The market for loyalty platforms is well-established, and today’s customers rely on vendors for core loyalty functions including managing member data, implementing complex program structures, and activating personalized promotions, benefits, and offers. However, AI’s accelerating transformation of business solutions and the desire to augment transactional loyalty with differentiated experiences is starting to shift buyer needs. This report distills insights from 29 enterprise implementations to help you evaluate platforms, avoid common pitfalls, and ask the right questions to ensure long-term value.

Brands continue to see the value in developing deeper relationships with their customers through loyalty initiatives, but investment typically flows toward technology, rewards, and promotions, with less focus on what drives differentiated experiences, personalized engagements, and emotional loyalty. This isn’t surprising, given that loyalty is both an art and a science, and it’s much easier […]

Programmatic loyalty remains a priority for brands, yet growing the dedicated skill sets and headcount needed to execute these programs effectively can be a challenge. Companies often focus too heavily on day-to-day operations at the expense of strategic innovation, leading to misalignment across the business, gaps in customer experience, and a failure to meet the expectations of loyal customers. This report outlines the critical roles and responsibilities of a loyalty team, how to scale the function as your loyalty initiatives mature, and the characteristics of a loyalty organization with longevity.

You can use loyalty services to operationalize loyalty across the enterprise, unlock the value of loyalty data, and design loyalty and customer engagement strategies. But to realize these benefits, you’ll first have to select from a diverse set of providers that vary by size, type of offering, geography, and business scenario differentiation. B2C marketers should use this report to understand the value they can expect from a loyalty services provider, learn how providers differ, and investigate options based on size and market focus.

Starbucks’ recent rewards program update should have been a brand win — instead, it triggered a wave of frustration. Loyalty marketers can learn from the missteps.

Loyalty program membership is ubiquitous, and consumers across countries and generations agree that programs influence where they make purchases and what they buy. Creating a program that keeps their attention is the challenge: About one-third of US online adults who belong to loyalty programs say they frequently forget to use the programs they belong to. This report helps marketers understand consumer attitudes toward loyalty programs.

Forrester’s 2025 data shows that 42% of US online adults who belong to loyalty programs agree that they are more likely to make impulse purchases when they belong to a brand’s loyalty program. Your consumers are most swayed by their loyalty program memberships. Looking at it by generation, 49% of millennials and 49% of Gen Z consumers agree that they would be more likely to make an impulse purchase if they are a member of a brand’s loyalty program. By contrast, only 32% of baby boomers agree with this sentiment. This is a snapshot of Forrester’s data on consumers’ purchasing behaviors.

According to Forrester’s Retail Topic Insights 2 Survey, 2025 , financial rewards continue to be among the most important elements of loyalty programs to US consumers. Seventy-five percent of US online adults report that instant discounts are important in a loyalty program, and 70% say loyalty currencies like points, miles, and stars are important. However, consumers also value experiential rewards. Over half of US online adults believe enhanced customer service, the ability to earn and use points across different brands, offers tailored to their preferences, and the ability to earn special status are also important elements. Balance discounts and points with experiential rewards that differentiate your loyalty program and elicit positive emotions that drive loyalty.

Join Forrester experts and your peers for an interactive presentation that will dive deeper into Forrester’s 2026 Predictions for B2C marketing.Key takeaways: Understand the changing technology, consumer, and market dynamics in store in 2026. Uncover new insights based on Forrester’s research and expert analysis.Prepare your team and your organization for what’s ahead. Target audience level: all levels

The latest edition of our loyalty platform vendor evaluation, “The Forrester Wave™: Loyalty Platforms, Q4 2025,” reveals how the loyalty platform market continues to evolve to meet the growing demand to profitably retain the best customers with personalization at every touchpoint, relevant engagements, and differentiated experiences.