9 in 10 Australians belong to a loyalty program
More than 60% of Aussies think that their loyalty program allegiances influence how they shop.
Based on the contents of your own wallet, you probably already know that Australians love loyalty programs. And according to new research from Mastercard, 9 in 10 Australians have a loyalty card in their wallet. The average Australian belongs to 6.1 loyalty programs.
In the survey of 7,000 loyalty program participants across the Asia Pacific, the Achieving Advocacy and Influence in a Changing Loyalty Landscape report found that Aussies are the biggest rewards program enthusiasts in the APAC.
Retail loyalty programs are our favourite (with 79% of Australians belonging to one), followed by airline frequent flyer programs (50%) and schemes with our financial institutions (43%). Some of our favourite programs include flybuys, Woolworths Rewards and Qantas Frequent Flyer, with 31%, 18% and 9% of participants considering them to be their most important loyalty programs respectively.
What types of loyalty programs do Australians belong to?
Travel is our main motivation behind belonging to these loyalty programs, with 79% of Aussies nominating frequent flyer points as their preferred reward. This was closely followed by reward points other than airline miles (68%) and discounts (61%). The popularity of travel rewards is interesting considering that more Aussies belong to retail loyalty programs than frequent flyer schemes.
This could also be because Aussies are slightly more interested in the satisfaction of quick rewards than accumulating points to redeem a large reward. According to the report, less than half of Australians (48%) were willing to collect points and wait to obtain their reward.
However, you may find that collecting points with a frequent flyer program may be more rewarding than with a retail scheme. For example, 8,000 flybuys points would get you a total of $40 off your shop at Coles. However, 8,000 Qantas Frequent Flyer points are enough to redeem an economy flight from Sydney to the Gold Coast. Of course, the value of your rewards program is also dependent on your shopping behaviour and which rewards best suit your lifestyle.
Our love for loyalty programs is also significantly impacting how we shop. According to the new research, Mastercard found that 62% of Aussies think that their loyalty programs influence how they spend.
The results of Mastercard’s research is interesting considering finder found that 40% of Aussies were unhappy with their credit card rewards in November 2017. Following the interchange fee regulations and subsequent devaluation of card rewards programs in July last year, 57% of cardholders were prepared to switch providers to get more competitive rewards.
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