Most people in the UK carry a stack of loyalty cards and apps, and many rarely get used. So does the classic points scheme still earn its keep?
The short answer is that loyalty still matters. The way most schemes deliver it is what’s starting to look tired.
Shoppers still sign up, but they expect more
People haven’t walked away from rewards. During the cost of living squeeze, plenty of households leaned on points and member prices to stretch their budgets. In late 2024, the Competition and Markets Authority reviewed loyalty pricing at the big supermarkets and found that 92% of the products it checked offered a real saving on the usual price.
So the value is there. The problem is that shoppers now treat a scheme as a basic part of the deal, not a reason to stay. When every rival offers points, points alone stop setting you apart.
Trust has taken a knock
The same CMA review found that 55% of people thought usual prices were pushed up to make loyalty deals look better. The watchdog’s own checks found most deals were genuine. Even so, the suspicion is real, and it shapes how people feel about a brand.
A scheme is meant to say “we value you”. If customers read it as a trick, it does the opposite job.
Collecting isn’t the same as caring
Another figure from the CMA work is telling. Over three quarters of people (76%) said loyalty pricing hadn’t changed where they shop. In other words, many members join, collect and carry on as before. The card sits in the wallet, but the habit was already there.
This is the gap many brands miss. Sign-ups look healthy on a dashboard. Real loyalty is much harder to build.
What a relevant scheme looks like now
The schemes that still work tend to share a few traits:
- Rewards feel personal, based on what a person actually buys
- Offers turn up at the right moment, not weeks later in an email
- Earning is easy and doesn’t need another app or plastic card
- Redeeming is simple and quick, so members see value fast
Timing and convenience do a lot of the heavy lifting. If a reward shows up where people already spend time, such as their banking app, it’s far more likely to be seen and used.
Where banks and retailers fit together
This is why some banks are building rewards straight into their apps. A bank can see broad spending patterns, and retailers want to reach people who already shop in their category. Bringing the two together through a customer engagement platform means the customer gets relevant offers without signing up to yet another scheme. The retailer funds the reward, the bank gives its customers a reason to open the app, and the shopper simply earns as they spend.
It turns loyalty from a separate chore into something that happens in the background of normal life.
So, are they losing relevance?
Generic points schemes are. People are tired of collecting for the sake of it, and they’re quick to spot a deal that feels hollow. Rewards that feel personal, fair and easy are a different story. Shoppers still want to be recognised for their custom. They just want it done in a way that respects their time and their money.
If your scheme feels like an admin task, start there. Make it simpler, make it fairer and make it fit into how people already shop.
