Shopping mall company Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust is the latest to adopt a mobile rewards program via the Spring platform, which allows shoppers to earn points from all retailers within the organization’s malls.

The Cherry Hill Mall in New Jersey will be the first to launch the loyalty programs in which users leverage their mobile devices to monitor rewards while shopping on the go. The mobile app will target users with contextual offers in real time, based on the transactional data derived from purchases.

“While the platform leverages transaction data to understand consumer shopping behavior, mobile is the channel that allows us to reach shoppers in real-time to present targeted content and incentives,” said Jason Pope, senior director of digital marketing at Spring. “Spring unlocks value for malls by delivering value to consumers and retailers.

“Malls have two billion consumer visits per year and hundreds of billions of dollars in retail sales, but the activity has always been anonymous and disconnected. It is a huge amount of value waiting to be unlocked.”

Personalization purchases
PREIT will be securing a wide range of reoccurring customers, who are likely to return frequently to earn points, choosing its locations over those that do not offer a multi-retailer loyalty program. The Spring program will roll out to the rest of PREIT’s locations by the end of 2017, and will launch in 12 more locations within 2016.

Through the mobile app, users can monitor their rewards, and receive offers based on how much they have purchased within the mall. The offers also help bring greater attention to retailers of which users may not be aware.

The loyalty program can significantly increase sales within the mall locations by providing members with incentives to buy products. Retailers can also gain significant insight in how to approach the customer and what offerings they should provide through Spring’s insights.

Mobile rewards programs
Simon Property Group and Starwood Retail Partners were also among the latest malls to join mobile loyalty program Spring, enabling users to receive cash back from shopping at multiple retailers and stepping up competition with American Express’ Plenti (see more).

As mobile rewards programs continue become more prevalent, Rita’s Italian Ice rolled out an enhanced app that leverages beacon technology, social network sharing and rewards customized to users’ preferences, showcasing how food and beverage marketers must evolve their mobile offerings to keep loyalty at the forefront (see more).

“Spring creates a digital connection with consumers, the ability to track transactions in real time and allows retailers to extend their storefronts to a mobile device,” Mr. Pope said. “We plan to roll out the program to approximately 12 more PREIT malls in 2016 and then the remainder of properties in 2017.”