Loyalty Program Participation Jumps Amidst Recession
July 13, 2009 -- Despite the recession, new research shows that consumers are leaning on loyalty programs to stretch household budgets further by earning rewards for their purchases. In fact, U.S. consumer participation in rewards programs has jumped 19 percent across all demographic segments, according to new research released from COLLOQUY, which comprises a collection of publishing, education and research resources devoted to the global loyalty-marketing industry.
The study's findings were based on responses from 2,152 participants across six consumer segments: General Population, representing a statistically distributed sample of the U.S. overall; Affluent (heads of household with annual incomes of $125,000 or greater); Millennials or Young Adults (any respondent 18 to 25 years of age); Seniors (any respondent 60 years or older); Core Women (any female respondent age 25 to 49 with an annual income between $50,000 and $125,000); and Emerging Hispanic (any respondent age 21 or older of Hispanic origin with an annual household income of $40,000 or less).
Additional highlights from the study include:
The retail category demonstrates the highest positive impact in reward program attitudes, with 75 percent of those surveyed reporting a net neutral or positive effect on their program participation as a result of the economy.
Participation by Millennials has soared 32 percent since last measured in 2007. The data reveals more intriguing information about this group and their perceptions about loyalty programs, including:
- Nearly half of responding Millennials rate retail rewards programs as "more important" during the recession. This outpaces the general population at 32.3 percent for the same category.
- 27 percent of Millennials are actively seeking to enroll in new programs to help expand their budgets.
- Somewhat expected, but still significant -- Millennials are far more likely to enjoy engaging with programs through new media channels than the general population. More than 55 percent appreciate communicating through social networking sites (39 percent for general population), and 52 percent enjoy communication via cell phone or text message (38 percent for general population).
Loyalty program participation by women as a demographic is up 29 percent since 2007.
These statistics and more are included in COLLOQUY's latest white paper titled, "After the Meltdown: Consumer Attitudes and Perceptions about Loyalty Programs in the Post-Recession Economy." The paper is available for a free download at www.colloquy.com/whitepapers.
The study's findings were based on responses from 2,152 participants across six consumer segments: General Population, representing a statistically distributed sample of the U.S. overall; Affluent (heads of household with annual incomes of $125,000 or greater); Millennials or Young Adults (any respondent 18 to 25 years of age); Seniors (any respondent 60 years or older); Core Women (any female respondent age 25 to 49 with an annual income between $50,000 and $125,000); and Emerging Hispanic (any respondent age 21 or older of Hispanic origin with an annual household income of $40,000 or less).
Additional highlights from the study include:
The retail category demonstrates the highest positive impact in reward program attitudes, with 75 percent of those surveyed reporting a net neutral or positive effect on their program participation as a result of the economy.
Participation by Millennials has soared 32 percent since last measured in 2007. The data reveals more intriguing information about this group and their perceptions about loyalty programs, including:
- Nearly half of responding Millennials rate retail rewards programs as "more important" during the recession. This outpaces the general population at 32.3 percent for the same category.
- 27 percent of Millennials are actively seeking to enroll in new programs to help expand their budgets.
- Somewhat expected, but still significant -- Millennials are far more likely to enjoy engaging with programs through new media channels than the general population. More than 55 percent appreciate communicating through social networking sites (39 percent for general population), and 52 percent enjoy communication via cell phone or text message (38 percent for general population).
Loyalty program participation by women as a demographic is up 29 percent since 2007.
These statistics and more are included in COLLOQUY's latest white paper titled, "After the Meltdown: Consumer Attitudes and Perceptions about Loyalty Programs in the Post-Recession Economy." The paper is available for a free download at www.colloquy.com/whitepapers.