--- source_url: "https://loyaltylion.com/loyalty-in-2026" title: "Customer Loyalty in 2026 | NEW Research | LoyaltyLion" mirrored_at: 2026-08-11T01:38:44.746Z host: loyaltylion.com cited_in_42a: true mirror_canonical: "https://index.42a.ai/loyaltylion.com/loyalty-in-2026" --- > **Original source:** https://loyaltylion.com/loyalty-in-2026 - Platform Growing revenue Managing your program Measuring success Getting started - Integrations Explore Popular integrations Browse by category Developers - Resources Support Learn Discover Industries - Partners Agencies Technology partners Find a partner - [Pricing](https://loyaltylion.com/pricing) - [Help center](https://help.loyaltylion.com/en/) - [Enterprise](https://loyaltylion.com/platform/enterprise-loyalty-program) - [3-minute tour](https://loyaltylion.com/resources/on-demand-demos) - [Log in](https://app.loyaltylion.com/login) Shoppers say they want more than discounts. Read on for the research to help you grow faster. 4000 consumer voices have spoken - 90% of shoppers say being in a loyalty program makes them repeat purchase from that brand - 60% are more likely to visit stores where they have points and rewards to redeem - 85% say being able to access a loyalty program in-store is important - [checkHow to make customers choose you](#finding-1) - [storefrontWhere to reward loyalty](#finding-2) - [rocket\_launchHow to upgrade experiences](#finding-3) - [123Explore the research in full](#full-research) > When things are uncertain, people go for what they’re familiar with, and go where they have existing relationships. ![100x100 Case Study Headshot Images (6)](https://loyaltylion.com/app/uploads/2026/05/100x100-case-study-headshot-images-6.png?w=100&h=100&c=1) Patrick FaganBehavioral scientist and consumer psychologist [Watch Patrick break down the research](https://loyaltylion.com/resources/unlock-loyalty-connect-2026) > Status used to be communicated through material goods, but now anyone can buy these through sites like Vinted. Experiences are harder to fake, making them a better way to communicate identity and status. ![100x100 Case Study Headshot Images (6)](https://loyaltylion.com/app/uploads/2026/05/100x100-case-study-headshot-images-6.png?w=100&h=100&c=1) Patrick FaganBehavioral scientist and consumer psychologist [Watch him analyse the research](https://loyaltylion.com/resources/unlock-loyalty-connect-2026) ## The research in full There are over 150 NEW stats about ecommerce loyalty in 2026 below. Check them out! ### Consumers want to shop with brands that have loyalty programs - Excluding travel/utility/coffee shop/restaurants, the mean number of programs shoppers are members of has increased from 2.84 to 3.05 in 12 months - 79% of consumers surveyed are members of 1-4 programs in 2026 vs 70% in 2025 - 90% say being a member of a loyalty program influences decision to repeatedly purchase from the same ecommerce brand (vs 85% in 2024) - 59% say they are more likely to sign up to a loyalty program today than 12 months ago - This is particularly true for younger generations such as Gen Z (74%) and Millennials (70%) vs Gen X (57%) and Boomers (43%) - 53% say they are more likely to sign up to a loyalty program when there is economic uncertainty - This is particularly true for younger generations such as Gen Z (64%) and Millennials (64%) vs Gen X (52%) and Boomers (36%) - 70% say they’re more likely to shop with a brand if they have a loyalty program  ### Loyalty program participation is on the rise - In 2026, 100% of consumers surveyed actively engage with or participate in loyalty programs they are members of vs 91% in 2025. - 83% of consumers actively participate in 1-4 loyalty programs, vs 72% in 2025. - On average, members surveyed log into their favourite program 10 times per month - 13% of loyalty program members surveyed log into their favourite program every day - This is highest among Gen Z (18%) and Millennials (17%) vs Gen X (11% and Boomers (7%) - 58% of loyalty program members surveyed log into their favourite loyalty program at least once a week - This is highest among Gen Z (74%) and Millennials (71%) vs Gen X (56% and Boomers (40%) - Just 9% say they only log in when they’re thinking about making a purchase - 54% view the points balance for their favourite program at least once a week (11% every day) - 53% check the available rewards for their favourite program at least once a week (11% every day) - 51% check to see if there are any additional ways to earn points from their favourite loyalty programs at least once a week ### Consumers are seeing increased value from loyalty programs  - 58% say loyalty programs are more financially rewarding than they used to be - This is felt most by Gen Z (69%) and Millennials (67%) vs Gen X (58%) and Boomers (44%) - 59% say loyalty programs offer better experience-based perks than they used to - This is felt most by Gen Z (68%) and Millennials (70%) vs Gen X (58%) and Boomers (46%) - 56% say they feel more emotionally connected to a brand if they are a loyalty program member - This is felt most by Gen Z (70%) and Millennials (64%) vs Gen X (55%) and Boomers (41%) - 71% say loyalty programs make them feel like a valued customer - This is true across all generations – 75% of Gen Z, 76% of Millennials, 70% of Gen X and 64% of Boomers - 52% say loyalty programs make them feel like part of a community - This is more true for Gen Z (64%) and Millennials (63%) vs Gen X (49%) and Boomers 37%) - 60% say they receive a more personalized experience as a loyalty program member - 56% say the loyalty emails they receive are personalized  ### Good customer experiences make shoppers more likely to repeat purchase - 66% say that loyalty program will make them want to repeat purchase from the same brand multiple times - This is lowest for Gen Z at 53% and highest for Gen X at 71%, with millennials in the middle at 65% - Good customer service will make 55% of shoppers want to repeat purchase - This is the highest for Baby Boomers at 60% vs 50% for Gen Z and 53% for Millennials ### Loyalty programs work for every industry  - 55% of consumers say they would be likely to join a beauty loyalty program - 64% of females, but also 40% of males - Gen Z (68%) and Millenials (70%) most likely vs Gen X (54%) and Boomers (34%) - 61% of consumers say they would be likely to join a fashion and apparel loyalty program - 54% of males and 66% of females  - Gen Z (77%) and Millenials (75%) most likely vs Gen X (60%) and Boomers (42%) - 64% of consumers say they would be likely to join a health loyalty program - Gen Z (75%) and M illenials (76%) most likely vs Gen X (61%) and Boomers (48%)  - 42% of consumers say they would be likely to join a sport loyalty program - 57% of males vs 32% of females  - Gen Z (62%) and Millenials (58%) most likely vs Gen X (37%) and Boomers (21%)  - 56% of consumers say they would be likely to join a pets loyalty program - Boomers are least likely at 38% vs Gen Z (63%), Millennials (68%) and Gen X \*57%) - 83% of consumers say they would be likely to join a food and drink loyalty program - Strong across all age groups from Gen Z (88%) to Millennial (89%) to Gen X (83%) to Boomers (75%) - 55% of consumers say they would be likely to join a home and garden loyalty program - Strong across all age groups from Gen Z (57%) to Millennial (63%) to Gen X (52%) to Boomers (48%)  ### Shoppers want you to meet them everywhere - 85% say being able to use a loyalty program in-store is important  - 82% say being able to use a loyalty program on the website is important  - 77% say being able to use a loyalty program within an app is important - Most important to Gen Z (81%), Millennials (84%) and Gen X (80%) vs Boomers (64%)  - 62% say being able to add a loyalty program to their digital wallet is important - Most important to Gen Z (74%), Millennials (75%) and Gen X (63%) vs Boomers (42%)  - 78% say being able to collect points or rewards when they buy a brand from another retailer is important - Most important to Gen Z (82%), Millennials (83%) and Gen X (81%) vs Boomers (69%)  - 82% say being able to view a loyalty program in their own language is important  ### Shoppers want instant gratification - 46% say fast delivery times make them repeat purchase - This becomes more important in older generations – 50% of Gen Z say fast delivery makes them repeat purchase vs 53% of Millennials, 55% of Gen X and 60% of Boomers - 64% are likely to stop participating in a program if it takes too long to earn a reward  ### What consumers want from loyalty programs – financial incentives are important but younger generations value experiences  - 54% say regular sales or discount events make them repeat purchase - More prevalent in the US than the UK (64% of US respondents vs 45% of US) - Gen Z are least interested in sales and discount events (43% say they make them repeat purchase vs 50% of Millennials, 57% of Gen X and 60% of Boomers  - 67% of consumers joined their last loyalty program to get discounts on future purchases (Q5) - Particularly older age groups. 74% of Boomers and 72% of Gen X vs 59% of Millennials and 53% of Gen Z - 42% joined their last loyalty program to get early access to sales or special offers and 24% to support a brand they liked (Q5) - Experiential rewards are much more important to emerging generations so should be a key part of future loyalty strategies  ### Financial rewards are most valued, but experiential benefits are closer behind than expected - Discounts are the most valued loyalty benefit at 88%, but experiential and access-based benefits are not far behind, with member-only pricing (78%), bonus points on specific collections (77%), birthday rewards (76%) and early access to sales (75%) all rated important by three-quarters of shoppers. - Benefits often treated as secondary perform strongly too, including priority customer support (69%), priority back-in-stock access (68%) and early access to new products (66%). - Experiential perks hold meaningful appeal in their own right, with exclusive online events and content valued by 60% of shoppers, exclusive in-store event invites by 55%, and points on secondhand items by 52%. - Brands offering both financial and experiential rewards therefore have a broader toolkit for