If you reward them, they will come. Retailer loyalty programs (defined as marketing programs that reward members with purchase incentives) aren’t just in good supply around the world, they’re in high demand as well.
According to Nielsen’s Global Survey of Loyalty Sentiment, 59 percent of all respondents claimed that retailer loyalty programs were offered where they shop. Prevalence was highest in Europe (61%), North America (61%) and Asia-Pacific (60%) and lowest in Latin America (46%) and Middle East/Africa (42%).
Prevalence and patronage seem to go hand in hand. Eighty-four percent of respondents globally said they were more likely to choose retailers that offered a loyalty program. Respondents in Asia-Pacific (92%), the Middle East/Africa (87%) and Latin America (82%) favored loyalty programs most—good news for many merchants in these regions, as program availability is still developing. Three-quarters of respondents in North America (76%) and Europe (72%) also pledged their patronage to retailers that offer a loyalty program.
“While the concept of loyalty is nothing new, we are seeing a significant surge in retailers—and particularly those in developing economies—investing in loyalty programs that give them valuable insight into how to better meet customer needs,” said Julie Currie, senior vice president Global Loyalty, Nielsen. “Savvy retailers are mining the data and looking for new and innovative ways to achieve the benefits most important to their customers.”
Other findings include:
For more detail and insight, download Nielsen’s Global Loyalty Sentiment report.
The Nielsen Global Survey of Loyalty Sentiment was conducted between Feb. 18 and March 8, 2013 and polled more than 29,000 online consumers in 58 countries throughout Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and North America. The sample has quotas based on age and sex for each country based on their Internet users, and is weighted to be representative of Internet consumers and has a maximum margin of error of ±0.6%. This Nielsen survey is based on the behavior of respondents with online access only. Internet penetration rates vary by country. Nielsen uses a minimum reporting standard of 60 percent Internet penetration or 10 million online population for survey inclusion. The Nielsen Global Survey, which includes the Global Consumer Confidence Index, was established in 2005.