Inside Retail. “It’s a full earn and burn proposition, giving our customers a huge amount of choice.” “Choice” emerges as the defining thread, while many loyalty programs tie customers to one option, David Jones has designed a flexible model. Members can alternate between David Jones Rewards Points and Qantas Points on every transaction, a fluidity Holloman calls “a real innovation in loyalty”. Why Qantas, why now Department stores globally are under pressure to reinvent themselves as the gravitational pull of e-commerce and speciality retailers intensifies, yet, David Jones’ alignment with Qantas is embedding the brand in the broader lifestyle ecosystem of its customers. “One of the top things that our customers asked for was a partnership and the lead partnership they asked for was Qantas,” Holloman said. “Over the past four years, we’ve been working with our customers, really listening to them, making sure we understood what they wanted out of a loyalty program.” The decision reflects a global insight that the strongest loyalty schemes are not isolated silos but platforms that intersect with travel, payments and everyday spending.  The newly launched loyalty program is central to its “Vision 2025+” transformation strategy, a $250 million program encompassing store refurbishments, e-commerce upgrades and customer experience redesign. “Vision 2025+ has been something we’ve been working on for a number of years,” Holloman said. “The importance of loyalty is really putting our customers at the heart. Once they can be rewarded every single time they shop, we also have the ability to get to know them a little bit more, so we can then start to personalise different services and messages to them.” In other words, loyalty is the new data bridge. By incentivising spend, David Jones is driving repeat visits and also unlocking insights required for the next wave of personalisation and targeted services. On 15 October, David Jones and Qantas will stage a runway show inside Hangar 96, the airline’s largest aircraft hangar, featuring the department store’s Spring/Summer ’25 collections. “This will probably be one of the biggest fashion moments Australia has ever seen,” Holloman said. “We will be continuingly rewarding our top customers, through key events and intimate events as well.” It’s a symbolic gesture that reveals where David Jones sees the future of loyalty through collective experiences that tether the customer emotionally to the brand.  Hinting at styling sessions, early access to exclusives and beauty treatments, the new program is designed to fold customers into a luxury touchpoint.  Shaping a new program The program’s hybrid nature satisfies rational needs (points, perks, rewards) while also cultivating emotional equity (choice, status, experience).  This duality matters because customer loyalty this year is as much about identity and flexibility as it is about savings. Holloman credits both international benchmarking and customer research. “We did a full market scan, both in Australia and internationally,” he said. “We made sure we layered the best into the program that launched this morning.” That includes innovations like switching earn currencies at checkout and program stacking, where customers can accumulate rewards simultaneously with brands like Country Road or Lancôme.  As customers expect to be recognised, rewarded and connected across digital and physical channels, Holloman said the retailer’s 10,000-strong customer panel, the David Jones Collective, was critical to shaping the new program. “We’re constantly listening to our customers,” he said. “We’re looking at lots of different functionality across our digital space to make sure that if customers want a product, they can access it how they want it to be delivered and how they want it to be serviced.” Amid an era where traditional department store models are being tested worldwide, this loyalty initiative reframes the retailer’s relevance. “We’re really excited today to give our customers more choice, more value, and more rewards,” Holloman said. “We really think this is going to impact millions of Australians. It’s a big deal for us, and it’s really unique in the retail space to have such a generous program.” For David Jones, it’s also a statement of intent that loyalty is not solely an accessory but the strategy.