Integrated loyalty programmes increase revenue by 50%, found new research from VCCP and the Data and Marketing Association (DMA).

The report, published today (13 June), looks at over 1700 campaigns from the DMA’s Effectiveness Databank, selecting a group of brands with the “Loyalty X Factor”.

It was crafted in collaboration with TAP CXM, Bernadette and Cowry Consulting.

Titled ‘The Long and Short of Loyalty’, the study reveals that brands with integrated loyalty strategies are 80% more likely to gain more customers.

“The big message here is that loyalty isn’t just about points and promotions, it’s about brand integration,” said Ellie Gauci, head of strategy, Loyalty & CRM at VCCP.

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“Brands that build loyalty into the brand ecosystem – leveraging loyalty data, joining up with every customer touchpoint, and thinking of it as a contributor to compound creativity, consistently outperform. It’s time we reframe loyalty as a long-term, distinctive brand asset, not a short-term tactical tool,” she added.

The data also showed firms are eight times more likely to drive long-term customer retention.

However, the report found that many companies treat loyalty as a “siloed function”, managing it separately from brand communications, which can diminish the customer experience.

Ian Gibbs, Data and Insight Director at the DMA, said: “Our research shows that brands are missing a trick if they only think of their loyalty data as a tool for retention. It can help grow their customer base too through its usage in short-term acquisition activity, but perhaps more importantly through its powerful brand and advocacy effects.

“In fact, there has been a huge ‘short to long term’ pivot for loyalty-centric campaigns since 2022, with the number of brand effects recorded tripling in size,” he added.