Standard Bank’s UCount Rewards has expanded its loyalty offering with the launch of a new Health & Beauty category, bringing Clicks on board as a retail partner as consumers increasingly prioritise health, wellness and self-care amid rising household costs.
Seen Here: Fayelizabeth Foster, Head of Loyalty and Rewards at Standard Bank, says the launch of UCount Rewards’ new Health & Beauty category, with Clicks as a retail partner, is designed to help consumers unlock greater value from everyday health, beauty and wellness spending as household budgets remain under pressure. Photo Credit: Supplied
The move is aimed at helping UCount members extract greater value from spending on products and services that have become an increasingly significant part of everyday household budgets.
Transactional data from UCount Rewards members shows that health and beauty purchases account for approximately 5% of members’ total monthly spending, highlighting the growing importance of the category within consumer budgets.
Fayelizabeth Foster, Head of Loyalty and Rewards at Standard Bank, says changing consumer priorities have made health, beauty and wellness an increasingly important area of household spending.
“Health, beauty and wellness have become an increasingly important part of consumers’ budgets as people place greater emphasis on preventative health, healthy ageing and self-care,” Foster says.
She says UCount analysed members’ spending patterns to better understand how consumers are allocating their money and where the rewards programme could deliver greater value.
The introduction of Clicks as a partner in the new Health & Beauty category is intended to give members more opportunities to earn and redeem Rewards Points on purchases they are already making.
UCount members can earn up to 30% back in Rewards Points when shopping through the new offering, while points can also be redeemed towards everyday health, beauty and wellness purchases.
The expansion comes as the broader health and wellness market continues to reflect changing consumer behaviour. Spending in the category increasingly extends beyond traditional beauty products to include preventative healthcare, personal wellbeing, healthy ageing and self-care.
For retailers and loyalty programmes, the shift presents both an opportunity and a challenge: consumers are looking for greater value while continuing to prioritise products they consider essential to their wellbeing.
The addition of Clicks therefore places UCount closer to an area of household spending where frequency of purchase and everyday relevance can influence how consumers engage with loyalty programmes.
For Standard Bank, the strategy is ultimately about aligning rewards with actual consumer behaviour rather than treating loyalty as a standalone benefit.
As household budgets remain under pressure, programmes that can return value on routine spending are increasingly positioned as a way for consumers to make their existing rands work harder.
The Health & Beauty category represents UCount’s response to that changing spending landscape, combining consumer demand for health and wellness products with a loyalty proposition designed to reward members for spending they are already undertaking.
