M.A.C’s Rewards Program, M.A.C Select, Is Now Available in Canada
Canadian M.A.C fans have a new reason to stay loyal to the Toronto-born makeup brand. As of this week, they can join its rewards program, M.A.C Select, which launched in the U.S. early this year.
M.A.C Select members at the Devoted and Obsessed tiers will be able to pre-shop the highly anticipated special collections—like M.A.C Selena, launching October 2016
Consumers can sign up online to receive benefits when shopping at select stand-alone stores, or ordering online (maccosmetics.ca) or by phone (1-800-387-6707). There are three membership tiers—Seduced, Devoted and Obsessed—with all receiving access to exclusive products and anniversary gifts.
Another perk is an expanded version of the Back to M.A.C program. Members will be able to return as many product empties as they’d like at once, which will be tracked in their account and can be redeemed toward a lipstick, lipgloss or single eyeshadow from the basic range. Non-members must still return six empties at once in exchange for a lipstick.
At the Seduced level (no purchase necessary), customers will receive one sample of their choosing with every online purchase, free standard shipping with any online order, and an anniversary gift with purchase in-store or online.
To reach the Devoted level, customers must spend $200 in one calendar year. They’ll receive two samples of their choosing with every online purchase, complimentary express shipping on online purchases of $65 or more (standard shipping is free on smaller orders), an anniversary gift, and one complimentary 30-minute makeup application per year. They’ll also be invited to pre-shop select collections—such as the eagerly anticipated M.A.C Selena collaboration, coming this fall—before they’re released online.
The highest M.A.C rewards level is Obsessed, which requires purchases totalling $650 per year. (By comparison, at Sephora, shoppers must spend $1,000 annually to reach VIB Rouge status, the top tier in the retailer’s Beauty Insider rewards program.) Beyond the Devoted perks above, Obsessed members will receive two free 60-minute makeup applications per year, and be able to pre-shop special collections before their release.
Most of the big retailers selling beauty in Canada offer some kind of consumer loyalty program (whether it’s beauty-specific or not), among them Shoppers Drug Mart/Murale’s Optimum Card, Hudson’s Bay’s HBC Rewards, Holt Renfrew’s Holt Icon Privileges and Sears Club.
Unlike M.A.C Select, most of these operate on a points-based system, with varying incentives and ways to cash in. At Sephora, for example, more VIB points mean better samples, while Shoppers Optimum points go toward free goods from the drugstore. But for devotees of M.A.C’s buzzy collections and celebrity collaborations, early access to extremely limited releases may prove priceless.
Update: M.A.C has clarified that the number of days that Select members will get to pre-shop special collections before their release will vary according to the collection.
