Canadian beauty mavens rejoice! MAC Cosmetics has officially launched in Canada, bringing a much-needed boost of excitement to a brand that has its roots in the land of maple leaves, moose, and unbearably cold winters!
Unlike Sephora and Shoppers Drug Mart loyalty programs which have been some of the most instantly recognized and “always there”, MAC Cosmetics took its sweet time bringing the program to Canada. I suppose they were working hard to put together what could differentiate them from other loyalty programs. Regardless of delays and “what took them so long” mindset, I’m glad that they’re now here!
What is “MAC Select”?
MAC Cosmetics’ very own loyalty program. You can sign up online, in-store or over the phone.
Sounds cool! Do you get a loyalty card like at Sephora? Or Shoppers Drug Mart?
Unfortunately, I don’t think so! Based on their FAQ section and press release, you identify yourself to the sales associates by providing them your email address.
What does the program look like?
There are three tiers (similar to Sephora), called: Seduced ($0), Devoted ($200+), Obsessed ($650). Each requires a minimum spend but they are lower than Sephora’s required minimum which is kind of nice.
All members (irrespective of the tiers), automatically receive the following benefits:
EXCLUSIVE M·A·C SELECT PRODUCTS:
Products will be shown on displayers in-store that are exclusive to M·A·C Select members to purchase. These products are exclusive to members. The exclusive M·A·C Select products to are not available to non M·A·C Select customers.
BACK TO M·A·C EXPANDED & TRACKER:
M·A·C Select Customers will now be able to return as many empties as they want at any time. Each empty item return will be recorded by scanning the Back to M·A·C item barcode in the transaction. The Expanded program includes lipstick, lipgloss, or single eye shadow in the basic range (excluding Viva Glam and Special Deco) only for M·A·C Select members. Non M·A·C Select members can participate in the Back To M·A·C program by returning all 6 empty primary packages at the one time and are able to choose a lipstick from the basic range.
ANNIVERSARY GIFT WITH PURCHASE:
M·A·C New members who join in 2016 will be eligible for their anniversary gift in 2017, in the anniversary month of when they joined M·A·C Select. Customers will be notified via email or direct mail.
I wasn’t aware that you could only B2M for one free product at a time, or that it was only limited to lipsticks. That wasn’t my experience in the past, although to be fair, I haven’t B2M-ed in almost a year. I guess they put in those requirements to make their loyalty program more “exclusive”. You can easily bypass this by signing up and becoming a “Seduced” member without really having to spend too much.
What do the Tier Specific Benefits Look Like?
You can check out the specific benefits on their sign up page or go through the chart below!
It’s not clear to me if purchases made throughout 2016 before the program launched would be honoured or not. I really hope so – I’ll keep you posted when I find out!
So what are you waiting for? Go sign up for the MAC Select Program!
Over to you! Will you be joining the MAC Select program?