Coles Flybuys is the number one loyalty program in Australia according to the ‘For Love or Money 2018’ research study.
The paper found that 35 per cent of those surveyed believed Coles Flybuys are doing a very good job, while 20.2 per cent sided with Woolworths Rewards – a sizable increase from 13.4 per cent last year.
Australians, on average, are a member of 4 loyalty programs, and are active in around half.
On the topic of privacy, the study found that once members understood how their data was being used 50 per cent were okay with sharing this information in order to receive a better shopping experience, while 23 per cent felt this was an invasion of their privacy and 27 per cent didn’t feel strongly either way.
Interestingly, 36 per cent of members expressed level of interest in being rewarded with cryptocurrency rather than more traditional rewards or benefits.
There are three main motivations to join a loyalty program according to the study: convenience (47 per cent), transactional (43 per cent) and emotional (9 per cent).
These percentages have changed since the 2017 report, with ‘transactional’ benefits becoming more important to Australians, almost meeting the importance of ‘convenience’.
Unsurprisingly, as digital platforms continue to improve and become more convenient for consumers, there has been an increase in customer preference for digital loyalty programs, with a 160 per cent incremental gain (5 per cent to 13 per cent) in customers wanting to “use a mobile app to receive rewards/benefits at the same time as paying with your preferred payment method”.
Additionally, presenting a physical loyalty card to claim rewards or benefits followed by paying using the customers preferred method dropped in popularity year over year, from 81 per cent to 67 per cent.
Overall, an increasing number of people (59 percent) believe loyalty programs have improved a lot in recent years and offer worthwhile benefits to members.
Access exclusive analysis, locked news and reports with Inside Retail Weekly. Subscribe today and get our premium print publication delivered to your door every week.
