What the British think, feel and care about in loyalty programmes has never been more important. 76% of Brits are currently members of loyalty programmes. 73% think they are a great way for brands and businesses to reward customers.
In the 2 years since we published our first research on the subject there have been enormous changes. All the big loyalty programmes have changed, a plethora of new programmes have launched and there have been some significant closures too. The consumer landscape has changed significantly too – Brits are ever more demanding of programmes, what they care about has changed and their expectations of brands has never been greater.
Our new white paper, developed with YouGov and launched with the The IPM at their Loyalty Dynamics event, explores what they think now, what they want from programmes and gives clear direction on how to get loyalty and rewards right for different audiences.
One of the biggest revelations in the research is importance that Brits place on what they get from programmes, rather than how they get it.
69% of Brits think that the benefits and rewards are important when choosing to become or stay as a member of a loyalty programme.
45% think a good and easy membership experience, including sign up and account management is important. Rewards are 1.5x more important than member experience.
The type of rewards they want is also very revealing. Rewards from partner brands are more appealing than those from the brand itself in every sector. On average 58% of British Loyalty Programme members want rewards from partner brands, vs 53% who want a brand’s own. In sectors like Beauty and Telecommunications the appeal of partner brands is even higher (67% and 66%). 2020 is the year to look out not in.
The importance that Brits place on value is also very interesting. The dominant emotion in the British reward psyche is savviness. 83% of Brits want rewards to save them money. We are a nation of deal hunters (68% always make sure they use all available coupons, sales and deals when they shop). After value comes a desire for treats – 53% of Brits want rewards to be a treat. After treating, Brits want loyalty programmes to help others. 28% of Brits want rewards to support good causes or help the environment. Almost one in three Brits wants loyalty programmes to help others… yet very few are active in this space (yet).
