Barcelona's shops and markets create a consolidated customer loyalty card

Shops associated with Barcelona's various shopping hubs and markets will have a consolidated customer loyalty card for the first time in the city. The initiative, known as “Viba.Barcelona”, will be taking its first steps this autumn in Eixample during the first stage of its implementation, with the aim of rolling it out to all the establishments associated with these hubs and markets in Barcelona.

“Viba.Barcelona” is the brainchild of “Viu a Barcelona, viu al barri” and is the result of an agreement between the Barcelona Comerç Foundation, Barcelona Oberta, the Catalan Federation of Retailer Food-Product Guilds and Market Licence Holder Associations (FEGRAM), the Catalan Markets Association (AMC), PIMEC Comerç and the Councillor's Office for Tourism, Commerce and Markets at Barcelona City Council.

The first stage will be carried out in Eixample thanks to a collaboration between Sant Antoni Comerç, Cor Eixample, Eix Sagrada Família, Encants Nous Eix Comercial and Eix Fort Pienc (which make up the Compra Eixample Association, with 850 members), together with the Mercat de Sant Antoni and Mercat del Ninot, which make up the Fidelitza Barcelona association.  

Offers from shops and the City Council

By using this card, customers will be given an initial reward for the purchases they have made at the associated establishments. They will receive other advantages later on, such as offers, draws and promotions, to name but a few of the benefits. The shops taking part will be offering customers a reward of at least 1% of their purchases. And, in addition to this minimum reward, each retailers' association will also be able to plan other offers and higher rewards. Card users will only be able use their accumulated points and discounts on their next purchase at the same establishment initially.

Barcelona City Council, for its part, will also be providing users with special offers from the Institute of Culture, the Barcelona Institute of Sports and the Barcelona de Serveis Municipals (B:SM), including discounts for Barcelona Zoo and promotions from the city's museums. Specific offers will be announced this coming September.

New promotion channel

The Fidelitza Barcelona Association will be creating a centralised Viba.Barcelona communication, marketing and promotion service so that users can receive offers from retailers, depending on their interests. This is about opening up a new promotion channel for local shops and markets so they can send their offers and messages to the largest number of potential customers.

The Viba.Barcelona loyalty scheme will be accessible through a website and an app. Shops, on the one hand, will have access to it in order to apply the corresponding offers. Users, on the other hand, will be able to check how many points they have accumulated and the offers made available to them there. Users will be able to register to join the scheme via the website, where they will be allocated a virtual card and associated code, or at the actual shops or market stalls, where they make their purchases, where they will be given a physical loyalty card and associated code.

The City Council will be the titleholder of the global Viba brand, as well as the Viba.Barcelona domain, which is registered with and has been assigned to the Fidelitza Barcelona association.

Commerce digitalisation

The local commerce customer loyalty scheme is part of the Strategic Government Measure for Boosting and Raising the Profile of Barcelona Commerce for 2017-2019 and the Strategic Market Plan for 2015-2025. The measure's strategic lines include preserving and strengthening Barcelona's local commerce model and improving its competitiveness, innovation and digital transformation. These strategic lines have resulted in the new Government Measure for the Digital Transformation of Barcelona’s Commerce, Markets and Services, which was presented in March 2018.

This government measure provides for various initiatives for establishments to steadily incorporate digital promotion tools, such as increasing their online presence, setting up websites and enabling online sales. Barcelona Activa's Business Help and Information Office, acting for the Department of Commerce, has put a tool at the disposal of retailers and organisations so that they can carry out a preliminary diagnosis of their digital maturity and provide personalised advice on the direction that each establishment will have to follow to make progress. From there, each case will then be studied and each establishment will be given a phased training, technical support and financial guideline model to accompany them.  (See further information on Department of Commerce's support measures)

Barcelona's local commerce customer loyalty scheme is taking shape under this work strategy in order to address one of the commercial sector's long-standing demands. But now, this initiative is much more than a formula for achieving customer loyalty; it aims to improve the digitalisation of commercial establishments and to make the best use of the advantages that this transformation brings to their businesses and their relationships with current and potential customers.

Viba.Barcelona is a unique model, combining a vision for the city and the identifying features of its districts. The scheme is open to everyone, and the aim is for the city's various shopping districts to be included gradually. It is the result of a collaboration between commercial organisations and the administration, and is one of the key actions in developing the city's Digitalisation Strategy.