This case is about the customer loyalty initiatives at Big Bazaar, one of the largest retail chains in

India. To maintain a loyal customer base, Big Bazaar came out with several promotional and loyalty
programs which offered special discounts and rewards to customers. The hypermarket chain offered
a host of value-added services to its customers and set a new level of standard in price, quality,
convenience, and service. The case provides an overview of the different customer loyalty initiatives
launched by Big Bazaar and their features.
It also discusses the different loyalty cards introduced by Big Bazaar in association with ICICI Bank.
The case concludes with a question on whether customer loyalty programs affect the purchase
decision of customers and the challenges that Big Bazaar has to face in maintaining and extending
customer loyalty at a time when the Indian consumer is spoilt for choices. This case is aimed at
MBA/MS level students as part of the Retail Management/ Consumer Behavior/ Brand Management
curriculum.
Issues:

The case will help the students:
Understand the importance of customer loyalty, particularly in the retail industry.
Study the different customer loyalty programs initiated by Big Bazaar.
Understand the role of co-branded credits cards in customer loyalty programs
Understand the concept of customer relationship management
Explore strategies that Big Bazaar can adopt in the future to increase customer loyalty
Introduction 1
Indian Retail Sector 2
About Big Bazaar 3
Customer Loyalty Initiatives 4
Wednesday Bazaar 5
Maha Savings Day 5
The Great Exchange Offer 6
Loyalty Card Programs 6
T24 7
Looking Ahead

"Indian consumers are quick to switch loyalty from a smaller retail outlet to bigger ones because of
price competitiveness and the wide range of products that they can choose from,"

- Harmendra P Sahni, Chief Operating Officer, Technopak Advisors Pvt Ltd. , in 2010.

"What is important in our journey is not the number of stores, but the customers' faith in us. It's the
India and the Indians, which have helped us, reach this feat in such a short time span and today our
country is creating a history in the World organized Retail."

-Rajan Malhotra, President, Strategy & Convergence, Big Bazaar, in 2008. ., in 2010
INTRODUCTION

In June 2010, Indian retail giant, Future Group, tied up with Tata Teleservices Ltd (TTSL) to start a
unique mobile service called T24 (talk 24 hours). Under the agreement, Future Group offered GSM
connections under the brand name T24 to customers visiting its retail outlets across all formats and
locations. With a tagline of 'Shop More, Talk More and Talk more Shop More', the mobile GSM
service was similar to a loyalty program, wherein a customer would get free talk time when he/she
shopped at outlets of Future Group and vice versa. For instance, if a customer spent Rs. 2,001 in Big
Bazaar, he/she would get Rs. 84 worth talk time free. Customers were also offered special deals and
promotional schemes every time they purchased the paid recharge. According to analysts, the
unique retailer-telecom partnership offered an innovative and first-of-its-kind value proposition to
customers in India.
"Shopping and talking on our mobile phones are among the two favorite activities for all of us in
India. With T24, we have been able to develop a unique customer value proposition that combines
these interests of the inspirational Indian. Customers will get shopping benefits for talking and talk-
time benefits each time they shop," said Future Group CEO Kishore Biyani (Biyani). This followed a
number of customer loyalty initiatives at Future Group's flagship hypermarket chain Big Bazaar Pvt.
Ltd. (Big Bazaar). In order to win the loyalty of its customers, Big Bazaar introduced several unique
loyalty initiatives such as discounts, special deals, loyalty cards, rewards programs, etc.
TStarted in 2001, Big Bazaar was positioned on price and value for money for the Indian customers.
With a catch line of "Is Se Sasta Aur Accha Kahin Nahin" (You can't find anything cheaper or better
anywhere else). According to Big Bazaar, it offered quality products at the lowest possible prices.
The hypermarket chain offered a host of value-added services to its customers such as special
discounts and promotional offers at regular intervals. According to experts, Big Bazaar offered
customers a new level of standard in price, quality, convenience, and service. With over 160,000
products across various categories, it catered to the needs of the entire family under one roof...

INDIAN RETAIL SECTOR

The Indian Retail Industry was divided into the organized sector and the unorganized sector. The
organized sector included licensed retailers such as hypermarkets and retail chains whereas ...
ABOUT BIG BAZAAR

Based in Mumbai, India, Big Bazaar operated as a subsidiary of Future Group. Founded in 1987,
Future Group was a leading multi-format retailer in India with operations in three sectors - Retail,
Allied Services, and Finance...
CUSTOMER LOYALTY INITIATIVES

According to industry observers, Big Bazaar's unique selling proposition was low pricing and round-
the-year discounts on products...

WEDNESDAY BAZAAR

Big Bazaar's other unique promotional scheme was the concept of Wednesday Bazaar introduced in
2006. Called the "Hafte Ka Sabse Sasta Din" (the cheapest day of the week), the offer promoted
Wednesday as the most affordable day at Big Bazaar by offering special prices on some products...

MAHA SAVINGS DAY

Starting 2006, every year, Big Bazaar celebrated Republic Day (January 26) as Maha Savings Day,
wherein the store offered merchandise to its customers across the country at throwaway prices.
Called the 'Sabse Sasta Din' (the cheapest day), Big Bazaar offered discounts...
THE GREAT EXCHANGE OFFER

In 2007, Big Bazaar launched a month-long unique exchange offer called the 'The Great Exchange
Offer', across its stores in the country. As part of the offer, customers could exchange their old junk
items...

LOYALTY CARD PROGRAMS

As part of its customer relations initiatives, in May 2002, Big Bazaar in association with ICICI Bank
Limited introduced the Big Bazaar-ICICI Bank Silver Credit Card...
T24

In June 2010, Future Group in partnership with TTSL rolled out a mobile service called T24 for its
customers. As part of the offer, customers were rewarded with free talk time for every purchase
above Rs.500 made at Future Group shopping outlets across all formats and locations...
Looking Ahead

In 2010, Big Bazaar accounted for about one third of food and grocery products sales through retail
in India. Analysts opined that Big Bazaar had succeeded largely due to its focus on consumer
behavior in India...