New research from multichannel engagement firm CrowdTwist reveals that in order to encourage loyalty among younger generations, brands must build personalized experiences and facilitate engagement across all channels, including in-store, online, social and mobile.
Brands must also provide relevant loyalty rewards and a wide range of opportunities to earn loyalty program points, including playing games and writing reviews.
Marketers should note that there is growing opportunity for non-traditional industries such as beauty and media and entertainment to adopt loyalty programs.
The new research report, Generation Z vs. Millennials: The Changing Landscape of Loyalty, includes research into the similarities and differences between Generation Z and Millennials in their attitudes towards brand loyalty and engagement. The research explores how they engage with brands, their shopping habits, their brand loyalty and the loyalty programs they are active in.
Key findings include:
57 percent of Generation Z prefer shopping in-store
Despite being digital natives, Generation Z prefer to shop in-store rather than online, and a slightly larger percentage of them compared to Millennials prefer to do so.
75 percent of Millennials and Generation Z are willing to share personal information in exchange for a personalized experience
Customized experiences are important to Millennials and Generation Z, so much so that the majority of participants surveyed are willing to provide brands with additional personal data.
63 percent of Generation Z are active in at least one loyalty program
Despite their youth and reputation as “less brand loyal,” the majority of Generation Z are already participating in at least one loyalty program. 71 percent of Millennials are also active in at least one program.
Generation Z consumers rank beauty and media & entertainment in the top 5 categories for loyalty programs
It is worth noting that beauty ranks #5 with Millennials.
Loyalty programs provide a competitive advantage
The majority (64 percent) of both Generation Z and Millennials could be persuaded to shop with brand if they have a loyalty program.
Almost 40 percent of Generation Z ranked playing games as their preferred way of earning points as part of a loyalty program
Generation Z are also almost 50 percent more likely than Millennials to write a review for a brand in exchange for points.
Brands should build a strong Facebook presence to better engage Millennials
Millennials are more active on Facebook than any other social media platform, yet only a small percentage engage with brands via their Facebook accounts.
“The survey results provide a comprehensive overview of the current loyalty climate and a view into how Generation Z could change the way brands engage with consumers in the years to come,” said Scott Matthews, CEO of CrowdTwist, in a news release. “Loyalty programs remain one of the biggest drivers of brand choice across both generations. In fact, the younger generations are driving the success of loyalty programs. In order for brands to succeed in meeting the expectations of these young consumers, they must adopt a data-driven, omnichannel approach to customer loyalty.”
