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Loyalty Programs Popularity Among Millenials

Written by Peter Devereaux | May 15, 2014 5:00:00 AM

Loyalty programs are seemingly everywhere today.

 

Some market their program by giving discounts to consumers when they initially sign up, while others say that over time consumers can accrue points which will lead to discounts. A popular sporting goods store has two different rewards programs. Based on the results of a recent study, there is good reason for their popularity.

 

PunchTab, a multichannel loyalty and engagement platform, has released the findings from its latest study in which more than 1,200 millennials participated. There were two main focuses of the study, shopping habits of millennials and whether or not customer loyalty programs influence them.

 

 

SHOPPING HABITS

 

One of the more surprising findings was that while both male and female millennials learn about brands via social channels (10 and 20 percent respectively), a much larger portion of them learn about brands through word-of-mouth or from having direct contact with others who are wearing the brand (49 percent for males and 60 percent for females). Another interesting discovery was that Facebook, at 45 percent, was not the top way for millennials to share recommendations about fashion brands. Instead, the main way the millennials shared information about brands was through friends and family (62 percent).

 

LOYALTY PROGRAMS

 

With seemingly every brand under the sun having their own loyalty program, it is rather surprising that only 52 percent of millennial men are members of one or more fashion related loyalty programs especially considering 74 percent of millennial woman are members of at least one fashion related program. Also, the results show that 63 percent of millennials are willing to join a loyalty program if they are given incentives. However, if those incentives were taken away just 35 percent would join. Furthermore, a majority of millennial men (64 percent) and women (75 percent) who are already members of at least one loyalty program indicated that the programs do indeed play a role in where they buy their clothes from.

 

 

According to the study, the top loyalty programs for millennial men are Kohl's (27 percent), a popular sporting goods store (23 percent), Target (22 percent) and Macy's (16 percent). The top loyalty programs for millennial women are Victoria's Secret (33 percent), Kohl's (24 percent), American Eagle Outfitters (21 percent) and Gap brands (21 percent).