on what is in selected products.