Shoppers Want Grocery Store Loyalty Programs the Most

Merchants and brands can foster the use of their store and co-branded credit cards by offering consumers rewards programs, special benefits and card-linked offers.

Consumers are most interested in receiving personalized card-linked offers from grocery stores, at 44%, followed by clothing and apparel retailers, at 41%, according to “Leveraging Item-Level Receipt Data: How Personalized Card-Linked Offers Drive Store Card Usage,” a PYMNTS Intelligence and Banyan collaboration. Restaurants and food stores trail at 9% of consumers, implying that consumers may be more interested in using store card-linked offers for essentials than for discretionary spending.

Interest in card-linked loyalty programs

Fostering Customer Loyalty

Customer loyalty translates to a higher frequency of purchases and lifetime value. Overall, new and loyal shoppers are the most likely to reap the benefits of loyalty programs, while sporadic shoppers across categories, by their nature, are less likely to use store cards to make purchases.

Among all reviewed categories, new shoppers and loyal shoppers are the most interested in receiving personalized offers from grocery merchants. While two-thirds of loyal shoppers and those new to brands or merchants said they would be interested in receiving card-linked offers for grocery stores, only half of sporadic shoppers said the same. New shoppers are slightly more likely to be interested in receiving card-linked offers from clothing retailers than loyal shoppers, at 50% and 47%, respectively.

Types of shoppers who gravitate to certain stores card-linked offers

Converting sporadic shoppers into loyal ones presents a challenge for merchants, as nearly 35% of these shoppers would not be interested in receiving card-linked offers for any store card whatsoever. Understanding and catering to these nuanced preferences could prove to be a key driver for businesses aiming to foster loyalty among all customer groups.

About the Numbers

Leveraging Item-Level Receipt Data: How Personalized Card-Linked Offers Drive Store Card Usage” examines how merchants can enhance their store and/or co-branded credit card offerings with card-linked reward programs. The study surveyed 2,074 U.S. consumers to learn about their interest in using these cards and their preference for personalized card-linked offers.