Examining the effectiveness of activation techniques on consumer behavior in temporary loyalty programs

The use of temporary loyalty programs has become increasingly common in recent years. However, much like permanent programs, temporary programs also deal with limited or declining consumer saving behavior throughout the program. Considering the limited time span and small window of opportunity during which consumers can act, it is crucial to determine how to maintain program salience and increase customer engagement in the temporary program. This dissertation aims to provide new insights on how this can be done, by looking into several activation techniques commonly used in such programs. The first essay studies the impact of mobile push messaging and determines heterogeneous treatment effects thereof. In addition, it investigates how saving dynamics and message timing influence the effectiveness of push messaging. The second essay focuses on the impact of in-store execution quality, and to what extent deviations from planned support plans are common, and how they influence sales. The third essay looks at the differences in effectiveness of different message types, and determines how they vary for different consumer types and outcome variables.