By Attila Kecsmar, CEO and co-founder of Antavo
Retail loyalty is heading into one of its most interesting phases yet. For years, programmes have revolved around points, discounts and occasional perks, sitting quietly in the background of retail interactions. That’s shifting. Loyalty is beginning to weave itself into daily life, helped by better data, smarter tech and changing expectations about what a brand relationship should feel like. Our recent research shows more people seeing loyalty programmes as part of their routine, and more willing to join if the value feels immediate and relevant. The signs point towards a new golden age for loyalty, where it becomes a standard feature of retail rather than a nice-to-have.
We’re seeing a shift in retail. We’ve moved past narrow customer service applications and into something more creative, where AI supports the design of personalised reward descriptions, tailored offers and dynamic challenges. There’s also a new style of partnership. Where brands once collaborated out of necessity, they now partner because joint rewards feel richer and more valuable in the customer’s eye. And then there’s the normalisation of loyalty as part of everyday life. More than half of consumers agree with this sentiment, and it’s clear that people want programmes to blend smoothly into their routines rather than feel like an extra task.
On the surface, expectations still revolve around savings. That isn’t going away – people want a good deal, and the cost of living pressures are very real for many. But what keeps people engaged is the layer on top. They might join for discounts and easy points, yet they stay for the experiences, badges, gamified moments and surprises that bring a sense of play into what could otherwise be a pretty functional interaction. Brands have a chance to rethink some of the classic mechanics here. Even something as familiar as a spin-the-wheel feature can be reinvented for a modern audience if it’s done with care and curiosity.
What programmes will look like
Programme design will stretch in new directions next year. Customers will expect more reactive and personalised challenges, shaped around the activities they already enjoy and the products they genuinely care about. According to Antavo’s 2025 Global Customer Loyalty Report, 39.6% of consumers are more likely to join a loyalty programme that uses AI to improve their experience, showing a clear appetite for this kind of intelligent interaction when it provides real value. And this increases depending on demographic – 53.0% of Millennials and 55.1% of Gen Z say AI makes a programme more appealing. Earning points for non-transactional actions is going to move from a fringe idea to mainstream. Seasonal or topical experiences will also grow. Imagine small digital moments that unfold only during the holidays, or challenges tied to cultural events. These are easy to engage with and keep programmes feeling fresh.
From a programme manager’s point of view, AI co-pilots will start to feel like indispensable colleagues. Less tech, more marketing. The work of configuring workflows or building new rewards will feel more like describing an idea and letting the system handle the mechanics. That shift opens up space for more imaginative thinking, where teams can focus on the creative shape of a programme rather than the technical steps behind it.
One shopper, multiple places
The omnichannel picture will improve too. Loyalty will feel genuinely seamless, with customers able to earn, redeem, and interact wherever they are, without friction – 33.6% want more flexibility in how they redeem points and rewards. Real-time, contextual engagement will make this possible, linking in-store, online and in-app behaviour so rewards and messages surface at just the right moment. The broader shift is towards immersive brand ecosystems, where every channel supports the loyalty story and becomes part of a joined-up experience rather than acting in isolation.
There will be challenges. The biggest is differentiation. Launching a straightforward loyalty programme with points and discounts is no longer enough to stand out; customers can tell when something has been put together in a hurry. There is also the question of data.
Five years ago, data was scattered across systems and hard to unify. Now, with the rise of customer data platforms, retailers have far cleaner insight. The challenge is understanding what that insight is actually saying. How can it reveal lifetime value, show the real return on investment, or highlight where customer behaviour is heading next?
Overcoming these hurdles requires a blend of creativity and operational strength. Great ideas need to sit comfortably within a brand’s narrative, make sense financially and be supported by the right technology. Retailers also need consistency across their systems so that any creative plan can actually come to life. Those who align ambition with infrastructure will feel the benefit most clearly.
The death of the discount?
Transactional loyalty will continue to play its part. Discounts and points are familiar, easy to understand and still very effective at bringing people through the door. But they’re no longer the driver of long-term loyalty. They act as the starting point – our research shows that 69.8% of consumers join loyalty programmes primarily for rewards, discounts or cashback. Metrics will remain important for tracking impact, including reward redemption and adoption rates, repeat purchases, incremental sales, customer lifetime value, and churn reduction. These offer a rounded view of what’s working and where the programme needs to change.
Emotional loyalty will matter just as much. The most effective strategies will be the ones that build connection. Gamification, badges and challenges help with this, as does the rise of community features such as point pooling or family accounts. Experiential rewards also have a huge amount of untapped potential, whether that’s behind-the-scenes visits, event access or brand-aligned opportunities that competitors can’t replicate.
Value taking on a new meaning
Value perception in 2026 will hinge on immediacy, ease and relevance. Customers will continue to join for money-saving benefits and free services such as shipping, but they will judge value by how smoothly a programme fits into their lives and how personal the interactions feel.
Looking ahead, the bolder predictions feel entirely plausible. Loyalty could become a universal layer across retail, with new forms of coalition programmes that stretch beyond the Nectar model and feel more like a streaming platform for rewards. Technology and human interaction will intertwine, with AI helping retailers become more accurate, more predictive and ultimately more personal. For any retailer planning now, the advice is simple. Keep evolving. Refresh rewards and themes, strengthen data foundations and don’t be afraid to let AI do the heavy lifting so imagination has room to grow.
The convergence of tech and brands 