Wealthy consumers enjoy the perks associated with loyalty programs, according to a new study conducted by the Luxury Institute. Overall, 72% of wealthy consumers participate in some kind of loyalty program, with the most popular ones connected to credit cards, airlines, hotels, and grocery stores.
The new survey comprised wealthy shoppers earning at least $150,000 per year. Respondents shared detailed observations and evaluations of various loyalty and rewards programs, and offered suggestions for improvements to existing frequent shopper initiatives.
According to the study, men are significantly more likely to be members of airline and hotel rewards programs, while women are disproportionately represented in programs sponsored by grocery stores, drugstores, and department stores. Previous Luxury Institute research revealed that Sephora, American Express, and Amazon were the top three favorite rewards programs among affluent consumers.
Very few respondents indicated that that they belong to a luxury brand rewards program, the study found. The main perceived benefits of luxury brands' loyalty programs are special offers and rewards, earning and redeeming points, and free goods and services.
Free gifts carry more importance among women, shoppers under 50, and those with net worth less than $1 million, according to the study. Satisfaction with existing loyalty programs is high and most high-income shoppers said that they have had positive experiences with their memberships. The vast majority of shoppers report that loyalty programs exert a strong influence over purchasing decisions.
"Loyalty Programs combined seamlessly with one-to-one customer relationship building can be highly effective in driving conversion and retention while making data collection easier," Luxury Institute CEO Milton Pedraza said in a press release.
The Luxury Institute is an objective and independent global voice of the high net-worth consumer. The Institute conducts extensive and actionable research with wealthy consumers about their behaviors and attitudes on customer experience best practices. In addition, it works closely with top-tier luxury brands to successfully transform their organizational cultures into more profitable customer-centric enterprises.