Loyalty has its price: Aussies will shop more often, travel further and spend extra for brands that reward them; six in 10 open to paying for premium perks
Give us a few points, an occasional freebie, or a discount at checkout, and Australians will happily change where they shop, drive further, and even spend more for the privilege of saving money.
What you need to know:
- Australians are hooked on loyalty: 88 per cent have positive attitudes towards rewards programs, with 73 per cent saying they shop more frequently with brands whose schemes they like and 54 per cent happy to spend a little more.
- Loyalty is becoming an acquisition weapon: 57 per cent say rewards programs influence their first purchase with a brand, compared with 62 per cent who factor them into decisions to stay. That’s potentially significant for CMOs looking beyond retention.
- Younger consumers are leading the charge: 95 per cent of under-35s embrace loyalty programs, 73 per cent say they increase brand affection and 64 per cent are prepared to spend more with brands that reward them.
- Cash remains king, but paid loyalty is gaining ground: Instant discounts (76 per cent) and redeemable points (75 per cent) dominate benefit preferences, while 60 per cent of Australians would consider paying for premium perks, including 36 per cent who remain undecided.
- AI could rewrite the rules: As shopping agents begin comparing prices, perks and brands on consumers’ behalf, Quantum Jump warns that loyalty programs may become increasingly important in maintaining direct customer relationships and brand preference.
What we always try to stress to clients is that the definition of loyalty is that it is an outcome; it is not something that you do. And so, I think it’s always quite interesting when businesses have loyalty departments, or someone’s responsible for loyalty because everything you do and every interaction that a customer has with your brand is either an opportunity to engender loyalty or to actually kind of damage a sense of loyalty.
Australians have developed a powerful attachment to loyalty programs, with almost nine in 10 embracing the schemes and a growing number saying rewards influence where they shop, how often they buy and what they are prepared to spend. Younger consumers are particularly enthusiastic, while an increasing willingness to pay for premium benefits suggests the relationship between brands and their customers is becoming more commercially significant.
Quantum Jump’s inaugural Australian Loyalty State of the Nation study, conducted with research partner Yabble among 750 consumers, found 88 per cent had positive attitudes towards loyalty programs, including 53 per cent who said they loved using them. The findings suggest rewards schemes are influencing purchasing decisions across the customer relationship, from initial brand consideration to repeat business, advocacy and emotional attachment.
This latest study adds to a growing body of data around loyalty in Australia, an area that has become increasingly important in a tight economy, and which will likely become critical as agentic commerce takes off and consumers increasingly lean into personal bots to do their research and shopping.
Each study offers a different perspective altough directionally they are more alike than at odds, althugh with enough variance to make it interesting.
According to Teresa Sperti, author of the annual Inside Digital & eCommerce 2026 these days loyalty programs are scrutinised in annual reports, discussed in boardrooms and increasingly viewed as assets that can influence everything from retail media revenues to customer acquisition and personalisation.
As Sperti told us in June, “Nearly half of manufacturing brands said loyalty strategies and initiatives are strategically important over the next 12 to 18 months. Among retail leaders, 80.4 per cent see loyalty strategies as strategically important to the organisation’s overall strategy over the next 12 – 18 months while more than three quarters agree their loyalty program needs to evolve to meet the changing needs of customers.”
Brands are realising how important it is becoming to influence and connect the path to purchase and drive preference as they are increasingly competing with retailer-private label alternatives.”
“Growing share in an increasingly competitive market requires a very different approach, and brands are realising they need to play operate differently.”
Then there’s Honeycomb Strategy’s Science of Loyalty program. As we reported at the start of October, it found that the number of benefits you can stack against the competitive set, or offer as immediate payback, doesn’t directly correlate with active engagement. Instead, instinctive human behaviours, most notably the rise in self-identification with loyalty programs and the brands offering them, are laddering up to more engagement, especially across younger demos, and therefore more share of the consumer’s wallet.
And of course, the country’s longest-running and arguably most closely watched loyalty study in the market, certainly amongst the loyalty program community, is Adam Posner’s For Love or Money. This year, Posner reported that consumers prefer programs that reliably put money back in their pockets, or keep it there in the first place, reduce friction, and deliver visible value quickly. He argued that this shift is beginning to reorder the industry.
He also told us at the time, “Data from loyalty programs is abundant; however, it is no longer about data availability, it is about relevance activation.”
Jump ahead
With Quantum Jump’s extension into the Australian loyalty market, researchers found that nearly three-quarters of respondents (73 per cent) agreed they shopped more regularly with brands offering loyalty programs they liked, while 69 per cent said those programs made them more likely to choose a brand. Another 54 per cent were happy to spend a little more with brands that rewarded and recognised them, and 41 per cent said they would travel further to shop with those businesses.
The figures measure consumers’ reported attitudes and intentions rather than independently verified changes in purchasing behaviour.
Quantum Jump CEO Ben Goodale said Australians were more engaged with loyalty programs than New Zealanders, where the consultancy has conducted equivalent research for three years.
Younger consumers lead the enthusiasm
Attachment is especially strong among Australians under 35, with 95 per cent expressing positive feelings towards loyalty programs.
Within that cohort, 74 per cent said they were more likely to choose brands with programs they liked, while 73 per cent said those schemes increased their affection for the brand. Nearly two-thirds (64 per cent) were happy to spend more with businesses that rewarded and recognised them.
Goodale suggested smartphones and digital experiences were contributing to younger consumers’ enthusiasm.
