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Gap

Gap is looking to end constant discounting and drive loyalty through new app

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By Natalie Mortimer, N/A

May 17, 2016 | 3 min read

Gap has lifted the lid on the ambition for its recently released mobile loyalty app, with the retailer hoping to eventually track the digital behaviour of its consumers and serve up relevant products in store to close the gap between abandoned clicks.

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Gap is also hoping that the app will help it move away from “heavy discounting”, which it admitted it's guilty of - at present, shoppers in the UK are on the receiving end of a multiple emails a week offering discounts of varying degrees - and instead send customers offer more relevant offers.

Named Gap+, the app, which was released last month in the UK and Ireland, delivers an individualised feed of images based on basic information inputted by the user. Shoppers using the app receive a five per cent discount on each purchase with content from bloggers and other product imagery appearing based on preferences and past purchases.

While initially Gap is using the loyalty programme to increase the pace of the business’ personalisation output, the long term play is to use what happens in the mobile app to influence behaviour in Gap’s bricks and mortar stores.

Speaking at the Decoded Fashion Summit in London today (17 May) Gap’s senior manager, Europe CRM, Andrew Ellis said that as more people use the app its capabilities will build to a point where the brand is able to move past just offering up incentives.

“The relevancy will start to show through in terms of what the customer behaviours are purchase wise, but where that can then exacerbate further is how we react in the app. Where we eventually want to take it is that every interaction within the app counts. For example, if you look at certain blogger’s style content and certain products that you click through to online but don’t buy, how can we work to serve you that product in store.”

Ellis added that another goal of the app is to learn what your incentives are to purchase.

"Chances are if that I know you are a consumer that comes in twice a year to buy jeans when the weather changes, I can probably get you to transact for a lot less than what we would [otherwise] offer," he said.

It comes as the retailer tries to make its marketing work harder. Amidst difficult trading conditions the brand has been trying to streamline costs which has seen it slash $60m from its ad spend over the last year, according to its latest trading figures.

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