Research reveals Gen Z are the most loyal generation to a brand whose loyalty program they are a member of.
Results from the 9th annual Australian customer loyalty and loyalty program research study, For Love or MoneyTM 2021, reveals that while COVID-19 prevails, 48% of consumers tend to stay loyal to brands whose loyalty programs they are members of and even more so for Gen Z (63%).
Commissioned in the first quarter of 2021 by customer loyalty consultancy – The Point of Loyalty, For Love or MoneyTM 2021 researched: – the impact of COVID-19 on brand loyalty in 2020 and – the influence of loyalty programs on brand loyalty while COVID-19 prevails in 2021.
Report author and CEO of The Point of Loyalty, Adam Posner said “The research revealed that loyalty programs do influence brand loyalty while COVID-19 prevails. Interestingly, Gen Z identified as the most loyal generational cohort to a brand whose loyalty program they are a member of. I call them the loyalZy generation.” The research also highlights that 87% of consumers tended to remain with brands they knew during the height of the pandemic in 2020 with 92% of Baby Boomers remaining with brands they knew. Posner said, “Brand familiarity plays a key role in creating ‘sticky’ customers especially when the world we are living in is changing so dynamically”.
Providing personal data to loyalty programs is on the minds of members. The wide-ranging research continues to track data and privacy and in 2021 highlights the top three considerations for members when providing their personal details to programs as – knowing how secure the data is, – knowing how their data is being used and – the reputation of the company asking for details.
“Since 2019 when we first explored what members consider when sharing their personal details to programs, knowing how secure their data is has increased significantly, from 64% in 2019 to 70% in 2021 of members indicating this as one of their top three considerations. This is a call-out to loyalty program managers to keep reassuring members how secure their data is,” Posner said.
Programs are improving. The report highlights a trend in loyalty programs improving since 2017 with 68% of members in 2021 indicating programs have improved vs 51% in 2017.
The top three areas of improvement have been in the – achievability of rewards, – simplicity of interacting with a program and – enhanced use of technology such as mobile apps and mobile payments.
Posner said, “While programs can continue to improve, it was pleasing to see they are improving their use of technology, with 37% of members indicating programs have improved in this area. Again, Gen Z were significantly more complimentary of technology improvements with 50% indicating programs have improved in their use of technology.”
The research also reveals members prefer programs with partner offers, earning rewards instantly and earning rewards for referrals. “Keeping programs fresh and out of the sea of sameness is a challenge and the research continues to share new ways for programs to stay relevant and a step ahead” Posner said.
2021 ranking of Australian loyalty programs most mentioned unprompted by members, as ‘doing a very good job’ Woolworths Everyday Rewards is right on the tail of flybuys in 2021 While flybuys is still at number one ranking in 2021, Woolworths Everyday Rewards has had a significant increase since 2020 in members voting the program as ‘doing a very good job’. The two airline loyalty programs have lost some votes from members with Velocity Frequent Flyer dropping down the rankings. This is not surprising based on the events of 2020. New entrants in 2021 are ANZ Rewards and Mecca Beauty Loop.
A complimentary Executive Summary of the full report is available here with a comprehensive report available for purchase at www.thepointofloyalty.com.au.
For further information or to arrange an interview contact: Adam Posner: CEO – The Point of Loyalty 0433 818190 adam@thepointofloyalty.com.au
About the Research
The research was commissioned by The Point of Loyalty and conducted independently by First Point Research and Consulting in the first quarter of 2021 through a national online panel of 1,000 Australian consumers of men and women aged 18+ who are members of at least one loyalty program. The research was structured to gain quantitative results with comparative analysis as well as qualitative insights. About The Point of Loyalty The Point of Loyalty is a strategic customer loyalty consultancy dedicated to driving business growth from existing customers through best-in-class loyalty and rewards programs. CEO Adam Posner is a customer loyalty strategist and has been involved in the design, development and deployment of customer loyalty and rewards programs across industries including entertainment, pharmacy, hotels and accommodation, trade, education, hospitality and retail (various).
