Rewards

Card Program Participants Higher Spenders: Survey

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)