Dunnhumby’s “How To Keep Hold Of Your Customers” study was the latest to argue that discounts and other traditional approaches are no longer enough to engender loyalty as consumers seek out relevance and recognition.
In the foreword to the study, Ben Snowman — global head of loyalty and personalization, Dunnhumby — noted that in the U.K., four-fifths of shoppers say they’re a member of multiple grocery loyalty programs, but only half say that loyalty cards have an impact on where they choose to shop. A similar number believe that loyalty programs benefit retailers more than consumers.
“Shoppers expect more: more personalized experiences, more value, more recognition,” said Snowman. “Technology is reshaping what’s possible — and what’s expected. And despite a growing need to stand out, loyalty programs instead risk becoming ever-more homogenized; the same core product, wrapped up in different packaging.”
Dunnhumby’s study posed three questions every retailer should be asking:
- As AI and automation create new opportunities around loyalty and personalization, how will we continue to differentiate?
- With consumer expectations around loyalty continuing to evolve, how can we ensure that our business continues to deliver?
- Are we designing our loyalty program based on what our customers value — or are we just following everyone else?
McKinsey Suggests AI-Driven Promos Are Part of the Future of Retail Loyalty
Meanwhile, McKinsey’s “Unlocking the next frontier of personalized marketing” study encouraged retailers to boost their technology stack to embrace AI-driven targeted promotions and tap genAI to scale relevant messages down to tone, imagery, and copy.
McKinsey authors wrote, “Brands and retailers can better connect with customers by using language that speaks to them and by providing communications that resonate and give consumers a reason to engage.”
McKinsey further believes AI has the potential to improve “mass promotions,” or using data to tailor discounts based on an individual’s shopping preferences or their affinity for different types of offers.
The study authors wrote, “With a more granular approach to customer segmentation, retailers can craft promotions that target specific customer life cycle stages (such as new-customer acquisition, customer retention, repeat purchase, or risk of churn) or specific business objectives (such as promoting a particular brand or category or encouraging cross-selling).”
Attentive Data Suggests Customers Want Personalized Messaging
Attentive’s “2025 Consumer Trends Report: The State of Personalized Marketing” included a survey of 3,3000 consumers across the U.S., U.K., and Australia taken in January that found:
- 71% want brands to learn from their shopping habits over time.
- 77% are likely to purchase from a brand when they get relevant product recommendations.
- 90% want more personalized communications than they’re already getting.
Attentive said manual segmentation and rule-based workflows have limited personalization efforts. However, advances in AI personalization and the arrival of rich communication services (RCS) — which bring interactive, app-like features including browsing and purchasing to text messaging — promise to make mobile messaging “the new frontier for personalized commerce.”
Keri McGhee, CMO at Attentive, said in a press release, “The data is clear and consumers want more relevant, personalized experiences, and brands that deliver will see the results.”
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