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News-in-depth: All Brits have signed up to a loyalty scheme
13 Jan 2012
Everyone in the UK has signed up to a loyalty scheme in the past, according to new research.
Trade title Marketing Week and research firms Promise and Lightspeed surveyed 1,000 Britons to analyse their motivations behind signing up to a loyalty programme.
The study found that 100 per cent of respondents had joined at least one loyalty programme in their lifetime, while 30 per cent had signed up to three schemes and seven per cent were members of five.
Earning rewards and discounts were the main reasons cited by respondents for joining loyalty schemes, while 29 per cent claimed they did so to feel part of a community.
Just under a quarter (24 per cent) of Brits gained gratification for helping their chosen company and 22 per cent appreciated the access to additional information offered when joining loyalty schemes.
Younger participants in the survey appeared to be more open to loyalty schemes, with 18–34 year olds claiming the initiatives helped make them "feel closer" to brands and 62 per cent of this age group wanted more loyalty schemes to be available. Just 37 per cent of respondents aged between 55 and 64 expressed similar enthusiasm for a greater prevalence of loyalty schemes.
British Airways, which has formed a partnership with American Express to release a credit card linked to the airline's Avios air miles programme, claims that transparency of available rewards is a crucial part of loyalty schemes.
"Transparency and what points are really worth is going to be an increasing challenge. Consumers will want to know if earning two points on one scheme is better than earning one point on another, as that might not always be the case," Richard Harris, vice-president of acquisition at American Express, said.
A growing trend in the loyalty scheme sector is the offer of 'money-can't buy-experiences' as rewards, such as Vodafone's 'Freebeez' programme.
