Consumer rewards program particpants spend more on average than non-particpants, according to a new survey by loyalty consulting and implementation firm Maritz. Whether loyalty programs cause greater spending or simply attract those already inclined to spend is not clear, however. Customer loyalty program members tend to be younger, female, from the Northeast or West, and have children under 18 in their homes.

“It is interesting to see that rewards program members are spending more. However, we need to keep in mind that the programs might not directly cause shoppers to increase their purchases,” said Tim Crank, director of product management, Maritz Loyalty Marketing. “It could be that those who spend more join programs to obtain rewards for purchases they would have made even if they weren’t members. But whatever the reason, enrolling shoppers who are spending more is a great tool for retailers because it allows them to mine the data collected from loyalty programs to identify and create a dialogue with profitable customers.”

While the demographics of reward program members are not particularly surprising, one perhaps surprising statistic is that 54% percent of men said they were involved in some type of loyalty program, which is not that much different than the 62% of women who said the same. Maritz suggested there may be more of an opportunity to enroll men than many retailers think. The online survey included 2,178 adult shoppers who had made a purchase in the prior six months.

Published 08/04/06 (Modified 05/07/12)