Dive Brief:

• Gap Inc. plans on doubling down on its two-year-old Bright Rewards program, which allows shoppers to earn and spend rewards across Gap Inc. brands, the company told Retail Dive in an email. Bright now boasts more than 5 million members, a spokesperson said.

• The company began piloting the program in 2017, expanded it last year to all California stores and now offers it through more than 630 stores and online.

• Customers using Bright Rewards are more likely to shop more often, and they spend as much as 20% more than non-members, Gap Inc. head of loyalty Abinta Malik said in a company blog post.

Dive Insight:

Gap is among several retail companies that have tested and instituted new approaches to loyalty in hopes of keeping customers in the fold.

The Bright program includes an element common to many of those efforts — making rewards more meaningful to members through added flexibility. As with many of the revamps, including at Macy's, J. Crew and Nordstrom, Bright allows customers without store cards to participate.

The company is now looking at ways it can refine the program further, including introducing ways to earn beyond making purchases, Malik said. "Birthday treats, points for reviews and extended hours for loyalty events are all being considered as ways to make Bright even more rewarding."

But with change sometimes come new discoveries and unintended consequences, as Nordstrom learned last week as it unveiled early access to its famous Anniversary Sale for the members of its new, tiered Nordy Club. Canceled orders from out-of-stocks and cordoned-off areas in stores offended many customers, and some took to social media to blast their discontent.