Evolving the FARFETCH Loyalty Programme

Background & Objectives

FARFETCH’s Access programme is a spend-based loyalty scheme with five tiers, culminating in Private Client (PC) for customers spending ≥ $12 K/yr, offering bespoke services (personal stylist, fashion concierge), elevated benefits (exclusive content, gifting) and premium support Private Client. In 2022–23, the goals were to:

Rebrand Private Client to amplify its luxury positioning and emotional appeal.
Enhance rewards and optimise benefits—making them more customer-centric and data-driven.
Strengthen loyalty at the highest levels by evolving the VIP tier, monitoring its health, and launching new retention levers such as Credit Cash Back.

1. Rebrand Project

To reinforce FARFETCH’s luxury ethos and differentiate PC from lower tiers, a full visual and verbal rebrand was executed:

Brand identity refresh across all touchpoints (app splash, email templates, in-app modules), introducing a darker, more sophisticated palette and bespoke typography to signal “entry into a special world of Private Clients” PC Marketing & Sales Li….
Stylist communications overhaul: Automated “Welcome” and “Reassignment” emails now carry the new PC visual language, enabling stylists to engage clients immediately upon tier upgrade PC Marketing & Sales Li….
Marketing collateral update: All PC-specific CRM and in-app modules (e.g. “My Rewards” progress bars) were redesigned to reflect the elevated status, driving a stronger emotional connection Retention - 2023 Privat….

Outcome: Early feedback showed a 15 % lift in app engagement among new PCs, and stylist-reported satisfaction with the clearer, more premium toolkit for client outreach.

2. Rewards Enhancements & Optimisations

2.1 Credit Programme Evolution

Credit back introduced to replace a flat price benefit, with several A/B tests on audience, generosity and duration. In 2022, nine credit campaigns generated $17.8 M incremental GTV at an 18.5 % cost of sales, with 65 % of earned credit spent and improved retention for engaged clients Luxury Experience - Loy….
Menu of credit options rolled out for 2023, balancing budget ($5 M shared with Access) across:
1. Three 7 % earn campaigns (+$13.7 M GTV forecast)
2. High-value 20 % top-tier boosts
3. Targeted high-value audiences (> $10 K spend)
Optimisation levers: Dynamic thresholds to drive AOV, longer earning/spending windows to maximise incremental GTV, and tighter exclusion rules to improve OC positivity during returns.

2.2 Gifting & Exclusives

Global gifting programme: Transitioned from ad-hoc gifts to a calendar of “Global Gifting Moments” (e.g. Lunar New Year, Holiday) and “Stylist Gifting” for personal milestones. Automation pilots in Q3 2023 aim to deliver timely, partner-collaborative gifts (e.g. bespoke blankets, fine-jewelry bracelets) tailored to PC profiles Luxury Experience - Loy….
Exclusives & Early Access: A curated pipeline of brand partnerships (e.g. art-fashion collabs, NFT drops) and dedicated “PC Early Access” streams in email and app. Early tests showed a 41 % higher ASP among PCs interacting with exclusives vs. lapsed counterparts, and strong GTV share driven by Brunello Cucinelli and Balmain .

2.3 Lifecycle & Data-Driven Optimisations

Lifecycle missions refined across Onboarding, Repeat & Inner-Tier Migration, Lapse Prevention and Win-Back. Stylists receive Salesforce triggers (e.g. “Close to Downgrade”) and automated Marketing Cloud emails to intervene at key moments PC Marketing & Sales Li….
Inner-tier differentiation: Launched mini-milestones (“Loyalty 2.0”) so PCs see progress within the tier, driving 22 % inner-tier migration (up 6 pp vs. 2021) Luxury Experience - Loy….
Segmented PC model: Leveraged predictive LTV scores to identify “at-risk” PCs 90 days from downgrade; test & learn initiatives (CRM vs. stylist 1:1) yielded an 8 % GTV lift in test audiences PC Marketing & Sales Li….

Key Takeaways

Brand elevation via rebrand deepened the emotional connection, boosting early engagement metrics.
Reward modernisation (credit, gifting, exclusives) delivered significant incremental GTV while improving retention among engaged clients.
Data-driven lifecycle interventions empowered stylists and CRM to proactively retain PCs and drive migration.
VIP tier innovation with Credit Cash Back solidifies FARFETCH’s position at the pinnacle of luxury loyalty, marrying high-touch service with digital precision.

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