HOW MIGHT WE IMPROVE CRM FOR THRIFTBOOKS?
Over a 10-week engagement, our four-person graduate intern team partnered with ThriftBooks, the leading DTC seller of used books, to enhance its ReadingRewards loyalty program. The program includes four tiers: Reader, Bookworm, Literati, and Literati Elite. ThriftBooks tasked us with the broad challenge of improving loyalty and CRM, and our research revealed that while the top two tiers show strong retention and generate 80% of revenue, the lower tiers face significant challenges.
Our Solution:
DUEL DESIGN + COMMS PLAN
Our research identified the primary opportunity as moving first-tier (“Reader”) members into the second tier (“Bookworm”). The analysis also revealed two major barriers to progression: low program awareness and limited satisfaction with loyalty benefits. To address these, we developed an integrated design and communications strategy centered on three key actions.
ReadingRewards Prototype.
FIRST, WE DOVE DEEPER ON THE REAL PROBLEM IS
READER → BOOKWORM IS THE LARGEST
THIS OPPORTUNITY SCALES OVER TIME
Reader-to-Bookworm Upgrade Rate
Reader-to-Bookworm Incremental Revenue Projection
A modest 3% lift (7% → 10%) unlocks $6M incremental revenue by 2027
THEN, WE DISCOVERED READERS WERE NOT PROGRESSING
Our team utilized a Consumer-Centric research approach, which focused on two key questions: What do low-tier customers want, feel, and need, and how can we meet those needs and nudge progression?
KEY CONSUMER INSIGHTS
Improved awareness and emotional engagement will unlock progression!
HOW TO DRIVE PROGRESSION
Research identified two primary drivers of the bottleneck between tiers one and two: low awareness and customer dissatisfaction. To address these challenges, our strategy recommends three actions to accelerate progression within the lower tiers: improve clarity of points and tier distinctions to raise awareness, introduce new loyalty benefits to enhance satisfaction, and refocus lifecycle communications to simultaneously strengthen both awareness and satisfaction.
ACTIONS 1&2: DESIGNING FOR LOYALTY GROWTH
USER FRICTION POINTS
*From Survey 1, Survey 2, and User Interviews
1. SEPARATE TIERS AND POINTS
User feedback revealed that many, especially those in lower tiers, were confused about the relationship between points and tiers, unclear that tier progression depended on purchase amount while points were redeemed for rewards and perks. To address this, the redesign of the ReadingRewards main page centered on four key considerations aimed at improving clarity.
1. Dividing Points and Tiers
Indicates separate functions.
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"Looking at [homepage redesign] it’s a lot more clear. I can see that the points and the reader status are separate in terms of what they get you, but buying stuff both gives you points and moves your reader status." - User Testing Interview 2
2. Unique Colors
Visual indication of separate functions.
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"I like that the colors show the different benefits. If its purple I know its immediately points and when its green I know that its tiers even if I am not looking at the home page." - User Testing Interview 8
3. Tier Info - Users can quickly see their current and future benefits.
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If [ThirftBooks] is interested in getting people to move from tier to tier, this is certainly more helpful to me because I never focused on that at all before" - User Testing Interview 4
4. Point Info - Users can quickly see their point info and set goals.
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"If you added benefits like this I would be way more likely to choose Thriftbooks than somewhere else because the books are cheaper anyway, and this makes me feel like I've been setting goals." - User Testing Interview 1
2. ADD NEW READINGREWARDS BENEFITS
Our team designed new Tier Based Benefits and Point Redemption Options to increase percieved emotional and functional value, motivating members to spend more often and progress through tiers.
TOGETHER, THE PROPOSED OPTIMIZATION AND FEATURES OF ACTIONS 1 AND 2...
ACTION 3: CREATING TIMELY MESSAGING
REDUCE PERCEIVED REPETITION WITHOUT REDUCING TOUCHPOINTS
Messaging diversity driven by customer desire for freshness and variety, replacing repetitive lists with content that changes tone & theme.
STOP REPEATING, START CURATING
Replace underperforming “NYT/New Releases” (22–36% lower conversion & revenue YoY) with personalized & themed lists (bundles, moods, age groups).
ROTATE CREATIVE ANGLES
Rotating creative angles between value, discovery, community, and progress allows us to maintain engagement touchpoints while lowering content fatigue.
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
...WITH $6M ON THE TABLE
This strategy is designed to deliver $6M in incremental revenue by outlining a clear rollout plan and defining measurable success metrics to ensure impact and accountability.
FUTURE-PROOFING CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT
Our ThriftBooks clients also asked us to evaluate the impact of Agentic Commerce (such as the recent Perplexity/PayPal integration) on DTC vendors, and to demonstrate how our loyalty initiatives compare against potential future industry disruptors.
DIVING DEEPER INTO IS HAPPENING
IS THIS A THREAT TO THRIFTBOOKS?
CAN THRIFTBOOKS FUTURE-PROOF ENGAGEMENT?
Avoid costly overhauls, instead focus on initiatives that Deliver immediate impact today (clarity, features, comms) while building readiness for tomorrow (resilience against AI disruption).
REPLICATING THE "AI EXPERIENCE" ON THRIFTBOOKS
RECOMMENDATIONS AND FOR WHATS NEXT
The future of agentic commerce is uncertain.
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We should avoid costly overhauls, instead focusing on initiatives - like these - that generate immediate impact today while building readiness for tomorrow.