Hospitality bosses dismiss vouchers, despite consumer popularity

Only 16% of hospitality bosses said that vouchers are important in generating 2014 sales, and almost one in five (18%) said their business does not use voucher schemes at all.

However, 53% of consumers said vouchers are the top reason for revisiting a pub, bar, restaurant or fast food chain, according to research conducted by Peach Factory on behalf of hospitality technology provider Omnico Group.

Meanwhile, half of consumers said that if outlets used loyalty cards they would be more likely to return, while email offers (39%) and stamp card loyalty offers (27%) also proved popular.

The results are based on two surveys of more than 5,000 UK consumers and 173 business leaders, which were carried out as part of an investigation into attitudes towards customer loyalty among the UK’s hospitality businesses.

When asked which marketing activities were very important in generating sales in 2014, hospitality business leaders put vouchers at the bottom of the pile (16%), with loyalty card programmes second lowest at 36%. Tracking customer feedback (82%) and social media (77%) were cited as the most important marketing activities.

Long term loyalty​

Matthew Cox at Omnico Group said: “With so much choice available for customers in the hospitality space, it’s vital that hospitality outlets gain their customers long term loyalty.

“Whilst it’s important to invest in tracking customer feedback, food and drink outlets must encourage spending. Having an effective system in place to provide customers with personalised vouchers tailored to their needs will ensure loyalty in a crowded market and track their behaviour.”

He added: “We know from our work with the Anglia Co-Operative that personalised vouchers can have a sizeable impact on sales. After launching an e-coupons initiative, non-members - who previously would only have shopped once per week in store - spent more in stores as a direct result of receiving vouchers.”