It appears that participation in loyalty programs is growing, which is good news for brands seeking to leverage one as a viable customer engagement strategy.
This is especially true in Australia where there are currently higher numbers of active loyalty program members than ever before. Directivity, a strategic loyalty consultancy, and Citrus, a retention agency, determined this after they completed a consumer research and customer loyalty report called “For Love or Money.”
What’s more, and probably of intent interest to most brands, is that this report found that a significant number of Australian consumers also regularly purchased items just to earn loyalty program rewards.
After the report surveyed 1,367 people who were members of at least one loyalty program, some additional surprising results were revealed.
Of these consumers, 59% actively participated in all of the programs in which they held membership, and the average number of memberships this segment held was 3.8.
For Love or Money also found that 82% of consumers stated that they usually purchased more items from the companies that administered their favorite loyalty programs. And 16% admitted to making purchases for things they didn’t need just to earn the rewards. For men under 45, this number increased to 26%.
"If you do the math, that's a reasonable additional spend that goes straight to the bottom line," observed Adam Posner, report co-author and CEO of Directivity. "Loyalty programs are a real business imperative for driving brand loyalty and profitability. While consumers are telling us they're more selective with their programs, they're also more active and engaged."
Another very surprising aspect of the report found that, even in spite of all the rapidly emerging social and digital technologies that are now available, many Australians are still slow to fully adopt and embrace such innovations. As such, 67% of members said they preferred a traditional loyalty card. Only 10% would rather use a mobile app.
"We found this one of the most surprising findings of all," said Peter Noble, report co-author and CEO of Citrus. "It goes to show that getting the card into a person's wallet or purse is a critical piece of brand real estate and connection."
One final bit of data showed that many brands could benefit from giving customers new ways to earn rewards. 53% of customers said they would like to receive rewards for completing activities beyond spend. This included taking surveys and opening emails.