MacDonald’s is testing an online loyalty program that allows customers to earn points that can be redeemed online for reward coupons. The coupons can then be used at participating stores for items such as CDs. McDonald’s hopes the program will keep it ahead of the curve as consumers turn increasingly to the Internet.
The program, called Road2Rewards, is aimed at consumers in their teens and twenties. It is being evaluated by Loyalty Rules Inc. at 15 stores in the company’s home town of Asheville, North Carolina.
McDonald’s says its program differs from others in several key ways. Similar schemes normally require customers to register online before they can start to get rewards, but the McDonald’s program employs coupons that customers receive when they make a purchase. When customers register the coupon’s 15 digit number at a special MacDonald’s website they receive points, and when they accrue enough points they can receive rewards.
Purchases of different values earn different points on a simple sliding scale. The more points a customer accrues, the better the reward available. 250 points secures an extra value meal, 500 points gets a free movie ticket, and 750 is enough for a free CD.
