Foot Locker’s Revamped Loyalty Program Targets Sneakerheads and Deal Finders Alike

Foot Locker has rolled out a refreshed loyalty program as the company looks to grow annual sales to more than $9.5 billion by 2028.

The reinvigorated FLX Rewards program, which launches across the U.S. on Tuesday, allows members to accrue points towards future purchases and provides access to exclusive products, free returns and upgraded birthday gifts. The program featured three tiers of membership levels to engage with a wider swath of consumers outside of the traditional sneakerhead lane.

As such, Foot Locker is targeting 50 percent loyalty penetration by 2026 with a long-term goal of 70 percent.

“The program will continue to engage that core sneakerhead consumer with the benefits of product access and these once-in-a-lifetime sneaker experiences,” Foot Locker’s chief customer officer Kim Waldmann told FN in an interview. “But then [it will also] broaden the appeal to our other target consumer groups such as the fashion-forward expressionists, the active athlete, even the deal finder.”

The rollout comes as several other shoe brands and retailers put more effort into loyalty programs. Under Armour recently launched its UA Rewards program, which surpassed 1 million members in its first few months. And Kith made waves at the start of 2024 when it launched Kith Loyalty, a new program that rewards loyal consumers with early access to exclusive products, events and more via the Kith App.

For Foot Locker, the broader launch of FLX Rewards follows a successful 2023 test run in Canada, which translated into larger basket transactions, more frequent shoppers, higher engagement, increased sign-ups and more first-time customer engagement.

The new program carries over some benefits from the prior program, such as free shipping, but adds new components. For example, top tier members of the program might have the chance to win a trip to All Star Weekend or a new sneaker closet. But less frequent shoppers will still be able to score deals on shoes.

“The insight was that while we were [previously] engaging a core set of sneaker maven consumers who like getting launch product and using the benefits of the program to get access to heat, we had an opportunity to democratize the program,” Waldmann said.

According to Waldmann, Foot Locker is working directly with its biggest brands to bring unique and exclusive product for members.

Foot Locker’s North Star

The loyalty program revamp is one pillar of the retailer’s overarching Lace-Up plan, revealed in March 2023. In addition to maximizing its loyalty program, the strategic plan hinges on Foot Locker diversifying its brand portfolio, relaunching the Foot Locker brand with new store formats focused on an off-mall presence and investing in technology to enhance the customer journey.

In Q4, Foot Locker pushed back its timeline for the Lace-Up plan results by two years, from 2026 to 2028, after it exited 2023 at a weaker point than expected. But in its most recent quarter, Foot Locker said it was beginning to progress on its goals. Executives touted the chain’s newly launched “store of the future” retail concept that launched in April and will serve as a blueprint for future store renovations and expansions. And in Q1, the retailer said it continued to diversify its brand mix outside of Nike.

In the coming months, Foot Locker said it will launch a new mobile app to work in tandem with the relaunched loyalty program. The new app, which will be integrated with the loyalty program, will feature a “Heat Monitor” that tracks hype around new launches. It will also have improved search capabilities.

“All of these things come together in terms of how we’re evolving the customer experience, starting with deep customer insights,” Waldmann said. “So we have ‘store of the future’ first, then our loyalty program then our mobile app. And it really is all about how we are transforming how we engage with sneaker sneaker-loving consumers in an omnichannel way.”