Chemmart® sees instant results from launch of new rewards program

Media Release
January 2008

One of Australia’s largest pharmacy groups, Chemmart®, has seen immediate results from the recent launch of its Chemmart® Rewards customer loyalty scheme, built around the unique Graphicard™ technology from Visible Results™.

The system was only launched at the start of December but Chemmart® has already seen positive results. In the first 4 weeks of operation participating pharmacies signed up over 30,000 Chemmart® Rewards members. That compares to a total of 40,000 members that participate in the group’s previous loyalty card program, [which has been running for a number of years].

“Member pharmacies love the program and their customers are fascinated by it – especially the way they can see their rewards balance on the card. It’s really engaging consumers and they’re using it in droves,” said Scott Jones, Marketing and Communications Manager, Chemmart®.

The reward scheme was rolled out to more than 160 Chemmart® pharmacies nationwide from December 1. It allows card members to earn Chemmart® Cash on every non-prescription purchase, equal to 5 per cent of the value of the sale. The customer’s cash balance is updated in real-time on the card using the Graphicard’s unique thermal imaging technology.

Chemmart® Cash can be redeemed whenever customers make a non-prescription purchase at any participating Chemmart® store. Chemmart® suppliers can also use the cards to promote their products directly to customers, either on the face of the card or via email, direct mail or SMS. Each card is completely rewritten each time it is swiped through a special point-of-sale device at the store.

Card member benefits also include VIP nights, prize draws, instant prizes and ‘money can’t buy’ experiences. Each new member receives an instant prize and goes into the draw to win an all expenses holiday to the Daintree Eco Lodge & Spa in Queensland.

Chemmart® was seeking a loyalty card solution to help ward off the competitive threat posed by discount chains that offer lower prices but little service. By contrast, Chemmart®’s stores act as important health service providers within their local communities and therefore attract regular customers. This is an attribute the group was keen to retain as it grows by building more business with the 20 million customers its member pharmacies serve each year.

To ratify the case for the new loyalty program, a pilot was conducted by a number of experienced pharmacists across various regions who immediately confirmed an increase in their overall store average transaction value as well as customer frequency. The success of this pilot lead the Chemmart® Advisory Board to enthusiastically endorse the program for all member pharmacies.

According to Jones, pharmacists only need to see a small increase in sales for the system to start delivering results. “Our business modelling shows that member stores only need to increase sales by 2 per cent for the year and the system pays for itself,” he said.

Visible Results are the outsourced loyalty provider for Chemmart® Rewards. The company has ten years of experience designing and managing customer loyalty programs. Its unique offering combines technology, operational logistics, business intelligence and data-driven marketing services to deliver measurable results to retailers in Australia and overseas.

“Visible Results provides a more holistic solution – they offer much more than being a data house at the back end and a card at the front end,” said Jones. “Part of the reason we wanted to work with them, aside from the card being so real-time, is that they had the wider industry knowledge and connections to help with the whole rollout.”

Mark Pullen, General Manager, Visible Results Australia, added: “We are exceptionally proud to welcome Chemmart® as our latest Graphicard client. The Chemmart® team has proven to be dynamic, resourceful and professional so it is little wonder that the Chemmart® brand is achieving the strongest membership growth of any of the banner groups in the Australian pharmacy sector.”

About Chemmart®
Chemmart® began in 1996 as the retail branch of Faulding Pharmaceuticals. It has grown to become one of Australia’s largest pharmacy groups, with 200 stores nationwide. The company is now owned by Symbion Health and prides itself on providing high quality service and the right advice to Australian families. See www.chemmart.com.au.

About Visible Results
Visible Results™ is a leading developer of unique loyalty marketing programs that provide innovative relationship marketing solutions for retailers and other consumer-facing branded businesses. Visible Results’ global organisation supports a broad spectrum of clients across the specialty retail, mass merchandising and shopping centre sector in Australia, New Zealand, USA, UK, Asia and the Middle East. Visible Results are the global provider of the unique Graphicard™ solution. See www.visibleresults.com.