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Retail CRM · Loyalty Program · AI Personalisation

LoyaltyHub — Retail CRM & Loyalty Platform for Meridian Retail Co.

Loyalty and CRM platform with tier-based rewards, AI-driven personalised offers, SMS/push campaigns, and purchase behaviour analytics — enrolling 2.8M members and increasing repeat purchase rate by 40%, generating £4.5M incremental revenue.

ReactPython MLNode.jsPostgreSQLAWSTwilio SMSFirebase PushSegmentAmplitude
40%
Repeat Purchase Rate Increase
2.8M
Loyalty Members
£4.5M
Incremental Revenue
16 Wks
MVP Delivered
Delivered
Retail CRM
40%
Repeat Purchase Rate Increase
2.8M
Loyalty Members
Client
Meridian Retail Co.
Industry
Retail CRM & Customer Loyalty
Location
Birmingham, UK
Duration
16 Weeks MVP · 2024
Project Overview

About This Project

Meridian Retail's loyalty programme was a physical punch card distributed at checkout — 10 purchases gets you a free item. They had no data on customer behaviour, no digital member records, no ability to run targeted campaigns, and no way to measure loyalty programme ROI. Their marketing team sent the same promotional email to their entire mailing list and averaged a 1.2% open rate.

We built LoyaltyHub in 16 weeks for MVP: a full digital loyalty platform with tier-based rewards, QR code and card-fallback enrolment, AI personalised offer engine, multichannel campaign tools (email/SMS/push), and a CDP unifying online and in-store purchase behaviour. 2.8M members and £4.5M incremental revenue within 12 months.

React
Python ML
Node.js
PostgreSQL
AWS
Twilio SMS
Firebase Push
Amplitude
2.8M
Loyalty members enrolled within 12 months through digital QR and card enrolment at checkout
40%
Increase in repeat purchase rate — from 22% to 31% of customers returning within 90 days
18.4%
Email campaign open rate with AI personalisation — vs 1.2% baseline on generic blasts
£4.5M
Incremental revenue attributed to loyalty platform campaigns and personalised offers
The Problem

Challenges We Solved

Punch Card with Zero Data

The paper punch card generated no data whatsoever. Meridian had no idea how many customers participated, what products drove loyalty, or what a loyal customer was worth vs a one-time buyer. Every marketing decision was made without evidence.

72-Hour Points Redemption

When Meridian piloted a digital loyalty tool briefly in 2022, points redemption required manual back-office processing taking 72 hours. The customer experience was poor enough that they reverted to punch cards.

One-Size Marketing with 1.2% Open Rate

Without customer data, every promotional campaign was sent to the entire mailing list. The 1.2% open rate meant 98.8% of recipients found the communication irrelevant enough to ignore.

No Unified Customer View Across Channels

Online purchases (Shopify) and in-store POS purchases were in completely separate systems. A loyal in-store customer was invisible to the digital team, and vice versa. No one knew a customer's total spend across channels.

No Checkout Loyalty Visibility

Checkout staff couldn't see a customer's loyalty status, points balance, or available offers during a transaction. Loyalty was invisible at the most important customer touchpoint.

GDPR Consent for 2.8M Marketing Preferences

UK GDPR requires explicit per-channel marketing consent. A loyalty platform with 2.8M members needs a robust consent management system handling opt-ins, opt-outs, and preference centres per channel — with auditable consent records for regulatory compliance.

Our Approach

How We Solved It

Digital Loyalty with QR & Card Fallback

QR code-based loyalty enrolment and check-in at point of sale — scan the app QR or tap the physical card as fallback. Points accrue instantly on every transaction, with balance displayed on the customer receipt and in the app in real time.

Collaborative Filtering Personalisation Engine

A collaborative filtering model trained on purchase history recommends personalised offers per member — products they're likely to buy next, promotions on frequently-purchased categories, and reactivation offers for lapsing members. Delivered via email, SMS, and push.

Customer Data Platform Unifying All Channels

A CDP ingesting Shopify eComm events, POS transaction events, and app behaviour via Segment. Every customer action across every channel resolves to a single profile — first-party data owned by Meridian, not a third-party platform.

POS Integration with Checkout Loyalty Display

LoyaltyHub integration with the POS system surfaces tier status, points balance, and personalised offer at checkout. Checkout staff see the customer's loyalty information and can apply offers in one click — increasing redemption rate from 8% to 67%.

Tier-Based Rewards with Automated Upgrade Logic

3-tier programme (Silver/Gold/Platinum) with automated tier upgrade and downgrade based on rolling 12-month spend. Tier benefits include multiplier points, early access to sales, and exclusive products. Tier upgrade triggers a personalised congratulations campaign.

GDPR Consent Management with Per-Channel Opt-In

Consent management module with explicit per-channel opt-in (email, SMS, push) collected at enrolment and manageable via self-service preference centre. Consent records are immutable and auditable. Marketing campaigns only fire to members with valid consent for each channel.

Results

The Outcomes

Month 4 — First Campaigns
18.4% Open Rate vs 1.2% Baseline

500K members migrated from punch card. First personalised campaign sent — 18.4% open rate vs 1.2% historical baseline. First AI-driven reactivation campaign returned 12% of lapsed customers for a purchase within 30 days.

Month 8 — Scale
2.8M Members · 40% Repeat Purchase Rate

2.8M total members active. Repeat purchase rate up 40% (22% → 31% within 90 days). Redemption rate 67% vs 8% on the old punch card system. CDP now holds 3+ years of unified customer behaviour data across online and offline channels.

Month 12 — Platform Mature
£4.5M Incremental Revenue · NPS +22

£4.5M incremental revenue attributed to loyalty platform. Net Promoter Score up 22 points. Meridian expanded LoyaltyHub to 3 additional retail brands in the group. Platform shortlisted for the UK Retail Technology Innovation Award.

2.8M Members. 40% More Repeat Purchases. £4.5M Revenue.
LoyaltyHub transformed a punch card into Meridian's most powerful revenue and retention tool.
★★★★★
"LoyaltyHub transformed our loyalty programme from a punch card into a genuine competitive advantage. The AI personalisation gets our open rates to 18%+ and our repeat purchase rate is up 40%. Most importantly, we now know our customers — and they know we know them. The CDP alone has transformed our entire marketing strategy."
CB
Claire Bennett
CMO, Meridian Retail Co.

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