Study Finds Loyalty Program Likely Isn’t Saving as Much as You Think

While no one argues loyalty programs aren’t saving you money or providing benefits, is your loyalty program living up to your expectations? A new study says probably not.

Incogni surveyed 1,000 Americans about loyalty program memberships and expectations and found most expect loyalty programs to save them at least $50 per month. Out of the survey respondents, members of Gen X expected the least in savings, while members of Gen Z expected the highest.

However, Incogni revealed, in order to actually receive $50 in savings per month from popular loyalty programs, you have to spend quite a lot per month in order to see those savings — far more than most consumers actually spend. For example, Incogni noted, if you were a member of Starbucks’ loyalty program, to get $50 in savings per monthly, you’d need to spend $1,200 per month. Similarly, McDonald’s loyalty program members need to spend $281 per month to get $50 in savings monthly.

The survey found loyalty program members have other certain expectations surrounding their programs that go unfilled, too. While many respondents said they were uncomfortable with the idea of their loyalty programs sharing their data, Icogni found 80 percent of loyalty programs analyzed do, in fact, sell member data to third parties.