Continuing the Conversation: Customer Loyalty Predictions 2025 [Webinar Q&A]

On December 17th, 2024, Comarch hosted a webinar dedicated to the future of customer loyalty with our top predictions for 2025. The event was based on a major global survey featuring over 3000 consumers worldwide, which gave us insight into what modern loyalty programs should look like.

The conversation was led by a panel of loyalty experts, such as Łukasz Dubiel (Loyalty Solutions Consulting Director at Comarch), Anastasia Levashova, PhD (Co-founder of Global Loyalty Organisation), Bijou Daniel (Head of Product—Loyalty and Operations at Alshaya Group), and Sam Calcagno (Product Marketing Manager at Comarch).

With so many amazing experts and a highly engaged audience, the webinar sparked many questions – not all of which we had the chance to answer.

That’s why we decided to keep the conversation going through this article, where we explore all of your queries. Keep reading to find out what our experts think about the 2025 state of loyalty!

And if you’ve missed our webinar (or want to jog your memory), hit the link to watch it on demand!

Customer Loyalty Predictions 2025: From AI to Sustainability – Q&A 

Q: Are modern customers sensitive to the changes happening in a loyalty program they’re already a part of, such as items/rewards offered?

It depends on the type of changes. There’s a clear correlation: if the changes include more generous offers, customers always react positively, increasing frequency and basket value, and if the offer value is decreased, customers will react negatively. That’s why data analysis is so important. We always need to find the proper balance.  Regarding products/redemption offers – if we use the right communication channel at the right time, we can increase product sales and redemption. When we analyze customer behavior, transactions, and preferences and use the proper strategy, we will be able to influence customer purchase behavior. We can use different models to: Acquire customers for new products or categories. Cross-sell new products because they buy something similar or related. Upsell to increase transaction frequency and value. To boost redemption offers, it is important to find the right moment to communicate it. Rewards like jewelry should be promoted before Valentine’s Day, and ice cream vouchers should be offered in the summer. It will not be easy to promote cold lemonade in a pay-with-points promotion in the winter. You have to find the logic. Łukasz Dubiel (Loyalty Solutions Consulting Director at Comarch).

Q: Do you see potential for loyalty programs in the banking sector?

Łukasz Dubiel: The answer is yes. Nowadays, customers can move from one bank to another without borders. Interest rates are almost the same, so they don’t motivate customers to be loyal. There is always room to build additional value and deeper relations and convince customers to stay and transact with a particular bank.

Q: What is the importance of rewarding loyalty members for not only their transactions but also actions that show their engagement?

Łukasz Dubiel: This kind of gratification will build deeper relations between customers and a brand. Let’s imagine a simple case from retail: there’s one store you really like and shop at because the staff is nice. During Christmas time, you get a 5% discount. But also, when you visit the store, there’s Santa offering customers cookies. You help yourself to one while shopping and using the discount. How does it make you feel?

Q: Do loyalty programs encourage customers to shop only when there are rewards, or can they build lasting relationships beyond incentives?

Łukasz Dubiel: It depends. There is a group of customers I call “promo catchers.” These people transact only when they have an additional benefit. They will always bid and move from one retailer to another. However, there is a large group of customers who are sensitive, and the rule of reciprocity works for them. 

When your loyalty offer is properly balanced, they will visit your store, use loyalty programs, and collect benefits.
 
They will return even if you do not give any benefits because you have built emotions, traditions, and relationships through loyalty.

Q: What trends do you predict for service-based brands, such as banking, real estate, or finance? 

Łukasz Dubiel: The service sector is more fragile in terms of loyalty. You sell not only services but also emotions and after-service experiences. That's why loyalty should be more holistic and customer-centric. You should balance:

• Before-sales experience – marketing
• Sales experience – gratification
• After-sales experience – customer care line

Q: Is there a difference between preferences/requirements from B2B and B2C loyalty programs?

Łukasz Dubiel: Depending on the market you operate in, a loyalty program can be tailored to both your and your customers’ demands. The differences can be very significant from a tax and legal perspective, or there may be no differences at all. You have to know your market regulations and analyze your customer expectations.

Q: Which functions & roles are the most positively impacted if a company has a loyalty program in place?

Łukasz Dubiel: I would say all roles and all functions. The whole organization, from top management to operational staff, must be engaged in the loyalty program. As a loyalty manager, you have to build the right attention. After that, the whole organization will be positively impacted, and you will be the one most positively affected.

