"Before we had the scheme all we had in the way of information was very aggregate top line information. We really didn't have any data on customers at all except for top line stuff. Now we know exactly who our customers are."

Industry quote; extract from this report

With over 45 million loyalty cards actively used in the UK on a monthly basis, how relevant are such programmes in managing customer relationships? Although relationship marketing is being taken up by those leading the way in database targeting, many are run as profit generators with relationship marketing merely an added benefit as opposed to a basis for operation. Are reciprocal customer schemes the way forward? While few offer points to customers, some are used as direct mail vehicles for customer communications with retailers seeking to broaden the range of redemption options available to scheme participants.

· 75% of UK adults have at least one retail loyalty card, but do customers prefer lower prices to points or incentives?

· How relevant are proactively managed storecard programmes in relationship marketing?

· Not all schemes make use of the information available to them which implies that there is a vast scope for future marketing activity.

Is one to one marketing actually achievable? With new schemes soon to be launched by major names such as the Body Shop, Customer Loyalty in Retailing assesses whether retailers are effectively using the information they have gathered. Most retailers will have formed a view as to whether such schemes have any relevance to their own relationships with customers, and some continue to ignore these marketing options in favour of investments elsewhere. This report highlights trade attitudes towards database analysis and analyses existing schemes from the major players, as well as determining what will set the agenda for the future.