Case study
Redesigning Charlotte Tilbury's Loyalty Club
A data-led loyalty redesign that reset the programme around customer needs
- Role
- Lead Product Designer
- Year
- 2022 — 2025
- Team
- Product, CRM, Data, Engineering, Marketing
- Focus
- Loyalty, Product Strategy, E-commerce
Overview
I led the customer experience strategy for Charlotte Tilbury's loyalty programme, balancing customer needs, brand differentiation and commercial impact across a three-year (on and off) programme of work.
The problem
The 2022 five-tier programme delivered £31m in incremental revenue, but customer insight revealed real friction: tiers felt unattainable, reward thresholds were too high, the experience stayed complex, and engagement concentrated almost entirely on the welcome reward. Only 23% of members redeemed a reward and 80% of those redeemed only the welcome offer — many customers didn't even realise they were members, and found better value with competitors.
The old programme
The 2022 programme ran five tiers with a Vault at the top. Spend thresholds were high, the value at each level was hard to compare, and most members never moved beyond the welcome offer.
What I did
- 01Built the evidence case for a full redesign rather than incremental fixes, using behavioural and CRM data alongside customer research.
- 02Defined a new proposition — Charlotte's Darlings Loyalty Club — blending clear, faster value with Charlotte Tilbury's artistry.
- 03Simplified five tiers into three (Bronze, Silver, Rose Gold) with money-off rewards earned every £100 spent and richer value at each level.
- 04Surfaced rewards where they convert: a Rewards Wallet inside the shopping basket rather than hidden in an account page.
- 05Added a beauty-led benefit — a Charlotte Tilbury trained artist for shade matching and routines via appointment or WhatsApp — for Silver and Rose Gold members.
- 06Validated with 16 moderated user interviews via Userlytics, testing comprehension, landing page layouts and redemption content with new and existing customers.
Listening to members
We ran quantitative surveys alongside CRM and behavioural data to understand why redemption was so low, then followed up with 16 moderated interviews via Userlytics with new and existing customers.
- Only 23% of members redeemed a reward, and 80% of those redeemed only the welcome offer.
- Members couldn't tell which tier they were in, or what they'd unlocked.
- Reward thresholds felt out of reach for the average basket.
A simpler proposition
Five tiers became three — Bronze, Silver and Rose Gold — with money-off rewards earned for every £100 spent and clearly richer value at each level. Charlotte's Darlings gave the programme a name and a personality rooted in the brand's artistry.
Rewards that make sense at a glance
Each tier's rewards were mapped end to end so members could see exactly what they'd unlocked and what redeeming coins would get them next.
Testing the journey
Wireframes for the landing page, tier comparison and redemption flow were tested before build, so we could resolve comprehension issues early rather than after launch.
The Rewards Wallet
The biggest shift was moving rewards out of the account area and into the basket. Unlocked level rewards were separated from coin-based rewards that require redemption at checkout — so value appears at the exact moment customers decide to buy.
Artistry at the heart of loyalty
Silver and Rose Gold members unlock their own Charlotte Tilbury trained artist for shade matching and routine advice, by appointment — a benefit no competitor loyalty scheme could copy.
Outcome
The redesigned programme launched in 2025 against a £145m revenue forecast. The Rewards Wallet now drives around 54% of loyalty orders, basket wallet conversion sits at 40.5%, and reward redemption lifts conversion to 47% against a 16% average.