“We’re really interested in the current consumer, the up-and-coming consumer, and their role, and they generally speaking are even more. We think that is partly because the ways that brands are interacting with them well via smartphones, that is helping them just be more engaged.”
The research also challenges the traditional emphasis on loyalty programs as customer retention mechanisms.
Some 57 per cent of Australians said a loyalty program influenced their consideration of a company when buying for the first time, compared with 62 per cent who said it influenced whether they remained with an existing provider. Among under-35s, those figures rose to 65 per cent and 66 per cent, respectively.
The relatively small difference between acquisition and retention consideration suggests loyalty programs have a broader role in influencing customer choice than their historical association with repeat purchases might imply.
Quantum Jump’s head of planning, Amy Watson, said brands needed to view loyalty as the outcome of the entire customer relationship.
“What we always try to stress to clients is that the definition of loyalty is that it is an outcome; it is not something that you do. And so, I think it’s always quite interesting when businesses have loyalty departments, or someone’s responsible for loyalty because everything you do and every interaction that a customer has with your brand is either an opportunity to engender loyalty or to actually kind of damage a sense of loyalty.”
Australians still want financial rewards
Despite growing interest in customer experience and emotional engagement, Australians remain overwhelmingly focused on tangible financial benefits.
76 per cent of respondents ranked instant discounts among the three most important loyalty benefits, closely followed by redeemable points or dollars at 75 per cent, with daylight third.
And then, a hefty way back, occasional surprise freebies attracted 41 per cent, while improved experiences, including faster delivery, enhanced service and easier ordering, were selected by 33 per cent. Exclusive access to products, services or events received 26 per cent.
Watson said the benefits that resonated with consumers varied according to the products they purchased and the experiences they expected from different brands.
Grocery shoppers typically sought straightforward savings on essential purchases, while beauty consumers could place greater value on exclusive experiences, product discovery and surprise rewards. Quick-service restaurants could build engagement through frequent, attainable rewards and gamification.
McDonald’s, the standout program as judged by its users, provides an example of the latter approach. Its MyMacca’s program combines points, free products and promotional challenges with an app experience designed to encourage regular participation.
“I think they’ve got the balance of frequency of reward right,” Watson said.
The program topped Quantum Jump’s new Loyalty Equity Index, which assesses behavioural intent, advocacy and emotional attachment among participating customers. The index was developed to examine how loyalty programs influence brand relationships beyond membership numbers and national reach.
Emotional attachment accounts for 35 per cent of the composite score, reflecting the consultancy’s interest in how programs affect consumers’ feelings towards brands.
Across the broader survey, 62 per cent agreed that a loyalty program they liked made them like or love the brand more, while 57 per cent said they told friends about programs they valued.
Australians prepared to pay for loyalty
The index was developed to examine how loyalty programs influence brand relationships beyond membership numbers and national reach.
According to Rachel Wintle, Quantum Jump’s Australian GM, “It’s the frequency, the habitual Flybuys or Everyday Rewards. If it isn’t paid for through OnePass or Everyday Extra, there’s less brand love. So yes, the paid subscriptions where people are already invested, there’s a fandom almost.”
“The effects of the brand and the investment that they are putting into the brand are trickling down,” she said, giving the example of The Iconic’s to Front Row. “We can make that hypothesis that they’re fans of The Iconic and the loyalty program is an extension of the brand.”
The research also identified substantially greater openness towards paid loyalty programs in Australia than in New Zealand.
Almost one-quarter of Australians (24 per cent) said they would definitely consider paying a subscription for additional benefits, including better discounts, higher points-earning rates, or bonuses. Another 36 per cent said they might consider paying, depending on the offer. (The corresponding New Zealand figures were 10 per cent and 33 per cent.)
Paid programs including OnePass, Amazon Prime and Everyday Extra performed strongly in Quantum Jump’s equity measure, suggesting participating consumers report considerable attachment to programs offering enhanced benefits.
Watson said paid membership could also influence shopping behaviour because customers had an incentive to recover the value of their subscription through continued participation.
“The value of exchange has got to stack up,” she said.
Consumers want engagement on their terms
The research also uncovered differences between marketers’ enthusiasm for digital engagement and consumers’ communication preferences.
Email remained the preferred channel for loyalty communications, nominated by 62 per cent of respondents, compared with 38 per cent for app notifications and 20 per cent for SMS.
Digital participation varied considerably by age. Some 44 per cent of under-35s preferred using loyalty programs through an app or online, compared with just 6 per cent of consumers aged 65 and older. Among the older cohort, 62 per cent preferred physical cards.
Watson said brands also faced operational constraints in delivering sophisticated personalised communications, particularly where they lacked the real-time data and infrastructure needed to fulfil offers consistently.
AI raises new questions about loyalty
The emergence of AI shopping agents presents another challenge as consumers begin delegating product research, comparisons and potentially purchasing decisions to software.
Watson said loyalty programs could become important in maintaining direct customer relationships as AI intermediaries assume a greater role in commerce.
Agents may compare discounts and rewards more systematically, while customers could continue favouring brands because of past experiences, service expectations, and emotional attachment.
“What is the role of a loyalty program? What is the role of a brand in that scenario?” Watson asked.
Quantum Jump acknowledged that the consequences remain uncertain. However, the prospect of consumers increasingly relying on AI to make purchasing decisions raises questions about how brands can preserve the relationships and preferences their loyalty programs have helped cultivate, its executives agreed.