Australian Loyalty Programs Are More Valuable to Members in Tougher Economic Times

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By: Wise Marketer Staff |

Posted on May 12, 2023

Results from the 11th edition of the annual Australian customer loyalty and loyalty program research study, For Love or Money™ 2023, reveals 42% of loyalty program members become more actively involved with their programs during times of economic uncertainty to maximise rewards and savings.

Commissioned in the first quarter of 2023 by customer loyalty consultancy - The Point of Loyalty,
For Love or Money™ 2023 also reveals how brands who invest in loyalty programs also benefit.
Report author and CEO of The Point of Loyalty, Adam Posner said “With increasing inflation and economic uncertainty, it’s not surprising members are more engaged with programs they know and trust to earn more savings and rewards.”

Adam added “Known as loyalty program ‘double clickers’, these members are seeking to save money and
programs have a great opportunity to be more loyal to their members by providing more value to them.”
He continued to say, “Loyalty program managers can step-up and find ways to engage with their members as they interact and transact more, and the business is rewarded with retention and repeat business”.

The impact of data security breaches on loyalty program members attitude to the data value exchange.
The research also revealed one of the unintended consequences of recent data security breaches is most loyalty program members (55%) are now more concerned about sharing their data with programs but will still do so, knowing they are gaining benefits and rewards from the program.

However, even with these widely publicised breaches, more than one in five loyalty program members
(22%) are still confident with the security protocols of loyalty programs and are happy to share their data, knowing they are gaining benefits and rewards from the program.

Adam Posner added “These results highlight two schools of thought in that members’ awareness and
sensitivity to sharing their data is heightened, however they will still share when there is a fair value
exchange. On the other side of this, there is a level of trust in loyalty programs being more focused on
data protection now.”

Loyalty programs have improved in their technology and digital experience. The research has been
tracking areas programs need to improve in since 2018 with a significant increase (from 34% in 2018 to
44% in 2023) of members indicating programs have improved the digital experience including mobile
apps and mobile payments.

Posner added “Loyalty programs have continued to invest in improving the overall experience for their
members and of the many factors impacting the experience, digital engagement in areas such as payment integration has become more seamless and almost a hygiene factor".

NEW: From Loyalty Program to Joyalty* Program. Members of loyalty programs are still looking for
programs to improve in areas such as more surprise and delight offers and benefits. The research reveals new insights on how loyalty programs can connect with members in a more emotionally uplifting way by adding more joy to their members’ lives.

Posner added “I believe programs need to lift their propositions from being transactional to add more
moments of magic or what I call Joyalty*. Programs providing rewards or benefits that are unexpected
delights, go a long way to emotionally connecting members with programs and their brand”.

NEW: Loyalty Programs playing their part to help society and improve the lives of members. Another new
are explored in the research identified where programs can help solve problems in the world around us
such as in sustainability, helping others less fortunate and giving members more ways to shop smartly and live within their means.

Posner said, “As loyalty programs become so widespread in society, it is interesting to see how programs
can become more meaningful in the lives of members and how they can in some small way solve some of
the challenges we all face in the world today”.

A complimentary Executive Summary of the full report is available at www.thepointofloyalty.com.au 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 For Love or Money™ 2023 research is the 11th edition of the annual research study. It was
commissioned by The Point of Loyalty and conducted independently by First Point Research and
Consulting in the first quarter of 2022 through a national online panel of 1,040 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 and loyalty program consultancy dedicated to driving
business growth from existing customers through valuable loyalty and rewards programs. CEO Adam
Posner is a customer loyalty specialist 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).