UK consumers might be continually signing up to loyalty schemes but most still feel they are treated no differently from regular customers, with shoppers growing increasingly disengaged from programmes that feel generic and unrewarding.
That is according to a new consumer study by HyperFinity, which quizzed 2,000 Brits and found that 79% of shoppers want personalised loyalty offers, with 23% expecting these offers to be highly personalised. Yet despite this expectation, 61% have been a member of a loyalty programme but felt no different from a regular customer.
On top of this, 52% are less loyal to retailers than three years ago; not because loyalty no longer matters, but because too many programmes are failing to deliver genuine value.
The survey also found that irrelevant offers are Britain’s biggest loyalty frustration, cited by 55% as their primary turn-off. Generic programmes that fail to recognise individual preferences are making it harder for retailers to build lasting loyalty.
Among shoppers who have chosen to abandon a retailer because of its loyalty programme, limited savings rank as the second biggest reason (36%). A further 13% cite early access to products and deals that never actually materialise.
As cost-of-living pressures intensify, the tolerance for loyalty schemes that take data but give little back is running out among the UK public.
HyperFinity maintains this presents an opportunity for retailers to stand out by using customer data more effectively to deliver rewards that feel genuinely relevant and valuable.
Co-founder Thomas Hill said: “Shoppers are not falling out of love with loyalty; they are falling out of love with programmes that treat them like everyone else. In a market where consumers are more selective than ever, a well executed loyalty programme is one of the most powerful competitive weapons a retailer has. The retailers that invest in genuine personalisation will not just retain their own customers; they will win the ones that others are losing.”
Shoppers are open to artificial intelligence playing a role in fixing this. Some 69% are comfortable with retailers using AI to personalise offers, with 27% specifically wanting more relevant discounts and a further 26% wanting both greater relevance and bigger savings.
Yet even as budgets tighten, the data shows loyalty still has the power to retain customers. When asked how cost pressures affect their shopping behaviour, staying loyal when rewards are worthwhile (44%) was the single most common response, ahead of switching to cheaper retailers (38%) or becoming less loyal overall (6%).
Hill added: “Just under 70% of shoppers are already open to AI powered personalisation. The tools already exist and consumers are ready for them. The next challenge isn’t collecting more customer data, it’s turning that data into decisions that create more relevant, rewarding loyalty experiences.”
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