Loyalty Blogs

In 1952, Colonel Harland Sanders opened the first KFC restaurant in Utah and today they have over 25,000 KFC outlets in 147 countries and territories in the world. It is the world’s second-largest fast-food restaurant chain specializing in fried chicken. With the increasing digital orders, KFC has launched a gamification-based “Reward Arcade Program” after scrapping its Colonel Club stamp collection loyalty program to reward its customers.

But the question still relies on many customers’ minds whether the KFC Rewards Arcade program is truly effective for them. Here, we will get to know how much effective the Reward Arcade program is in bringing new customers to the board and maintaining the loyalty of existing customers.

What Is KFC Rewards Arcade Program?

KFC UK (United Kingdom) & Ireland wanted to move away from their previous program stamp collection loyalty program and focus on gamification and instant rewards that can deliver instant rewards to the customers. KFC Rewards Arcade program is creatively themed around a gaming arcade with a vibrant, fun, and colorful space to evoke a feeling of excitement among chicken lovers by using the customer point system.

The company wanted to integrate a new and improved scalable customer loyalty and rewards management software loyalty program because their previous stamp-based loyalty program was generating an unfair balance with little personal recognition of the customers. KFC wanted its customers to win instantly while reflecting KFC’s lively, colorful, and fun brand image. Thus, the Reward Arcade program can easily increase mobile engagement, and purchase frequency, and delivers more fun for modern customers to win delicious rewards while ordering in restaurants, at the drive-through, or within the app.

How Does KFC Reward Arcade Program Work?

The new loyalty reward program allows users to win a free reward by playing one of several arcade-style games offered via the KFC app. You will be able to play when you make a purchase at either a KFC store counter, kiosk, drive-through, or via the app. Just download the app free via the Apple or Google Play stores and opt-in on the app to be part of the scheme. Thus, customers can play the game to win select menu items and rewards can be claimed in-store or through a click-and-collect order.

1. To get a chance to win, you need to have the KFC app. Download the app and create an account by entering some personal information like- your name and email.

2. Customers receive an in-app invitation to play the reward game when they order over £3.00 and £7.00 if they order via KFC for home delivery. Once you complete the order, you will get an invitation to play in the app.

3. The first game, “Hammer Time” is a classic arcade-style game in which customers can choose one among three hammers and swing to win by ringing the bell at the top of the tower. As they swing the hammer, an animated 3D action plays cheering for a good result.

4. After the game ends, there are 12 menu items up for grabs as rewards including 6-piece bargain buckets, burgers, wraps, popcorn chicken, and more. These 12 menu items include the following: –

BBQ Bite

Fillet burger

Flamin’ wrap

Mighty bucket for one

Mini fillet burger

Regular fries

Regular popcorn chicken

Six-piece bargain bucket

Three-piece boneless dips meal

Two-piece original recipe meal

Two single wings

Zinger burger

5. If you win, you will need to claim your reward within 40 days. You can only redeem one at a time and there is no limit on the number of freebies you can have in your account at any one time.

6. It is spectacular and impactful in providing an opportunity for the customers to share on social media and interact with other players.

Is KFC Reward Arcade successful in Winning Customer’s Loyalty?

No doubt, the KFC Reward Arcade program is gaining popularity but somewhere customers are losing interest and are getting disappointed with the loyalty program when they do not receive a reward after completing the game. Let us see some of the points which describe that the KFC Reward Arcade loyalty program is not winning customers’ loyalty and has failed to reach the benchmarks.

1. KFC Reward Arcade Does Not Guarantee a Win

Reward Arcade programs have up to 12 selections of prizes up for grabs when you will be offered the chance to play every time you make a qualifying purchase. But unfortunately, it does NOT guarantee you win a prize each time. This means customers are not getting valuable rewards against their spending when compared with the old rewards scheme.

2. Restriction on Winning Rewards

There is a restriction on winning rewards, you will either need to spend £3 or more in-store to qualify for the game-based rewards. However, if you are ordering for delivery then you must spend £7 to qualify for rewards. You will not get any chance to play and rewards if you have purchased via a third-party app such as Uber Eats or Deliveroo.

3. No Sign-Up Rewards

The new Reward Arcade loyalty program does not value the new customers when they install the KFC app and sign up. It does not deliver any rewards and loyalty benefits to them whereas previously you could earn three stamps with the old scheme.

4. Early Expiration of Rewards

Once you have won a reward, you then have 40 days to redeem it. This will show up in your KFC app in ‘My rewards’. You can easily add the reward to the cart to redeem the rewards. However, old Colonel Club rewards had no limitation on the expiration date and customers could redeem rewards anytime.

5. Limitation on Reward Redemption

You can only redeem one reward per order at a time. But there is no limit on the number of freebies you can have in your account at any one time. However, the old Colonel Club allows members to collect stamps whenever they place an order and could easily turn rewards into free popcorn chicken or a drink.

How Can Novus Loyalty help you create a similar Loyalty program with better returns?

Novus loyalty offers scalable customer loyalty and rewards management software that can easily enhance the customer’s experience. We can easily spice up arcade-style gamification elements to improve the customer experience and remove limitations on the several types of reward redemption. KFC rewards arcade program could have gained 2X better popularity and 50% better customers frequency to use the app.

Novus loyalty helps you in developing the world of next-gen loyalty programs that can offer various gamification rewards and points for customers. Our team of loyalty expert professionals helps you in building a loyalty program for the customer point system. If you are interested in learning more about Novus loyalty programs, then book a demo or talk to our loyalty experts today!