In an ideal world, brands and their loyalty members ought to be aligned but in fact their perceptions around programmes often differ dramatically.

While brands are feeling buoyed by their customer relationships, with nearly 90% of executives believing customer loyalty has increased in recent years¹, under 40% of loyalty scheme members believe their brand loyalty has increased.¹

This reveals a huge gap between the perceptions of loyalty operators and members. Why is this, where are the disconnects and what can be done to bridge the divide?

The gaps between brands and customers

Rewards vs. relevance

Relevance is still absolutely key in relation to rewards. Loyalty operators believe they are providing relevant, targeted offers and yet only 30% of consumers say brand communications are relevant.² What’s more, Collinson’s Loyalty Landscape research reveals 15% of respondents actively resent a lack of personalisation which means they receive irrelevant and poorly targeted offers.³ AI is increasing hyper-personalisation but clearly precision targeting of offers is not yet perfect and neither is the resulting customer experience.

Expectation vs. under-estimation

We surveyed loyalty scheme members, asking their expectations of rewards in the next five years. 68% of respondents said they would still be seeking the bedrock of own brand and third party discounts, rewards points or miles.³ Our companion business research revealed that only around 40% of operators foresaw the same.³ So another gap is evident here: companies under-estimate what they need to put on the table to meet or exceed customer expectations.

Personalisation vs. privacy

Consumers are nervous about data privacy while brands are expanding their use of personal data to serve hyper-personalised offers. Only 48% of consumers are comfortable with sharing personal data.⁴ Operators are not wrong to see data as a key programme cornerstone but clarity, transparency and trust around data privacy and usage are key. In addition, the consumer benefit must be substantial enough to overcome data concerns. Put simply, the exchange needs to benefit both parties in a nuanced game of give and take.

Enrolment vs. engagement

In its 2026 Customer Loyalty Guide, Salesforce reports that while 77% of shoppers belong to at least one loyalty programme, 35% have never used one.⁵ And, according to Bond, the average consumer now belongs to almost 18 programmes but engages with only around half of them.² It’s clear that scheme sign up does not equal engagement in a world where customers are overwhelmed with scheme choice and adept at ‘sifting’ for stand-out value.

Complexity vs. Simplicity

While the technology behind programmes is increasingly sophisticated, complexity in the customer experience is a mistake, especially when it comes to programme structure and redemption. 86% of consumers rate financial rewards, simplicity and ease of use as the single most "important" or "very important" attributes in a loyalty programme.⁶

Closing the gaps, bridging the divide

Loyalty leaders can begin to bridge the gap between brands and customers by offering truly relevant rewards which meet or exceed customer expectations. The challenge for brands is how to leverage relevance through improved data insight and how to create (high perceived) value without blowing reward budgets. Smart scheme design can achieve all of this and more.

Data and analytics are the gold-dust that drive great programmes but concerned customers must be convinced that sharing personal data is both safe and beneficial. Deploying effective engagement techniques to create a reciprocal relationship beyond sign up is essential, with attention paid to incremental profit, engagement and retention metrics as well as sign up numbers.

And of course, complexity must be kept behind the scenes with easy, friction-free customer experiences afforded by straightforward scheme structure, communication and redemption.

As our 2025 Loyalty Landscape research concludes: ‘The future of loyalty will belong to the organisations that can turn data into insight, insight into personalisation and personalisation into long-term emotional affinity. To achieve this, brands must modernise their programme design and adopt technology that enables real-time, adaptive engagement. Loyalty is moving from programme to platform, becoming a central intelligence layer that informs the entire customer experience’. ³

References

¹ PwC’s 2025 Customer Experience Survey
² The Bond Loyalty Report, 2025
³ Collinson Loyalty Landscape annual research – 2025 & previous
⁴ 2026 EY Loyalty Market Study
⁵ Salesforce Customer Loyalty Guide 2026
⁶ Deloitte 2024 Consumer Loyalty Survey (Global)