An Exclusive Study From the Loyalty Academy and Wise Marketer Research Services in Collaboration with Bakkt
In our landmark 2018 Delphi Report,™ The Future of Loyalty Marketing, Chapter 4 discussed the Crypto Craze as a potential future trend to watch. While the panel was split on predictions and leaning slightly to the negative side, the prevailing attitude of these global loyalty experts was “wait and see.” The strongest support at that time was for blockchain technology itself, not the actual use of cryptocurrency in a rewards context. Results today are quite different.
What’s changed?
Time, increased awareness and rapid adoption have altered the landscape. Four years is a long time in today’s digitally compressed socio-economic, loyalty and technology environments. Media attention has given crypto mainstream awareness – both with the rise and the fall of crypto valuations themselves. And the number of users around the world buying, selling, holding or trading crypto has increased dramatically. Blockchain researcher Chainalysis has recently reported there are over 320 million crypto users worldwide, with global crypto adoption rising by over 880% last year. According to PYMNTS data, nearly one in four Americans had owned cryptocurrencies at some point by Jan. 2022. Regarding crypto payments, 42% of Gen Z globally plan to make purchases using crypto in 2022 and Deloitte has found that 75% of U.S. retailers plan to accept crypto payments within the next two years. Throw in Web 3.0, the Metaverse and all blockchain technology discussions and we have the potential for an explosion.
As one veteran Certified Loyalty Marketing Professional™ (CLMP) from North America commented in this year’s Delphi Report:
“I used to think that Crypto was a fad, maybe even a hoax. I couldn’t really envision the connection to loyalty programs. I’ve changed my perception. Any brand that is not experimenting with Crypto Rewards and NFTs is already behind. Any loyalty service provider who is not helping their clients design and enable these elements as part of their loyalty strategies, will be left in the dust.”
In collaboration with our sponsor, Bakkt, an Atlanta-based loyalty and crypto solutions thought leader who has established capabilities in crypto rewards solutions, the Loyalty Academy re-convened a panel of experts in the late Summer of 2022 to tackle the delicate and often dangerous task of prediction. As in past years we relied on the significant expertise and insight of the Delphi Panelists to predict what may lie ahead for crypto rewards. We employed traditional Delphi techniques to predict future outcomes and combined both qualitative and survey components to reach the insights contained within this report.
We hope you find this year’s Delphi Report helpful as you are planning for added fluidity in your customers’ experiences in 2023 and beyond.
To dive into the 2022 Delphi Report: The Future of Crypto Rewards, fill out the form below.
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