Beyond the transaction: How retail brands build communities that drive loyalty

At the latest Visualsoft After Hours event, hosted at Pureseoul's flagship London store, industry leaders from Visualsoft, Shopify, LoyaltyLion, Klaviyo and Pureseoul gathered to discuss a question that sits at the heart of modern retail: how do brands build loyalty beyond the transaction?

Hosted by Liam Quinn, Director of Innovation at Visualsoft, the panel brought together Adriana Colacicco, Senior Account Executive – Large Accounts at Shopify, Hannah Yaffe, Jess Green, Mid Enterprise Account Executive at Klaviyo, Principal Customer Success Manager at LoyaltyLion, and Sybil Wang, CRM & Promotions Coordinator at Pureseoul.

Setting the tone for the discussion, Quinn highlighted the shift taking place across retail: "We're talking about how retail brands win beyond the transaction, getting customers not just to buy once, but building communities and relationships that keep people coming back."

Drawing on their expertise across eCommerce, CRM, loyalty and retail operations, the panel explored how brands can create meaningful customer relationships through community, personalised experiences and connected omnichannel strategies.

Loyalty has evolved

For years, loyalty programmes followed a simple formula: customers spent money, earned points and received rewards. While those mechanics still have value, the panel agreed that they are no longer enough on their own.

As Quinn observed: "Four or five years ago, loyalty felt like installing a platform, assigning points to purchases and letting it run. That feels quite legacy now."

Hannah Yaffe, Principal Customer Success Manager at LoyaltyLion, went onto explain: "Rewards and points are now an expectation. They're no longer the differentiator."

Today's customers are looking for more meaningful interactions with brands. They want to feel recognised, valued and connected to something beyond the products they purchase.

For Pureseoul, that approach has been intentional from day one. "We didn't want Pureseoul to just be a place where customers shop. We wanted it to be somewhere customers can really explore and engage with K-Beauty," said Sybil Wang, CRM & Promotions Coordinator at Pureseoul.

That philosophy has helped Pureseoul build a loyal customer base through experiences, education and community-led initiatives that go far beyond the checkout.

Why community matters more than ever

Community was a recurring theme throughout the discussion.

Rather than focusing solely on transactions, Pureseoul has invested heavily in creating opportunities for customers to engage with both the brand and each other. Through brand activations, pop-up events, educational masterclasses and wellness-focused run clubs, the retailer has created experiences that help customers connect with the wider culture surrounding K-Beauty.

These initiatives are designed to create lasting relationships rather than short-term sales. As Wang explained: "We try to naturally integrate K-Beauty into our customers' day-to-day lives."

The panel agreed that building community at scale isn't easy, but it is becoming an increasingly important competitive advantage. While products can be copied and prices matched, genuine communities are much harder for competitors to replicate.

Technology can support these efforts through channels such as email, SMS and WhatsApp, helping brands create a sense of exclusivity and belonging. However, the strongest communities are built on authentic experiences rather than promotional messaging alone.

Physical retail is making a comeback

Although ecommerce remains central to retail growth, the discussion highlighted a growing consumer appetite for in-person experiences.

Customers increasingly expect brands to recognise them regardless of where they shop. Whether they're browsing online or visiting a store, they want a seamless experience that reflects their preferences, interests and previous interactions.

For Adriana Colacicco, Senior Account Executive at Shopify, personalisation sits at the centre of this shift. "It's all about making things personal.” She also highlighted the importance of standing out in an increasingly crowded market: "Everyone can sell a product. The real question is: how do you stay relevant?"

Pureseoul's answer has been to transform its stores into destinations for discovery. Customers can experience viral products they've seen online, receive expert guidance and participate in events that bring the brand to life in a way that ecommerce alone cannot.

One example discussed during the panel was Pureseoul's use of Korean-inspired gift-with-purchase activations. Rather than relying solely on discounts, customers receive exclusive products or experiences that make shopping feel more engaging and rewarding.

Experiences create stronger loyalty than discounts

A key takeaway from the discussion was that customer loyalty is increasingly driven by experiences rather than purely transactional rewards.

Research shared during the event highlighted growing demand for benefits such as exclusive events, VIP access and personalised experiences. According to Yaffe: "The brands that win are creating emotional experiences that make customers want to come back."

Whether that's early access to new product launches, educational events, priority customer service or exclusive rewards, these experiences help customers feel part of something bigger than a traditional loyalty programme.

While discounts remain an effective tool for driving short-term sales, they're rarely enough to create long-term customer advocacy. Experiences, on the other hand, build emotional connections that strengthen customer lifetime value.

The challenge of delivering personalisation

When the conversation turned to customer experience, one challenge emerged above all others: fragmented data.

Many retailers continue to operate with disconnected ecommerce, CRM, loyalty and retail systems, making it difficult to deliver truly personalised experiences.

As Colacicco put it: "The biggest challenge retailers face is fragmentation, fragmentation, fragmentation." Without a connected view of the customer, even well-intentioned personalisation can fall short.

Jess Green, Mid Enterprise Account Executive at Klaviyo, explained that effective personalisation is about more than simply tailoring a message. "Personalisation isn't just about the message. It's about getting the moment right."

She highlighted a common example: a customer purchases a product in-store but receives an abandoned basket email a few hours later. While the content may appear personalised, the timing shows that the retailer doesn't fully understand the customer's journey. "If you've got the right message but the wrong timing, you've missed the opportunity."

The panel agreed that retailers need connected systems and unified customer data to deliver the seamless omnichannel experiences that modern consumers expect.

Balancing AI with human connection

Artificial intelligence is reshaping retail, but the panel's perspective was refreshingly balanced.

While AI offers significant opportunities for analysing customer behaviour, improving segmentation and automating routine tasks, there was broad agreement that brands must be careful not to lose the human element.

Yaffe highlighted findings showing that many consumers still want direct, authentic communication from brands. "Consumers still want to hear directly from founders. They still want that human connection."

For Pureseoul, maintaining that connection is particularly important. In a category like beauty, customer needs and preferences can change over time, making genuine conversations and expert guidance incredibly valuable.

Wang warned against relying too heavily on automation: "Sometimes over-automation removes the human element that customers value."

The consensus was that AI should be used to enhance customer experiences, not replace them. Brands can use technology to uncover insights, identify opportunities and improve efficiency, while still ensuring that community-building, storytelling and customer relationships remain authentic and human-led.

Looking beyond the transaction

The strongest message from the evening was that loyalty can no longer be treated as a standalone programme or a series of rewards.

Today's most successful brands are building ecosystems around their customers through community, education, experiences and personalised engagement.

From Pureseoul's community-first approach to discussions around connected data and omnichannel experiences, the panel highlighted a common theme: loyalty is earned through relationships, not transactions.

As retailers continue to navigate an increasingly competitive landscape, the brands that thrive will be those that create genuine value beyond the point of purchase.

Because in today's market, customers aren't simply buying products, they're buying into experiences, communities and brands they feel connected to.

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