Consumers say their favorite brands reward them for their loyalty. Some also enjoy taking advantage of incentives offered by brands on social media, although brands could be doing more, according to a report [download page] from Clarus Commerce.
Overall, 39% of the 2,500 US consumers surveyed in late February said they have not engaged with a brand on social media in exchange for incentives, implying that a majority have done so.
The most common action taken in exchange for an incentive is to follow the brand on their social media pages, as reported by 42% of respondents. However, engagement beyond that simple action is fairly limited. About 1 in 4 have commented on a social media post from the brand (26%) or reshared a post from the brand (23%). Fewer still (15%) have used a brand’s hashtag or @mentioned them in a post either to boost the post’s visibility (15%) or in order to participate in a promotion, sweepstakes or contest (12%).
The authors suggest that “if brands want to use social media to build customer loyalty, they have to be willing to exchange more than what they’re currently offering.”
Top Motivations for Premium Loyalty Programs Remain Similar
For the most part, consumers are motivated by the same benefits to invest in or renew a premium loyalty program as they were last year. That is, the benefit that most cite as a motivation is free shipping (69%), followed by instant discounts (63%). Last year, these were also the top two motivations cited by respondents. The appeal of instant discounts is worth noting in light of separate results from the survey, indicating that 78% of consumers don’t want to wait to accumulate points in loyalty programs and believe that loyalty programs should provide immediate benefits to maintain their loyalty.
Meanwhile this year the third-most cited motivation for investing in or renewing a premium loyalty program is a free giveaway (59%). Trailing further behind are surprise rewards (43%) and faster shipping (40%), the latter dropping from the third spot last year, when it was cited by roughly half of respondents.
Youth Seem Eager to Join Premium Loyalty Programs
Overall, 78% of the survey’s respondents said they belong to traditional loyalty programs. These could prove fertile ground for recruiting premium loyalty program members: 83% of respondents said they were likely to invest in a brand’s premium loyalty program if they already belonged to its traditional loyalty program. This sentiment was much higher among Gen Z (88%), Millennial (90%) and Gen X (85%) respondents than among Baby Boomers (66%) and the Silent Generation (61%).
Moreover, youth seem more apt in general to add to their premium programs. Close to three-quarters of respondents reported belonging to premium loyalty programs, and 78% of those plan to join additional ones over the next year. Once again, it’s Gen Z (87%) and Millennial (85%) respondents who are the most likely to say they’re planning to join additional premium loyalty programs, with a high figure among Gen X (79%) and lower likelihood among Baby Boomers (61%) and the Silent Generation (46%).
For more, download the study here.