retention than those leaning on discounts alone. ### Younger generations expect more from loyalty programs than older ones - Younger shoppers are open to a far wider range of loyalty benefits than older ones, particularly experiential, community-driven and values-led rewards. - The widest generational gaps sit in newer benefit types: founder interactions (Gen Z 56% vs. Boomers 16%), styling or skin consultations (54% vs. 15%) and focus group participation (56% vs. 18%). - Values-led rewards follow the same pattern, with charitable giving valued by 60% of Gen Z vs. 26% of Boomers, and points on secondhand items by 67% of Gen Z and 65% of Millennials vs. 32% of Boomers. - Even established loyalty benefits skew younger: queue jump (Gen Z 60% vs. Boomers 34%), exclusive online events (Millennials 69% vs. Boomers 48%) and priority back-in-stock access (Gen Z 76% and Millennials 75% vs. Boomers 56%). ### What harms customer loyalty - 64% are likely to stop participating in a program if it takes too long to earn a reward - 52% are likely to stop participating in a program if there aren’t enough ways to earn points besides purchasing - 64% are likely to stop participating in a program if the rewards are not valuable enough - 37% are likely to stop participating in a loyalty program if there are no VIP experiences - 59% are likely to stop participating in a loyalty program if it is not shown in their local language - 64% are likely to stop participating in a loyalty program if it isn’t clear how to earn points - 64% are likely to stop participating in a loyalty program if it isn’t clear what rewards are available - 63% are likely to stop participating in a loyalty program if isn’t clear how to use rewards - 49% are likely to stop using a loyalty program if it’s shown in a pop up and not on a webpage - 62% are likely to stop using a loyalty program if they can’t easily add rewards in the checkout - 58% are likely to stop participating in a loyalty program if they don’t trust that their data will be used responsibly - 39% are likely to stop participating in a loyalty program if there are no VIP tiers to progress through   - 61% are likely to stop participating in a loyalty program if there are no specific subscriber perks or benefits  ### Shoppers are open to participating in loyalty programs in many ways, creating key opportunities for brands - The most popular ways to earn loyalty points are low-effort, transactional actions, including creating an account (73%), completing a quiz or profile (72%), downloading an app (68%) and signing up to a newsletter (65%). - Content and advocacy-based actions also see strong engagement, with shoppers willing to earn points by recycling products or packaging (64%), leaving a written review (61%), referring others (58%) and following on social (57%). - Even higher-effort actions hold meaningful appeal, including signing up to SMS (57%), subscribing to a product (50%), leaving a photo review (46%), posting about a brand on social (45%) and leaving a video review (41%). - This breadth of willingness gives brands multiple levers beyond purchases to drive engagement, gather feedback, generate user content and build long-term loyalty. ### Younger generations are willing to engage in far more ways, shaping where loyalty programs need to head next - The widest generational gaps sit in content-driven actions, where Gen Z and Millennials’ growing spending power will increasingly set the bar: video reviews (Gen Z 59% vs. Boomers 20%), photo reviews (64% vs. 22%) and posting about a brand on social (59% vs. 25%). - Advocacy and social actions follow the same pattern, with referring others valued by 73% of Gen Z vs. 43% of Boomers, and following on social by 72% of Gen Z and 71% of Millennials vs. 36% of Boomers. - Even lower-effort actions skew younger: downloading an app (Millennials 78% vs. Boomers 51%), subscribing to a product (Millennials 64% vs. Boomers 33%) and recycling products or packaging (Millennials 71% vs. Boomers 54%). ### Consumers are likely to be loyal during sales periods  - 44% say they are likely to try and find new brands over BFCM or a similar sales period - 60% say they are likely to purchase from brands they know and have shopped with before - Particularly true for Gen Z (66%) and Millennials (66%) vs Gen X (59%) and Boomers (51) - 54% are more likely to join a loyalty program during BFCM or a similar sales period - Particularly true for Gen Z (65%) and Millennials (64%) vs Gen X (53%) and Boomers (39%) - 60% are more likely to visit stores where they have loyalty points and rewards to redeem - Particularly true for Gen Z (69%) and Millennials (67%) vs Gen X (59%) and Boomers (48%) - 62% are more likely to redeem loyalty points and rewards over BFCM or a similar sales period than at other times - Particularly true for Gen Z (68%) and Millennials (69%) vs Gen X (61%) and Boomers (51%) - 55% are more likely to purchase products before they need or have run out of them over BFCM - 52% are more likely to open emails from retail brands over BFCM - 43% are more likely to purchase products they wouldn’t usually buy over BFCM