Q: Isn't there some fatigue in loyalty or, more specifically, reward/discount programs happening, as they are becoming more widely spread (e.g., company benefits program)?

Certainly there is. Hence, the offering needs to be super simple and personalized.  The loyalty program should be a part of the population's or segments' daily lifestyle so that it is front and center of their mind when engaging in daily activities they love. And if it speaks to you in the right locations with the simplest messages and generous rewards that make sense to you, customers still engage. This is very transactional.  The challenge is to get them to be more emotional about these activities, and herein lies our hard work to make them feel different about one loyalty program from another. Bijou Daniel (Head of Product—Loyalty and Operations at Alshaya Group).

Q: Is there a specific trend for loyalty in the hospitality industry?

Bijou Daniel: In our sector, we see a higher burn-to-earn ratio within hospitality than in retail, especially in some of our restaurants and quick service counters. As people accumulate points from their retail purchases, they love to splurge their point rewards against free desserts, cookies, etc., rather than reducing their overall wallet spend. Additionally, the biggest challenge we are facing here is to compete with the delivery aggregators as they are quite strong in this region, which hampers our ability to extend loyalty points to customers there, which is always a pain point for them.

Q: How do you handle loyalty rewards when one brand offers many loyalty programs? 

Łukasz Dubiel: Interesting question. I think the webinar partly answered it, but here are some general rules to follow:

1. Analyze all of the brand’s programs
2. Find common elements between the programs
3. Find elements that work and acquire/retain customers
4. Find common ground between those elements
5. Simplify, standardize, and optimize your program.

Q: How can loyalty programs differentiate themselves and stand out from aggressive discounting in the market?

Łukasz Dubiel: This is a very difficult question and task. A number of factors need to be taken into consideration before taking any action. I believe it is possible, but it will be a process rather than a quick win. Remember, other market players will influence your activities. 

First, you have to start with a deep market analysis to understand the market and customer expectations. You have to analyze your company—there may be some processes that can be simplified, allowing you to optimize operational costs. 

Market research and internal company analysis should show you the direction in which you could change the loyalty program to redefine customer perception.

Q: How safe is data sharing?

Łukasz Dubiel: The data-sharing process should be encrypted. The stronger the encryption, the greater the security and safety.

Q: Isn´t it strange that Gen Z is a sustainability leader, but at the same time, brands like Shein and Temu are on the rise?

Bijou Daniel: I wouldn’t say it’s strange, but I do believe it is a cause for concern. Gen Z is a young population who may not be entirely aware of the impact of their choices. Companies like Shein and Temu are also infamous for not being transparent with their sustainability approaches. Moreover, the driving force here is fast fashion choices and affordable prices – both of which may supersede their sustainability choices.

Q: Do you see a difference in customer loyalty at a company with a low purchase frequency vs. a company with a high purchase frequency – for example, a supermarket where you shop once a week vs. a retail brand from which you buy twice a year?

Łukasz Dubiel: The loyalty mechanisms are more or less the same, but Average Transaction Frequency and Average Transaction Value are different here. 

When we roughly analyze two extreme cases—where we have low frequency and high value vs. high frequency and low value—it may occur that in the long term, profitability in both cases is more or less similar. 

In both scenarios, proper communication about the loyalty offer and services will be very important. That story will help you sell products and services. To make the communication stronger, you will have two ways to influence the customers: discounts (depreciating your product value) or giving additional value. You have to analyze that and find the best way.

Q: Is personalization connected to a specific industry or, in general, a trend for all industries? Is it related to a product or to the communication – or both? What’s the difference between commodity vs. highly differentiated products?

Łukasz Dubiel: Personalization is connected to all businesses, products, and communication methods. Nowadays, consumers receive too much information, which they must filter and select only those that are relevant to them. So, if a company simplifies the message, sends it at the right time, and tells the customer what they want to hear, the probability that the message will be read rapidly increases. At the same time, the probability that the consumer will respond also increases.

Q: What about WhatsApp? How are you seeing this channel to help increase engagement?

Łukasz Dubiel: WhatsApp is only a communication channel. There is a group of customers who like it and use it. So, if you identify customers who like WhatsApp and send messages via that channel, the probability that the consumer will read it and respond is higher compared to responding to the same message sent via email or text message. In general, you have to identify which communication channels are preferred by your customers and use them.

If you have more questions, please get in touch with us via the contact form.