Loyalty programs tend to reward customers with useful, if somewhat boring, perks. Birthday gifts, discounts and first dibs on new releases are all common benefits. But H&M is peppering in big, once-in-a-lifetime special event perks for its most loyal customers.
The latest was a surprise concert by Charli XCX of “Brat” fame held in Times Square on Monday night. The concert was a continuation of H&M’s ongoing partnership with Charli XCX after she performed for the brand’s London Fashion Week presence. It was open to the public, but loyalty members got a heads-up about the show ahead of time. Additionally, five members with plus-ones, chosen by sweepstakes, were given a full weekend getaway with hotel rooms and restaurants, paid for by H&M, plus a spot at the concert and pre- and post-show events.
According to Linda Li, head of customer activation and marketing for H&M Americas, the show is an example of a “non-transactional benefit” of a loyalty program.
“With any loyalty program, you have transactional benefits — like discounts and birthday gifts — but we wanted to lean into these non-transactional benefits that you can only get from a brand like H&M,” Li said. “It’s about taking this really unique thing — a concert in Times Square — making it available to anyone, and then layering on extra benefits for our most loyal members.”
Li said the H&M team is monitoring several metrics to gauge the success of the show, including social engagement, press attention, loyalty membership growth and sales in the New York area. The latter will be especially important as H&M preps to reopen its Times Square store on November 21, which influenced the decision to host the show in Times Square.
The show is part of H&M’s broader refocus on its loyalty program. H&M has over 200 million members globally and nearly 40 million in the U.S. In the quarter from June to August of this year, H&M’s revenue was $345.8 million, a drop from $434 million in the same period last year.
In recent months, the brand has been focused on hosting one-off events like the Charli XCX show. In October, the company hosted a full day of events at its Soho store hosted by New York influencer Amelia Gray. Similarly, in October, H&M offered floor seats to a Miami Taylor Swift show to a few loyalty members who attended its newest Miami store opening.
For this week’s activation, H&M once again enlisted Gray who curated a collection of H&M apparel tied to the Times Square show — it will go live on H&M’s online store on Thursday. Influencer collaborations and curated collections are all part of H&M’s strategy to capitalize on these big events, which Li said are planned to happen about once a quarter.
“These events need to continue on after they’ve over and not just be one drop in the ocean,” Li said. “Doing a Times Square concert with Charli XCX shouldn’t just be a one-off cool event. Our strategy is to continue the special occasion after the fact through marketing and curated collections. And we’re planning to do a lot of events along the same lines in New York, Los Angeles, Miami and other cities across the country.”
