Nearly Half of Consumers With Kids Would Switch to Merchants With Card-Linked Offers

Loyalty or rewards programs play a role in consumer shopping habits.

Sixty-five percent of credit or debit card users prefer to shop with brands or merchants where they are members of loyalty or rewards programs.

This is one of the findings in the PYMNTS Intelligence report “Leveraging Item-Level Receipt Data: How Card-Linked Offers Drive Customer Loyalty,” a collaboration with Banyan. The study examined U.S. consumers’ interest in loyalty and rewards programs, their preference for card-linked offers, and how merchants can increase awareness and use of these offers.

The report revealed that 41% of consumers prefer cards with personalized rewards, indicating the economic incentives tailored programs provide to increase customer loyalty.

Against this backdrop, card-linked offers have emerged as a popular strategy among merchants to attract new customers, enhance the consumer purchasing experience and generate new sources of sales revenue.

Failure to adopt this strategy comes with risks. Per the study, one-third of consumers are likely to switch their shopping behaviors and choose merchants that provide card-linked offer programs.

Drilling down into the demographics showed that 50% of millennials, 49% of consumers with children and 44% of new customers are likely to switch to merchants offering product-specific card-linked offers programs. Additionally, 50% of millennials, 50% of consumers with children and 48% of new customers are likely to switch to merchants offering merchant-specific programs.

The popularity of card-linked offers can be attributed to the benefits they offer consumers. More than 60% of consumers surveyed expressed their intention to use card-linked offers when purchasing travel, professional services or groceries. Consumers said they would also use card-linked offers when buying digital streaming services, food items from restaurants and retail products.

Overall, card-linked offers have proven to be a powerful tool for attracting new customers and driving customer loyalty. By leveraging item-level receipt data and providing personalized and relevant offers, merchants can enhance the consumer purchasing experience and increase customer engagement. Merchants and card issuers must also promote these programs and educate consumers about their benefits to maximize their effectiveness.