50 Stats That Show The Importance Of Good Loyalty Programs, Even During A Crisis

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Due to COVID-19, every business today is in a competition for customer trust. How do you build trust with customers? You earn customer trust by repeat good behavior, and providing value to customers they can’t get anywhere else. Rather than create new customers right now, you can work on maintaining your relationships with your past customers. Today companies can do this by knowing their customers, and finding ways to make customers’ lives easier and better. Like any relationship, exploit it and customers will run from the building.

In a post coronavirus world, it could be a long haul back to business as usual. This is the time to think about your relationships and how to keep them healthy. Customers tend to be people of habit, and many enjoy the benefits that come from being loyal to a brand. Loyalty programs used to just be for airlines and grocery stores, but now brands across all industries offer programs to reward customers for their loyalty.

Loyalty programs are an often-overlooked aspect of customer experience, but they can be vital in building relationships and loyalty with customers—when they’re done well. These 50 statistics show the importance of good loyalty programs and what brands can do to create effective programs that get results.

Loyalty Programs Are On The Rise

More than 90% of companies have some sort of loyalty program. (Accenture)

In the U.S., there are 3.3 billion loyalty memberships. (Accenture)

52% of American consumers will join the loyalty program of a brand they make frequent purchases from. (Yotpo)

84% of loyalty program members have made a redemption from the program. (Bond)

The average consumer belongs to 14.8 loyalty programs but is only active in 6.7 of them. (Bond)

18% of consumers engage with every loyalty program of which they are a member. (Code Broker)

65% of consumers engage with less than half of the loyalty programs to which they belong. (Code Broker)

15% of members interact with their loyalty programs daily, up from 10% in 2015. (PDI)

Loyalty program membership in the U.S. grew at a rate of 26.7% from 2012-2014. (Accenture)

49% of consumers only belong to up to three loyalty programs. (Yotpo)

Less than 8% of consumers say rewards aren’t at all important to their purchasing decisions. (Wirecard)

What Consumers Are Looking For In A Loyalty Program

50% of consumers say their primary reason for joining a loyalty program is to earn rewards on everyday purchases. (PDI)

44% of loyalty program members say they are very satisfied with the program, down from 47% in 2018. (Bond)

22% of loyalty program members say they are very satisfied with the level of personalization they receive in the programs. (Bond)

66% of consumers belong to a loyalty program that rewards them with fuel savings. (PDI)

36% of consumers shop more frequently in stores where they can earn fuel rewards, up from 26% in 2016. (Excentus)

29% of customers want rewards to be more interesting. (Yotpo)

37% of customers are willing to pay to upgrade to an enhanced tier of a loyalty program. (Bond)

47% of Gen-Z would pay to upgrade their loyalty program membership. (Bond)

71% of Americans are less likely to join a rewards program that collects personal information like address and account information. (Wilbur)

87% of consumers are open to brands monitoring details of their activity if it leads to more personalized rewards. (Bond)

58% of American consumers are less likely to join a loyalty program that requires them to download an app. (Wilbur)

79% of Americans say they are more likely to join a rewards program that doesn’t require them to carry a physical card. (Wilbur)

95% of consumers want to engage with their loyalty program using emerging technology like chatbots, AI, VR and smart devices. (Bond)

75% of consumers say they would engage more with loyalty programs they can easily access from a smartphone. (Code Broker)

46% of customers want loyalty programs to offer gifts and swag. (Yotpo)

46% of customers want early access to sales as part of a loyalty program. (Yotpo)

53% of consumers say they are interested in using game mechanics in loyalty programs. (Bond)

31% of consumers say their biggest issue with loyalty programs is that the rewards expire before they can use them, the most common response. (Code Broker)

Loyal Customers Matter

57% of consumers spend more on brands to which they are loyal. (Accenture)

25% of consumers say they are more loyal to brands now than they were a year ago. (Yopto)

90% of consumers say they are equally or more brand loyal than they were a year ago. (Yotpo)

44% of reward program members are thanked for a redemption. (Bond)

19% of loyalty program members say their program makes them feel special and recognized. (Bond)

Increasing Loyalty Program ROI

Loyalty leaders grow revenues roughly 2.5x as fast as other companies in their industries. (HBR)

71% of consumers say loyalty programs are a meaningful part of their brand relationships. (Bond)

15% of consumers are more likely to buy from a brand if they are part of a loyalty program. (Yotpo)

Adding a loyalty program to an e-commerce platform can increase average order quantity by 319%. (Incentive Solutions).

73% of consumers are more likely to recommend brands with good loyalty programs. (Bond)

79% of consumers say loyalty programs make them more likely to continue doing business with brands. (Bond)

39% of loyal customers will spend more on a product, even if there are other less-expensive options available. (Yotpo)

Loyalty program members spend 27% more when the brand establishes a positive emotional connection. (Bond)

75% of consumers say they are likely to make another purchase after receiving an incentive. (Wirecard)

66% of consumers modify their brand spend to maximize loyalty benefits. (Bond)

45% of consumers made one to three purchase because of incentives in the past year. (Wirecard)

18% of consumers say incentives always sway them to choose one brand over another, even if they’re loyal to the brand without rewards. (Wirecard)

When companies do personalization well, it creates a 6.4x lift in member satisfaction with the loyalty program. (Bond)

Consumers who redeem incentives see a 1.6x lift in brand satisfaction over customers who don’t redeem. (Bond)

62% of Gen-Z are highly influenced by loyalty programs. (Bond)

32% of consumers strongly agree that a loyalty program makes their brand experience better. (Bond)

This article was first published on Forbes.com.

Blake Morgan is a keynote speaker and the author of the bestselling book The Customer Of The Future. Sign up for her weekly newsletter here.