17 Stats That Prove Customer Loyalty Pays Off

With purse strings tightening across the nation, it’s more important than ever for brands to focus on the retention and nurturing of existing customers. Turning occasional purchasers into loyal customers, and even brand advocates, can have a huge impact on a business’s bottom line and, long term, can also help to fuel acquisition strategies. Take a look at just some of the latest stats that show why every business should be considering a loyalty program in 2024.

Effectiveness

1. When it comes to driving profit, a 2% increase in customer retention is comparable to cutting costs by 10%. (Forbes)

2. About half of a company’s revenue comes from approximately 8% of their most loyal customers. (Think Impact)

3. 72% of global customers say they have some degree of brand loyalty. But this varies from country to country. Over 80% of US customers have brand loyalty, but this drops to around 50% in Japan. (Zendesk)

4. A massive 77% of consumers say they’ve held relationships with specific brands for 10 or more years. This is even true of 60% of Millennials. (InMoment)

5. The US leads the way in terms of self-proclaimed lifelong loyal customers. 59% of Americans say that once they’re loyal to a brand, they’re loyal to it for life. (Acquia)

6. 69% of marketers say they’ve increased their loyalty budgets over the past two years. And it must be working, because over half, say they’ll be increasing spend even more over the next two years. (Business Wire)

7. 77% of people are more likely to repeat purchase from a business, if they have a loyalty program. (Bond)

8. Over 70% of consumers are more likely to recommend a business if it has a good loyalty program. (Bond)

9. 37% of customers are willing to pay to upgrade to an enhanced tier of a loyalty program; this increases to 47% for Gen-Z. (Hubspot)

Loyalty by Industry

10. So far in 2023, the Media and Professionals Services industries are benefitting from having the highest levels of customer loyalty, with a retention rate of 84%.

11. The industries with the lowest level of customer loyalty so far this year, are Hospitality, Restaurants, and Travel. These all retain only 55% of their customers on average.

12. The average retention rate for a Financial Services customer so far in 2023 is 78%. (Source: Exploding Topics)

Determining Factors

13. 7% of people believe earning rewards and loyalty points is one of the most valued aspects of the shopping experience. (eMarketer)

14. Less than 8% of consumers say rewards have no impact on their purchasing decisions. (Wirecard)

15. 56% of global consumers say customer service is “very important” in brand choice and loyalty. (Microsoft)

16. 61% of global consumers have cut ties with a brand over poor customer service. (Microsoft)

17. 75% of consumers say they would engage more with loyalty programs they can easily access from a smartphone. (Code Broker)

So there you have it, whether it’s a humble stamp card or a fully integrated loyalty program, it pays to reward customers. Keeping your customers engaged and prioritising loyalty can not only grow your bottom line, it can also drive advocacy and increase your brand value over time.

We’ve seen loyalty programs drive success for many of our B2C and B2B clients; from parents-to-be in baby clubs to golf fans devoted to their teams. If you’re looking to leverage loyalty for your brand, drop us a line today.