Top Loyalty Marketers? Retailers.
by Joshua Tretakoff | EVP, Services
When you say the term “loyalty program,” most people think of one thing: frequent flyer programs. In comparison to, say, a retailer’s loyalty program, most people think that’s another type that’s much smaller. Yet word comes today of a surprise: Retailers are now the top loyalty marketers, according to DIRECT magazine.
How big is the divide? According to the study quoted:
“…across-the-board retail loyalty program memberships now number 701 million, representing 39% of the U.S. loyalty market. That compares to 556 million in travel-hospitality, which includes airline, hotel, gambling, car rental and cruise programs, representing 31% of the market, and financial services credit card programs at 422 million for 23% of the market.”
In these challenging economic times, there’s clearly an upward trend here, and Loyalty Lab is proud to work with the lion’s share of retailers, including Sears, Kmart, Nike, Nine West and more. Of course, since we also provide services for travel-hospitality (Virgin America) and financial services (HSBC), we seem to have a well-rounded sampling, and we learn from all of them, and they learn from us. Nice to see a fresh segment atop the loyalty pyramid!
