Loyalty Pays Back

Weather the storm of the current economic downturn

Following the success of the Global Customer Loyalty Report 2022, this year’s report provides a comprehensive analysis of the loyalty landscape in such a turbulent economic climate. During a period of inflation, increased interest rates, economic recession and overall uncertainty, brands and retailer need to increase their customer retention efforts, especially in customer loyalty and CRM.

The role of customer loyalty to overcome time of uncertainty

Published in early December, the Global Customer Loyalty Report 2023 indicate a level of trust the industry has in the power of loyalty programs while facing a time of uncertainty. In fact, 55.9% of respondents envision the role of customer loyalty as essential or very valuable to overcome the inflation crisis and a potential recession. The results also showcase that the value of existing customers has increased in the eyes of business owners and marketers during the current economic downturn. In fact, most companies, 67.7%, plan to increase or significantly increase their investments in customer retention during the inflation crisis and potential recession.

Is your loyalty strategy ready for the year to come?

Investing in Loyalty Pays Back! Not only it pays off from the customers’ point of view, but the survey results indicate that investing in loyalty programs also pays off for the business itself. How? Well, according to the GCLR 2023 research, 80.0% of companies that measure the ROI of their loyalty programs reported a positive ROI with, on average, 4.9X more revenue than costs.

In this year survey, respondents were asked to name the features or strategy they would most like to invest in. The most popular answer was personalization. In last year’s report, businesses also named personalized experiences as one of the top three most influential loyalty trends for the coming years. Second on the list is infrastructure and technologies, followed by rewards and benefits, program revamp and mobile experiences and reporting capabilities share fifth place.

Considering the uncertainty that the global economy is currently facing, these numbers paint a picture that investing in customer loyalty is a worthwhile business move, and can indeed turn out to be the famed lifeline during the inflation crisis.

How to take action

Interested in launching or revamping a loyalty program? Learn more about the role of loyalty programs as a customer retention and engagement tool, budget and ROI, KPIs you should track and the top 3 loyalty program trends for the year to come by downloading the 2023 edition of the Global Customer Loyalty Report.