Overall, the study found that since consumers are looking for a variety of ways to save money, many are signing up or regularly using reward programs at retailers such as grocery stores, book stores and gas stations. Consumers site the current economic climate as the main reason to save money. Some retail rewards highlights include:
- Grocery stores and book stores highest in retail program membership – Sixty-five percent (65%) of consumers belong to grocery store rewards programs with an average number of 1.9 memberships per participant. Forty-four percent (44%) of consumers belong to a book store loyalty rewards program.
- Retail members most influenced by gas stations and book store program membership – Thirty-five percent (35%) of consumers who are members of gas rewards programs and 33% of book store members indicated their choice of company was “very” influenced by their membership.
- More than half of fast food members use rewards membership most times – Sixty percent (60%) of consumers who are members of fast food rewards programs reported that they use their rewards membership “every time” or “most times” when making a purchase.
- Consumers prefer coupons for discounts on total purchase – In general, the rewards that consumers receive from retailers do not always match with their preferences. While “Coupons for discounts on total purchase” is the most preferred reward, less than two-thirds (61%) of members indicated that they receive that reward as a member of a retail rewards program.
- Reported frustrations with loyalty programs decrease – More members say they have not experienced any problems or frustrations related to rewards programs (20% in 2009 compared to 14% in 2008)
For more details on these findings, contact us at [email protected] or 303-967-6323.
About First Data
First Data powers the global economy by making it easy, fast and secure for people and businesses to buy goods and services using virtually any form of electronic payment. Whether the choice of payment is a gift card, a credit or debit card or a check, First Data securely processes the transaction and harnesses the power of the data to deliver intelligence and insight for millions of merchant locations and thousands of card issuers in 36 countries. For more information, visit www.firstdata.com.