After introducing Tims Rewards in Canada earlier this year, the popular QSR chain is bringing its customer loyalty across the border to U.S. locations. The QSR space is a hotly contested U.S. market, and Tim’s has now grown its American base to about 850 locations, primarily in Midwest and Northeast regions. This is still a relatively small number compared to heavyweights Dunkin’, McDonald’s, Starbucks, and others. But Tim Hortons still needs to be in the loyalty rewards game to compete in the QSR vertical.
As announced, Tims Rewards will be currently based on 7 visits to get a free beverage. However, consumers now look for personalization and more interactive engagement with their mobile apps. This gamifies loyalty and prompts on-the-go customers to visit more often and spend more. Tims Rewards will have to evolve into a more robust loyalty program that customizes rewards based upon a consumer’s buying habits. Tim’s states this is its plan. The sooner this happens, it will see the increased volume that optimized loyalty programs can generate.
A QSRweb article further discusses this topic which is excerpted below.
Canada’s largest QSR, Tim Hortons, has launched its Tims Rewards loyalty program in the U.S., offering a free cup of coffee, hot tea or baked goods after every seventh store visit, a news release said. The offer doesn’t, however, include free Timbits or bagels.
“Our guests deserve a rewards program as a thank you for their loyalty,” Shawn Thompson, president, Tim Hortons U.S. said in the announcement. “We’re offering both a reusable card and a digital-friendly card on the Tim Hortons app, so that it’s extremely easy for our guests to use over and over again.”
Customers can get reusable loyalty cards at any U.S. location, through a direct download to their digital wallets or by downloading the chain’s mobile app, which tracks their loyalty status and rewards. The chain plans to unveil personalized mobile offers and discounts over the coming months as well.
Overview by Raymond Pucci, Director, Merchant Services at Mercator Advisory Group
