Frequent Buyer FAQs | Astro Retailers

Frequent Buyer FAQs | Astro Retailers

How do I enroll in Frequent Buyer Programs?

In order to start ringing up your customer's purchases in Astro, you'll need to enroll in the Frequent Buyer programs.
As an Admin user, at the top of your account is a Frequent Buyer button.
Select Available Astro Frequent Buyer from the drop down menu.
Select the program(s) you wish to participate in and select the Enroll button.


What Should I Do If A Program Isn't Listed?

It is possible that your store has already enrolled in the frequent buyer program, therefore no longer listed on your Available Frequent Buyer list. Be sure to check your Frequent Buyer > Enrolled list, if you do not see the program you are looking for. 
If you still do not see the program you are looking for or if that manufacturer is not on Astro,  please contact support@astroloyalty.com.

How to add Missing or New Items (UPCs):

The Manufacturers provide Astro with items approved for their Official programs. However, if you feel like an item should be included in the Frequent Buyer program, you can submit a request through your Astro account. 

Items Not Scanning in Astro:

It is possible that the item you are trying to scan is not in Astro yet. If so, you will see an Item Not Found error message in Astro. If you experience this error, please see above to request an item to be added to a Frequent Buyer program.  It could be an item that is not approved for the Frequent Buyer program. If there are specific restrictions, it will be mentioned in the Frequent Buyer program's description. 

Why does my Scanner not work with Astro?

Most USB or Bluetooth scanners should work with Astro, but Astro is just a web page, so the scanner must work in Human Interface Device (HID mode) which sends the scan as keystrokes to the browser. However, some POS software written for iPads uses scanners in iOS mode. It does not send scans as keystrokes to the browser. Scanners in iOS mode do not work with Astro, but only because they do not work with the Safari browser. You may need to reference your scanners manual to see what mode options you have and what it might be currently set to. If your scanner has to be in iOS mode, it may possible to pair two blue tooth scanners, so you could purchase a cheap blue tooth scanner and use it exclusively for Astro. Otherwise, you can also type in the barcode (usually you only need to type in the last 4-5 digits to find the product) or you can use the drop downs to locate the product on Astro. 

How to Undo a Reward / Change Redemption Item?

If a Frequent Buyer redemption has not been processed by your distributor yet, you should see a Undo Redemption button on the Pet Owner's Frequent Buyer card under History in Checkout. 
Info
Here is an article with more information: Removing/Editing a Redemption

If the redemption has already been processed by your distributor and has been declined, you may be able to change the redemption item and resubmit the item to your distributor. 

No Eligible Items to Redeem for Frequent Buyer?

If the program is Most Frequently Purchased Free and the item the customer purchased the most often is retired and no longer available on the program then we will have to help you correct the card to make it so it can redeem for either the current version of the item that was retired or for the second item the customer purchased most often.
The other possibility is that the customer purchased an item that was the least valued item in that program, but now that item is retired and no longer available.
Email us at support@astroloyalty.com and let us know the name of the customer who's card you cannot redeem.

Why Won't the Frequent Buyer Redeem for the Item the Customer Wants?

The most common reason for this is that the item the customer wants is not an eligible free item. Review the rules of the program and how they apply to the items the customer purchased previously and the item the customer wants to take home. The easiest way to do this is by Expanding Details on the card. If you see prior purchases listed with (Retired) mentioned at the beginning of the item description it is possible that these items could be influencing the eligible items. Email us at support@astroloyalty.com if you suspect this.
If you see prior purchases listed below the card that are highlighted in red this means they were purchased outside of the permissible time limit. Even though they no longer count as a qualifying purchase they may still be affecting the eligible items. If you believe this is the case you can move the qualifying items to another card. Then you can delete the card that contains the expired transactions.

How to I change my distributor on a Frequent Buyer program?

You can update the distributor option on your Frequent Buyer programs at any time directly on your Astro Loyalty account! Go to Frequent Buyer > Enrolled, select the program that needs updating and click on the distributor name under Program Fulfilment. 


Which Distributor Should I Select?

Warning
Selecting the proper distributor is very important. Any mistakes here could prevent you from getting credit for the items redeemed through your program. 

Make sure that the distributor you select is the distributor that you are currently purchasing those items from. If you make any changes to your purchasing you can update your distributor at any time.

If you are purchasing items from more than one distributor please select the distributor that you are currently purchasing the item from most frequently. Credits should always be sent to your primary distribution partner. If a distributor is currently receiving Frequent Buyer Cards for a particular brand they should also be selected as your fulfillment partner in Astro.

What Should I Do If My Distributor Isn't Listed?

If your primary distributor for a particular brand is not listed please contact our Support team; support@astroloyalty.com. 

Why is my distributor listed as Temporary Holding?

Temporary Holding is intended as a placeholder option. Your distributors can re-assign your programs to Temporary Holding if they do not service your location for that particular brand. Your programs may end up in Temporary Holding if a distributor you were using has been removed from a brand's programs as well. Redemptions do not get sent for processing when in Temporary Holding, these redemptions are basically sitting in 'Limbo' until a distributor is selected for that program. Once a distributor is selected, any redemptions that have occurred will then be moved out of Temporary Holding and sent to the distributor chosen to process them. 

Make sure to update any programs listed under Temporary Holding distribution in order to receive credit. How to Update Frequent Buyers from Temporary Holding? | Astro Retailers

What Should I Do If a Program Requires Permission?

If a program requires permission it is up to the retailer to contact their brand rep and request permission to manage the program through Astro. Once, the retailer has received permission to administer the program it must be provided to their Astro Agent in writing. After this has been received, the Astro Agent will activate the Frequent Buyer Program.

What if Customers Shop at other Stores?

Only purchases made at your store(s) will count towards the Astro Frequent Buyer at your store(s). If a customer wants to shop at different competing retail locations they will need to open up an Astro account at each store, and the frequent buyer cards on those accounts would track separately. This is done to keep customers from buying items from another retailer and then coming to your store to redeem their free item. 

How to Apply Free Good Discount to Sale in your POS?

The method that you choose is up to you. We recommend that you continue to use the same method that you were using to discount a customer's sale when they earned a reward on a paper card. One thing you need to consider is the sales tax laws in your state. Some states still require customers to pay the full sales tax that they would have paid before the item was discounted even after the item is discounted. If this is something that you are unsure how to do we recommend that you reach out to your POS company's support department. 

What Happens After a Card is Redeemed?

Upon clicking Finished to finalize the transaction the free good that was redeemed will show up on one of two Reports. 
  1. If your program is reporting directly to your distributor the item will appear on the Uncredited section of your Distributor Free Goods Credit Status report and will be immediately accessible to your distributor for crediting.
  2. If your program is a Tracking Program the free good will be sent to your Retailer Free Goods Credit Batches so you can manage its reporting from there. 
The card itself will be housed under the customer's History to whom it belongs. You can either leave it there, or you can click Archive in the upper right hand corner to store it in the Archived section of your customer's History. This comes in handy if a customers has a lot of cards under their History.

There are also several other reports that are useful to review for inventory purposes and the like. Here are some articles that go over these reports and how to best use them. 
  1. Participation Reports
  2. Astro Report Exports
If you notice under your Distributor Free Goods report that an item you recently redeemed is reporting to a distributor you no longer purchase from you will have to update your program enrollment and choose your current distributor.